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Gastineau Guiding (in front) is the boutique, small-group Whale Watching option in Juneau.
People often come to Alaska to see Humpback Whales in their feeding grounds. This group feeding behavior is called "Bubble Net Feeding"
A Photo Safari guest on tour
Our custom safari vessels out on the water
Our safari vessels are optimized for our photo tours
The interior of our boats, with a guide interpreting at the front as usual.
Our guides are given over 100 hours of Naturalist training each year
All Guides lead our strenuous Guide's Choice Adventure Hike tour, leading guests to scenic views of the Mendenhall Glacier
Our guides get their Commerical Drivers Licenses to operate our fleet of "airporters" - these 24-28 passenger vehicles
Our Science Guides facilitate the collection of Citizen Science data while on tour
Mt. Roberts Tramway is how our Nature Center Interpretive/Sales staff get to work everyday
Our daily 'office,' the Mendenhall Glacier
Land of the Midnight Sun
Grey days can be beautiful, too! That's why we love our Rainforest home.
Orca on the hunt!
Humpback Whales are the primary draw in Juneau
Here's a bunch of guides at work!
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Juneau's Premier Whale Watching & Hiking Company

Gastineau Guiding Company

Current Job Openings

    Naturalist Photography Guide

    $17.00 / hour + tips

    Naturalist Photography Guide

    Lead small groups on tours to Juneau’s hot spots while working to improve their photography skills. Responsibilities include everything from instructing guests on how to use their equipment, to visually demonstrating photographic techniques, to explaining the geological mechanics of the Mendenhall Glacier. The position requires a solid background in photography and strong interpersonal skills. Applicants should be comfortable communicating such photo techniques as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance and methods of compositions to all levels of experience. Developing a media slideshow for instruction on tour is mandatory.

    Since this tour is conducted on both land and sea, you will be on the water almost daily. A willingness to train as a naturalist and obtain Coast Guard crew certification is mandatory. This position leads photography tours as well as our other natural history tours. Photography guides are also responsible for operating company vehicles (14-28 passengers) for guiding and assisting to guide other tours. Interpretive certification(s) available. Position is paid on an hourly basis, $14-16+ DOE w/overtime.

    Please Note: All new hire guides are expected to have a Commercial Driving License or train for their Class C Alaskan CDL. In-house training is provided if applicant meets age and driving record requirements. Guides must also be certified in CPR/First Aid.

    Naturalist Science Guide

    $17.00 / hour + tips

    Lead groups on interpretive natural, cultural and historical walks, hikes and whale watching tours. Share expertise on all ecosystem types in the Juneau area, including the alpine, sub-alpine, rainforest and coastline. This position is responsible for offering a variety of tours, but most specialized is that of our Citizen Science Adventure. Science Guides facilitate the gathering of raw, baseline data provided to partners like NOAA, the Alaska Sea Grant, University of Alaska Southeast and others. Educational background in sciences is preferred.

    Since this tour is conducted on both land and sea, you will be on the water almost daily. A willingness to train as a naturalist and obtain Coast Guard crew certification is mandatory. Guides are also responsible for operating company vehicles (14-28 passengers)  and assisting with other tours. Interpretive certification(s) available. Pay is $14-16/hr DOE + tips.

    Please Note: All new hire guides are expected to have a Commercial Driving License or train for their Class C Alaskan CDL. In-house training is provided if the applicant meets age and driving record requirements. Guides must also be certified in CPR/First Aid.

    Daily Coordinator

    $21.00 / hour

    Daily Coordinator - Supervisory Position: Work in Gastineau Guiding's bustling tour office to create and facilitate the smooth operation of the daily schedule.

    This fast-paced job requires knowledge of every aspect of Gastineau’s operations, including tours, guides, captains, dock reps and cruise ship contacts. Supervise the overall operations of the business as you respond to the unexpected occurrences of daily life, coordinating with all parties to make changes to the daily schedule or respond to emergencies as needed. Creating the daily tour schedule is a significant part of this job, so experience in management of employees and their scheduling needs is a plus. Daily Coordinators may also assist managers in a wide variety of projects.

    Applicants should have a strong analytical ability, be able to juggle tasks well, keep a cool demeanor under pressure and enjoy a job that is always changing! Bonus points if you like crafting and/or funny wigs. This position has a set weekly schedule with 5 days on/2 days off, though overtime should be expected.

    Boat Captain

    $27.00 / hour + tips

    Applicants are required to have a minimum 25-ton USCG certification required. Actual captaining experience required, with experience in whale watching industry preferred. Additional training on Juneau-area waters and marine natural history is provided. Individuals must be willing to captain a covered & heated rigid hulled inflatable vessel for various wilderness tours within Stephens Passage. Knowledge of marine maintenance and care a plus. Must be flexible, outgoing and enjoy working with the public and being a part of a team environment. Full time positions are 5 days per week, with daily trip schedules varying between 2-4 trips (trip length varies). Part Time positions are also available. Positions start at 27/hr+ DOE.

    View 1 more job opening

    Driver/2nd Guide

    Juneau
    $18.00 / hour + tips

    Do you want to break into the world of high-end, educational guiding - but maybe don't feel comfortable immediately leading a full 5-hour tour?

    We created the position of Driver/2nd Guide for those folks who would prefer to have one season or so to do some guiding, but not each and every day. Our Drivers are responsible for leading groups of up to 12 people on one-mile trail walks, but don't have the additional burden of doing the 5+ hour whale tours or 4+ hour strenuous hikes. Our vision is that our drivers will transition to doing those tours eventually, but if not - that's ok, too!

