Aquarist I - Diving en Seattle Aquarium

Job Posting

Aquarist I – Diving (ACC)

Department: Life Sciences – Fish and Invertebrate Team
Reports to: Supervisor, Life Sciences Team
Status: Hourly/Non-Exempt
Hours of Work: Tuesday- Saturday 7am-4pm including holidays and evenings as needed

Position Overview

The Aquarist I Diving position furthers the Aquarium’s mission through providing management and care for the animal collection. They are responsible for assigned husbandry duties in the Aquarium’s Animal Care team. The Aquarium’s animal collection currently includes temperate and tropical invertebrates, cartilaginous and teleost fishes. The building is planned to also act as a sea turtle recovery facility in the future.

This position will be located at the Aquarium’s Animal Care Center (ACC), which is located just south of downtown Seattle.  This offsite building functions as an acquisitions and quarantine facility, as well as housing the Aquarium’s current and future conservation programs involving live animals.

Essential Functions

Animal Care & Welfare

• Prepare animals for transfer to public aquarium habitats; participate in training programs including desensitization, target training, and veterinary behavior training.
• Assist with animal acquisition and quarantine. Acclimate newly acquired animals to habitat conditions and administer quarantine treatments (e.g., Formalin, Praziquantel, Copper).
• Administer medications and treatments per veterinary instructions; assist with safe handling and restraint procedures.
• Prepare, store, and distribute food according to established diets; monitor feeding habits and report changes or abnormalities.
• Observe animals and evaluate behavior to assess physical and behavioral health.
• Maintain records and reports for assigned species, including veterinary logs, habitat maintenance, and feeding data.

Transport & Logistics

• Help coordinate logistics for animal transports between Aquarium facilities and the airport.
• Contribute to transport operations, ensuring shipping containers and water quality meet standards for duration of travel.
• Coordinate and schedule water hauls from the main facility; participate in water management discussions.
• Manage food inventory and assist with restocking and ordering supplies and equipment.

Habitat & Life Support System (LSS) Maintenance

• Clean and perform routine maintenance and minor repairs of animal habitats and holding areas to support animal health and presentation.
• Perform basic LSS maintenance, including backwashing sand filters, cleaning protein skimmers and filter socks, and replacing UV units.
• Maintain water quality using weekly testing results, probes, and basic water analysis; adjust chemical or physical parameters as needed.
• Use scuba and surface-supplied air systems for in-habitat animal care and habitat maintenance; may include field diving for animals, research, or other tasks.

Organizational Values & Culture

• Actively represent and contribute to advancing and integrating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Regenerative practices, in alignment with the Aquarium’s S.A.L.I.S.H. Values.

Additional responsibilities:

• Acting as role model for compliance with all Aquarium safety protocols.
• Assuring the safety of animals, employees and the visiting public from injury or mishap.
• Performing emergency first aid and CPR as needed and according to established guidelines and level of qualification
• Establishing and maintaining cooperative and effective working relationships with others.
• Performing other duties as assigned as appropriate for the level of the role.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Must have a clear understanding of fish and invertebrate biology and technical knowledge of marine biology, water quality analysis, aquatic life support systems, and marine animal health.
• Must maintain a current and clear understanding of life support and mechanical systems for open and closed aquariums.
• Familiarity with and experience assessing and diagnosing fish and invertebrate disease processes, pathogens, and treatments.        
• Familiarity with Tracks record keeping software preferred
• Experience setting up and/or maintaining live food cultures preferred
• Have working knowledge of the nitrogen cycle and setting up/cycling naïve animal systems.
• Must be comfortable working with basic math concepts such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and able to apply them accurately in day-to-day tasks.
• Must possess strong interpersonal, collaboration and team-building skills.
• Must possess organizational skills, be self-motivated and communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Must have the ability to use various computer software products: MS Word, Excel and internet browsers.
• Demonstrates an understanding of the Aquarium’s Mission and Values, including Regenerative and Equity work.

Minimum Requirements:

• B.A./B.S. degree in biology, marine biology or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of one years’ experience involving the care and husbandry of animals in a zoo, aquarium, or related environment (AZA facility preferred).
• Must have or be able to obtain a Washington state driver’s license.
• Must either hold current CPR, first aid and AED certifications, or be able to obtain certification through the Aquarium.
• Must be able to swim and pass and maintain any and all required scuba diving skills and certifications as noted below in the specified diving requirements.

Diving Responsibilities and Requirements:  

Aquarium Scientific Diver: This scientific diving classification allows for participation in surface-supplied and open-circuit diving as a diver or tender within Seattle Aquarium exhibits only. To qualify for evaluation as a Seattle Aquarium diver, candidates must meet the following general criteria:

• Possess a scuba certification to the level of rescue diver (or equivalent) from a nationally recognized certification agency.
• Possess a recent (less than 12 months) approval for recreational scuba diving signed by a physician (MD or DO).
• Successfully pass an AAUS watermanship requirements swim test.
• Pass a Seattle Aquarium scuba skills evaluation dive.

In addition, the new staff diver candidate must complete and pass the following aquarium diver physical exam, training classes and deadlines:

• Pass a Seattle Aquarium occupational diving physical exam.
• Complete emergency oxygen provider training within six months of hire.
• Complete staff exhibit diver training and evaluation within six months of hire.

Working Conditions:

• Requires handling, working with or exposure to large, dangerous animals, animal diseases, animal feces and toxic chemicals after completing appropriate training
• This role may involve a range of physical activities such as standing, walking, sitting, reaching, or using hands for handling tools or materials. Tasks may also include climbing stairs, balancing, or communicating through speech and hearing. We recognize that individuals may meet these requirements in different ways, and reasonable accommodations may be provided to support candidates in performing essential job functions.
• Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
• Occasionally required to lift more than 50 pounds.
• Must be able to be on their feet six or more hours a day; be physically active through physical motions.
• Required to work outdoors year-round, near water, on wet and slippery surfaces and at heights. Outdoor apparel appropriate for the climate will be provided
• Must have the ability to use fall restraint equipment, respirators and other appropriate safety gear; may be required to work in confined spaces.
• Must be willing to occasionally work evenings, nights, weekends and holidays and receive a 24-hour emergency call.

SeattleAquarium.org/careers  

Please let us know if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for this job by emailing us at [email protected].   

Note: If offered the position, candidates must pass a background check. Conviction record is not an automatic disqualifier; we are a second chance employer.   

About the Seattle Aquarium: The Seattle Aquarium is a respected authority on Puget Sound, the Salish Sea and the world’s one ocean. Our team increases awareness and drives the change needed to preserve and protect our marine environment by providing excellent care and wellbeing for over 5,000 animals to create an inspiring visitor experience, offer engaging daytime and evening events, conservation education programs for people of all ages and backgrounds, community outreach to marginalized populations, research that advances understanding of animals in our care and their counterparts in the wild, advocacy and policy work, an award-winning volunteer program, high-impact marketing and communications, and more.   

Our values, developed in conjunction with our staff, include commitments to adopting and promoting sustainable practices, creating awe-inspiring experiences, constantly learning and improving, fostering an inclusive community, maintaining scientific credibility through evidence-based practices and honoring our unique place by using our location and history as a lens for larger understanding.   

Proudly accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, we’re among the top 10 aquariums in the U.S. by attendance, and we welcome over 1 million people each year guided by our mission of Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. Learn more at SeattleAquarium.org.