Seasonal Maintenance Worker

Summary

These are temporary, summer seasonal positions that can last up to 1039 total hours but can be shorter due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. See the "Duties" section below for the typical months of employment for each park. Anticipated entry on duty would be in the first month listed next to each park.

Duties

Help

The duty stations for the parks are:

Pinnacles National Park : Paicines, CA (May - Nov. 2026)

North Cascades National Park: Marblemount, WA and Stehekin, WA (April - Oct. 2026)

Crater Lake National Park: Klamath County, OR (May - Nov. 2026)

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Tehama County, CA (May - Nov. 2026)

Golden Gate National Recreation Area :San Francisco, CA (May - Nov. 2026)

Haleakala National Park: Maui County, HI (April - Oct. 2026)

Mount Rainier National Park: Longmire, Packwood, Enumclaw, and Carbonado, WA (Apr. - Oct. 2026)

Devils Postpile National Monument: Mono County, CA (May - Nov. 2026)

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve: Josephine County, OR (March - Sept. 2026)

Point Reyes National Seashore: Marin County, CA (April - Oct. 2026)

Olympic National Park: Port Angeles WA (April - Oct. 2026)

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area : Whiskeytown, CA (April - Oct. 2026)

Great Basin National Park : Baker, NV (May - Nov. 2026)

Redwood National Park : Orick and Crescent City, CA (March - Sept. 2026)

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail : Kailua Kona, HI (May - Nov. 2026)

Great Basin NP, Ala Kahakai NHT, Point Reyes NS, and Whiskeytown NRA are hiring at the WG-05 level ONLY. All other parks are hiring at both the WG-07 level and WG-05 level.

WG-05 Maintenance Worker (Trails) - performs trail maintenance, construction, and repair. Tasks include clearing trails of wind falls, limbs, rocks, landslides, and other debris; digging or cleaning culverts and ditches for drainage purposes; clearing brush; tread work on native soil, gravel and asphalt trails. Assist or lead trail crews on bridge building, tread, brushing, drainage and trail clearing projects. Construct or repair bridges, food boxes, ramps, corrals, outbuildings and pit toilets. Assist in or perform masonry work. Paint or stains boxes, corrals, pit toilets and bridges. May assist in maintenance of historic structures. May assist Packer with preparing loads, as well as saddling and transporting stock. Service and repair chain saws, brushing saws, gas rock drills and breakers, and generators. Repair tents, hand tools, lanterns, stoves; sharpens axes, pulaski's, shovels and clippers. Responsible for inventory updates and issuance of trails equipment, parts and materials.

WG-07 Maintenance Worker (Trails) - provides daily guidance and direction to field crews completing trail maintenance/construction. Repairs trail tread and drainage structures, constructing rock walls, turnpiking, cribbing, and foot bridges, removing windfalls, felling trees, and utilizing block, tackle, and winches for moving and placing heavy objects. Construction and maintenance of rock and wood water bars, retaining walls and cribbing, and other trail structures. Laying out and constructing new trail in rocky, mountainous terrain, and in performing landscape restoration of abandoned trails.

Work involves living and working in remote backcountry regions of the parks. Work involves long distance hiking, often with heavy backpacks, and long hours of hard physical labor to perform trail maintenance and construction tasks. Trail workers often carry loads weighing up to 50 pounds and may be required to hike up to 20 miles per day over steep and/or rough terrain.

Physical Effort: Heavy physical effort is required in bending, lifting, and using hand and power tools in trail work. Examples of typical strenuous activity include: Frequently lifts and carries objects weighing over 100 pounds, must carry and roll rocks and logs, move rocks of several tons with rock bars, use hammers to crush or shape rock, and use shovel extensively. Frequently hikes up to 20 miles daily and must be able to do so while carrying a backpack, power and/or hand tools.

Working Conditions: Incumbent must have the ability to live and work effectively in backcountry areas in close contact with small numbers of people for extended periods of time. Incumbent must live and work out-of-doors on projects in various terrain up to 13,000 feet elevation in all extremes of adverse weather conditions. Trail work is dusty, and hazardous conditions may exist when moving rocks and logs, working in and around rockslide areas, working around stock, working around explosives, falling and bucking trees, and working around machinery.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males
• Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
• You may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
• You will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• Overnight backcountry travel (up to 75% or greater) may be required depending on location.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or
• (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.
• Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must have sufficient knowledge and ability in the following job-related factors:

Have the ability to do the work of a Maintenance Worker (Trails) without more than normal supervision. (Screen out).

WG 5 level: Work experience demonstrates doing work such as maintenance worker tasks on a trail crew or group responsible for carrying out work on trails; constructed rock walls, water bars, and retainer bars; used chainsaws to cut wood or limb trees; and have used a jackhammer.

WG 7 level: work experience demonstrates trail work such as repairing trail tread and drainage structures, constructing rock walls, turnpiking, cribbing, and foot bridges, removing windfalls, felling trees, and utilizing block, tackle, and winches for moving and placing heavy objects. Construction and maintenance of rock and wood water bars, retaining walls and cribbing, and other trail structures. Experience laying out and constructing new trail in rocky, mountainous terrain, and in performing landscape restoration of abandoned trails.

Additional information on the specific qualification requirements for this position are found in the Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupations. It is available for review on OPM's web site at: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/x-118C/index.htm

If your knowledge and ability in the SCREEN OUT factor above is not sufficient, you will receive no further consideration. In preparing your application, describe in detail the experience and training which you have had that specifically prepared you for this job and to perform the duties described for this job. Experience should be clearly described and documented in your resume. The qualifications reviewer will not assume performance of such duties by Job Titles alone. Address your knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the areas shown in the job-related factors.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

ICTAP/CTAP Statement: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

A selectee receiving a first appointment to the Federal Government (Civil Service) is entitled only to the lowest step of the grade for which selected the display of a salary range on this vacancy shall not be construed as granting an entitlement to a higher rate of pay.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience for Wage Grade (WG) positions.

Additional information

Government housing IS available for positions at the following parks:

Crater Lake National Park: Andrew Hoeg andrew_hoeg@nps.gov

Mount Rainier National Park: James Montgomery James_Montgomery@nps.gov

Pinnacles National Park: Gavin Youngstrum, gavin_youngstrum@nps.gov

Whiskeytown NRA: David Oechsli: david_oechsli@nps.gov

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve: Joshua Haggett, joshua_haggett@nps.gov

Government housing MAY be available for positions at:

North Cascades National Park: Scott Swenson scott_swenson@nps.gov

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Daniel Lamkins daniel_lamkins@nps.gov

Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Kyle Mackiewicz, kyle_mackiewicz@nps.gov

Haleakala National Park: Aaron Jernigan, aaron_jernigan@nps.gov

Devils Postpile National Monument: Rebecca Carr Wong, rebecca_carr_wong@nps.gov

Point Reyes National Seashore: Jason Briggs, jason_briggs@nps.gov

Olympic National Park: Kelly Sutton, kelly_sutton@nps.gov

Redwood National Park: Brittney McGuire: brittney_mcguire@nps.gov

Great Basin NP: David Wright: david_wright@nps.gov

Government housing IS NOT available for positions at:

Ala Kahakai NHT: Aric Arakaki: aric_arakaki@nps.gov

For additional information about housing or the duties for these positions, please use the contacts listed above. For questions related to qualifications or applying to these positions, please use the contact at the bottom of this page.

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR 575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.

The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

---