    This job is critical to the success of every tour. An individual must be detailed oriented, committed to tight timing of each tour, and be ready for lots of meet & greats - drivers typically have 4-5 groups per day (maybe 1-2 of those do the guided walk), so in many ways this position has the most 'face time' with guests.

    We offer Class C CDL training & natural history training for this position.

About Gastineau Guiding Company

As Juneau’s premier guiding company, Gastineau Guiding strives to deliver Juneau’s best fully guided outdoor experiences. We offer a variety of specialty whale watching and hiking tours that bring our guests off the ships and onto the trails as they explore Juneau’s abundant natural landscape. Now celebrating 25 years as a locally owned and operated company!
Alaska's beautiful capital city, Juneau is where the oceans meet the mountains to create a magnificent outdoor playground for visitors and locals, alike.
More about Gastineau Guiding Company

Founded by locals, run by locals, all in the name of making the local experience accessible - that's what we're about.  We are not a company of scripts or unwavering planning: our guides and staff lead tours that cater to their own expertise and interests. We help them hone that passion through Juneau's most extensive Naturalist Guide training program. We pride ourselves on being the team that can mix factually accurate science, photography and natural history with a whole lot of fun - all in the name of providing our guests with the Safety, Service and Sense of Wonder that has become Gastineau Guiding’s quality signature.

Working Here

The Employee Experience

Gastineau Guiding was founded on the idea that people genuinely want to learn and have fun while being outside in Alaska. We expect our employees to want to do so on their own time just as much as at work. For that reason, we believe in a work-life balance - even amidst the chaos that seasonal work can sometimes be. If you want to work seasonally because it means memorizing a script and then hitting the ground running for 65+ hours a week, then we're not the right fit for you. We want our staff to be well fed and well rested because that's when natural curiosity thrives. We demand passion because we don't want to tell you what to be passionate about. We demand honesty because we genuinely want to make this the best environment for every person who works here. And we demand fun because....well, we work with people on vacation. It should be fun!

For an unbiased look at working at Gastineau Guiding, check out our guide-generated videos on Vimeo: "GGC Summer 2 Second Video" (a guide's summer in 2 seconds a day) OR our EOY (end of year) slideshows.

Ideal Candidate

All Gastineau Guiding tours are fully-guided, small group experiences, taking guests off the beaten track to places most other companies don’t go. Small groups of anywhere from 6-20 guests means more communication, more personal attention, and more time off the bus and on the trails and waterways. This is why our employees aren’t just guides, they’re naturalist interpreters. We’re looking for strong communicators who can maintain a professional attitude and appearance while sharing their knowledge and passion for the natural history of Southeast Alaska. Our tours operate in all weather conditions on the trails and on the water, so the ideal candidate is also comfortable on a boat and in rain pants (hello, Temperate Rainforest home!).

Gastineau Guiding proves extensive training beginning mid-April, with seasons coming to a close in late September. Full season availability is not required but preferred.  

Employee Perks

Gastineau Guiding offers an End of Season bonus, as well as a variety of other employee incentive programs related to tour performance and feedback. More information is provided during the interview process.

Separately, we have various outdoor gear pro deals (North Face, OR, etc) and local business partnerships that vary from year to year. 

Living Here

Room and Board

Gastineau Guiding does provide employee housing for those who can commit to the entire season.  Our managers will also assist in helping you find it.

In general, company-sponsored employee housing is very uncommon in Juneau; however, Juneau does have two seasonal economies: State Government Legislative Session (January - April of each year) and Tourism (April/May - October). Seasonal housing is abundant due to these complimentary industries - but we still emphasize to any interested party that moving is always a lot of work and requires some financial planning. We do our best to summarize helpful information regarding housing, ferry schedules & getting around Juneau, but individuals should still expect to have to plan 2-3 months in advance to make a comfortable and successful move to Alaska.

Getting Here and Getting Around

While you can't drive to Juneau - on account of being landlocked by an ice field the size of Rhode Island - it is still a surprisingly spread out community with relatively poor public transportation. Cars are recommended as they allow you to discover some of the trail systems farther 'out the road,' but a biking lifestyle is totally doable too. You just have to commit to biking to work in the rain.

Our offices are located right in Downtown Juneau, but the geographical complexities of the many Juneau neighborhoods are too numerous to name here. Rest assured, constructing a realistic Juneau transportation plan based on an individual's needs is one of the first interview steps.

For Fun

Juneau is where the sea meets the land: where big mountain tops plunge dramatically into the Pacific Ocean and so people build their houses into the mountainside. We have more trails than roads, our "state highway" is a ferry route and you're more likely to see Carhartts and Xtratuffs than slacks and dress shoes. For this writer, Juneau is outdoor living at it's finest: just a 5-15 minute drive from my front door in any of four different directions can have me nestled in mountain valleys with established trail systems and no cell phone reception (though honestly there are plenty of trail systems with great cell reception, too, if that's your thing).

But don't be fooled - it's not all remote country living here: Juneau was ranked #8 in the top ten most "arts vibrant" small communities in the US by the National Center for Arts Research. We've got a symphony, two operatic companies, a nationally awarded local theater, a requisite art house theater and a variety of annual festivals and events (I'm looking at you, Folk Fest). We also have a shockingly high number of restaurants per capita, with a growing reputation as a "Foodie's Paradise" (according to the Washington Post, Vogue and Thrillist.com) thanks to our growing locavore movement. Plus, we're the central transportation hub for Southeast Alaska, meaning that it's easy to fly or ferry in and out.

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How to Apply

All employment applications are available on our website. Please note that some of our positions are safety-sensitive, so applicants interested in guide or captain positions should also fill out the supplemental application and provide a 5-year driving record.

Apply Now
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