Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium has an open application for a paid dive internship directed at newer divers/early career folks. To learn more and apply by the February 1 deadline, visit the official internship posting.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is the only combined zoo and aquarium in the Pacific Northwest. The 29-acre zoological park was established in 1905, and attracts over 800,000 visitors a year. 

Through funding provided by the Oceankind Foundation, the Marine Landscape Ecology Lab supports the paid participation of one undergraduate intern each summer. The intern will support projects focused on the mapping of sea lion communities in California, and rocky intertidal communities in British Columbia, California, and Washington. A $6,000 stipend is provided as part of the student’s participation.
Requirements:

Be a University of Washington undergraduate student enrolled in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degree program. 

The Department of Ecology is hiring a Water Quality Permit Administrator (Environmental Specialist 1) within the Water Quality Program. To learn more and apply, please visit the official job posting.
Location:

Headquarters Office in Lacey, WA.
Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.

Schedule:

This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
A minimum of three days per week is required in the office. 

The Shannon Point Marine Center’s (SPMC) Research Experiences for Undergraduates program will support guided, independent research on the part of eight undergraduate students in 2026. Participants will spend nine weeks at SPMC conducting original research with a faculty adviser, participating in professional development activities, and engaging in outreach events. Students work with faculty mentors to complete supervised research and develop written and oral reports a the conclusion of the program. 

The King County Department of Natural Resources, Water and Land Resources Division seeks a seasonal Environmental Aide to assist with environmental monitoring and applied studies that support salmon recovery efforts. This position is in the Watershed and Ecological Assessment Team within the Science Section. The position will primarily support a study of juvenile salmon use of small streams along the Puget Sound shoreline and a study tagging and tracking juvenile salmon in the Green River. 

The Whale Museum’s Soundwatch Boater Education Program is recruiting for two positions this summer: a Vessel Operator/Educator and a summer intern. There are also unpaid volunteer opportunities.
Soundwatch is a research, education and monitoring program operated by The Whale Museum (TWM), a not-for-profit organization located in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island in Washington State. The Soundwatch program mission is to reduce vessel disturbance to marine wildlife, particularly the endangered Southern Resident killer whales, in the Salish Sea region of Washington State (USA) and British Columbia (Canada). 

YMCA Camp Dudley in Naches, WA, is hiring naturalists for their spring season. The program serves fifth and sixth graders from Yakima Valley and surrounding areas, who come to Camp Dudley for one to four days to participate in hands-on science classes (with other disciplines woven in), outdoor recreation activities, and community building experiences. This is a great job for people who love natural and environmental sciences, being outdoors, and working with kids. 

During the summer of 2025, members of the Wood Lab travelled to Albuquerque, New Mexico to work with Drs.Tom Turner and Sara Brant from University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology to quantify the change in parasite abundance and diversity in the Rio Grande over the past 72 years, a period stretching from 1938 to 2010.

Long baleen whale mothers are more likely to have female calves than males, according to a new study led by the University of Washington. The findings, published by UW QERM student Zoe Rand and Professors Trevor Branch and Sarah Converse, contradict a popular evolutionary theory postulating that strong mammals benefit more from birthing males.

Normally I spend much of this “From the Director” celebrating the various successes, innovations, and discoveries by our School’s talented faculty, students and staff. This time, I also want to acknowledge the difficult circumstances we face. Like many of our peer institutions, SAFS and the UW are facing serious challenges: a state budget deficit, shifts in federal spending priorities, and rising personnel costs. These realities have created a budgetary “perfect storm.”