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Senior Aquarist - Non-Diving
USD 29.5-30.5 / hour
Posted on Jun 11, 2026
Senior Aquarist - Non-Diving
Job Posting
Department: Animal Care - Tropical Team
Reports to: Curator of Tropical Fish and Invertebrates
Status: Full-time, Hourly, Benefited
Hours of Work: Tuesday - Saturday, 7:00am-4:00pm. Occasional need for holidays and evening work as related to events and other projects.
Position Overview
The Seattle Aquarium, a leading marine conservation organization, is looking for a Senior Aquarist (non-diving) to support the Animal Care - Tropical Team. Senior Aquarist staff act in a lead capacity, carrying out all aspects of daily care in their assigned work area, including feeding, observation, training, medication administration, medical treatment, and record keeping. This role upholds a high level of animal care while helping clean and maintain animal habitats and back-of-house spaces.
The Aquarium’s Tropical animal and plant population includes invertebrates, cartilaginous and teleost fishes, and tropical plants. The Senior Aquarist furthers the Aquarium’s mission by providing oversight of, and care for, the animal collection and taking a leadership role on the FIT team. Senior Aquarist staff help set daily working priorities and objectives for the team and delegate tasks to Aquarist and Assistant Aquarist staff.
Essential Functions:
Animal Care (75%): Responsible for all aspects of the care and management of the Aquarium’s fish, invertebrate, and plant population.
- Prepare, store, and distribute food according to established amounts, types, and diets; monitor feeding habits and report changes or abnormalities.
- Clean and perform routine maintenance and minor repair of animal exhibits and holding areas to support animal health and species presentation.
- Maintain water quality to keep aquatic animals in a healthy condition.
- Observe animals and evaluate behavior to determine physical and behavioral health and well-being.
- Help lead animal care operations in designated areas, delegating and assigning work as necessary.
- Maintain records and reports for assigned species, including daily veterinary reports, exhibit maintenance, food consumption records, and other area-specific reports.
- Train, coordinate, and supervise animal care and dive volunteers by assigning, monitoring, and evaluating their work.
- Train, coordinate, and direct Assistant Aquarist and Aquarist-level staff by identifying, assigning, and monitoring daily husbandry-related tasks.
- Lead and/or assist with animal acquisition, acclimation, and quarantine.
- Plan, organize, and lead appropriate off-site collecting activities.
- Lead and/or assist with medication administration and treatments according to established procedures and veterinary instructions.
- Provide assistance in handling or restraining animals in accordance with established safety procedures as necessary to ensure animal welfare.
- Coordinate, plan, and execute Life Sciences aspects of special events and represent Life Sciences in appropriate planning meetings and committees.
- Provide occasional response to animal emergencies or LSS alarms outside normally scheduled hours.
Collaboration and Engagement (15%): Provide leadership, guidance, and cross-functional partnership in support of Aquarium operations.
- Value and prioritize the Aquarium’s commitment to advancing conversations, programs, and policies supporting DEI and S.A.L.I.S.H. values.
- Participate in meaningful team discussions and support staff participation on DEI-focused projects.
- Provide leadership and guidance for Assistant Aquarist and Aquarist staff.
- Support Assistant Aquarist and Aquarist-level hiring.
- Serve as area lead in the absence of supervisory or curatorial staff.
- Coordinate, plan, and execute Animal Care aspects of special events and represent Life Sciences in appropriate planning meetings and committees.
- Establish and maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with staff throughout the Aquarium.
Diving Related Responsibilities (10%):
- Support diving activities within the Aquarium by serving as a surface tender or Designated Person in Charge (DPIC) for staff or volunteer divers.
Additional Responsibilities:
- Act as a role model for compliance with all Aquarium safety protocols.
- Assure the safety of animals, employees, and the visiting public from injury or mishap.
- Perform emergency first aid and CPR as needed and according to established guidelines.
- Serve as a customer service liaison through daily contact with visitors, providing information and answering questions.
- Act as an institutional representative in AZA and other professional organizations.
- Coordinate regularly with management, vendors, VE department staff, Life Sciences staff, Engineering, and volunteers as needed for daily operations, projects, supplies, training, and program support.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
The skills and abilities listed below may be demonstrated through a combination of relevant cultural and community programs, jobs, internships, volunteer experience, and/or formal or informal education. If you meet some of the requirements and you are passionate about our mission and our ocean, we encourage you to apply and look forward to learning more about you.
- Technical knowledge of fish and invertebrate biology, marine biology, water quality analysis, aquatic life support systems, and marine animal health.
- Current and clear understanding of life support and mechanical systems for open and closed aquariums.
- Ability to use fall restraint equipment, respirators, and other appropriate safety gear; may be required to work in confined spaces.
- Ability to use basic math skills for quick and accurate calculations, such as water volume, feed amounts, and drug dosages.
- Experience using computer software products including MS Word, Excel, Tracks or other animal record keeping software, and internet browsers.
- Commitment to continued education, skills development, and training; remains current on developments in animal care, team leadership, and DEI work both within and outside the organization.
- Multilingual and multicultural communication skills and experience are preferred.
Experience, education and certifications:
We will consider various combinations of relevant experience and education in order to meet minimum requirements.
- B.A./B.S. degree in biology, marine biology, or related field is an advantage.
- Minimum of three years’ experience, preferably demonstrating progressive responsibilities involving animal care and team leadership in an aquarium or related environment. AZA facility experience preferred.
- Must be able to obtain CPR, first aid, and AED certifications.
- Must have or be able to obtain a Washington State Driver’s License and be able to drive Aquarium and rental vehicles.
Working Conditions:
- Requires handling, working with, or exposure to large, potentially dangerous animals, animal diseases, and potentially hazardous chemicals.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; talk, hear, or smell.
- 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.
- Able to spend 6 or more hours a day engaged in active, physical work.
- Required to work outdoors year-round, near water, on wet and slippery surfaces, and at heights.
- Safely operate forklifts, scissor lifts, boom lifts, motorized pallet jacks, and cranes with Aquarium-provided training.
- Safely operate a variety of vehicles, including small cars and trucks owned by the Aquarium and rental flatbed and box trucks, up to 30-foot bed length.
- Must be willing to work evenings, nights, weekends, holidays, and occasional 24-hour shifts to accommodate routine Aquarium operations, business-related travel, scheduled Aquarium events, and animal and building emergencies.
Salary and benefits: $29.50 - $30.50 per hour. Dependent on experience. Please include salary expectations in your application materials. Full-time staff are eligible for the Seattle Aquarium’s comprehensive benefits package to include medical, vision, dental, an employer-funded health reimbursement account, medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts, life insurance, long-term disability, 403b retirement fund with employer match, access to a subsidized ORCA pass, a Seattle Aquarium Family Plus membership and generous paid time off.
How to apply: The Seattle Aquarium is committed to expanding a diverse, equitable, and inclusive conservation movement. We are invested in building an Aquarium with a wide variety of backgrounds, identities, languages, cultural ways of knowing, and life experiences. We know research shows that society has conditioned communities of color, trans and gender non-conforming people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other marginalized candidates to more frequently not apply to a job because they don’t feel that they meet all of the qualifications listed even if they are qualified. If you meet some of the requirements and you are passionate about our mission and our ocean, we encourage you to apply and look forward to learning more about you.
Interested candidates should upload a résumé to our online application to be considered. Application review will begin immediately.
Please let us know if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for this job by emailing us at jobs@seattleaquarium.org.
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.