This position is located with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Sugarbeet & Bean Research Unit, East Lansing, Michigan. The mission of the unit is to develop improved disease and crop management practices and new germplasm of beets, beans and other pulse crops with desirable agronomic traits and nutritional and end-use quality and develop innovative sensing and automation technologies for harvest and postharvest quality evaluation of horticultural crops.

Duties

Develop innovative phenotyping and automation techniques that can be applied to assist in discovery and selection of new, promising germplasm of sugar beet for desired agronomic traits. Develop new sensing methods and techniques for precision crop and beet yield prediction and for early detection and management of diseases, insects, nematode and weeds. Develop sensors and measuring techniques and practices to enhance beet postharvest handling and reduce sugar loss. Collaborate with researchers in plant sciences and related engineering disciplines within and outside the Agricultural Research Service. Disseminate research findings through scientific publications, presentations, and reports.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Successful completion of a three year probationary period.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series/position titles listed. In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must submit proof that they meet the educational requirements for at least one of the series described in the announcement. Applicants may only be appointed to job series/position titles for which they meet all experience and educational requirements. Minimum qualification requirements are found in the General Schedule Qualification Standards (opm.gov) Basic Qualification Requirements for Engineering Series, 0800: Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org Additional Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below to qualify at each grade level: GS-12: Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related to the duties of the position (e.g., agricultural or biosystems engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, or mechanical engineering) OR 1 year of specialized (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal Service OR a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience. GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Service. GS-14: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-12 level are: - Conducting research using sensors and information technologies for application to agricultural and biological systems; AND - Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND - Presenting research findings at scientific conferences or academic meetings. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-13 level are: - Conducting research on the development of sensing or phenotyping and automation technologies for agricultural and biological systems; AND - Publishing related research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND - Being invited to present research at scientific conferences, seminars, or stakeholder meetings. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-14 level are: - Planning and conducting research related to sensors, automation, and/or artificial intelligence for agricultural production and/or postharvest handling; AND - Serving as principal investigator, team leader, or graduate student advisor to accomplish research objectives; AND - Publishing related research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND - Being invited to present research at scientific conferences, seminars, or stakeholder meetings; AND - Demonstrated record of obtaining external research funding. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Applicants must be available to report for duty at the time a selection is made. Selections are typically made within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Lakeisha Raybon
• Phone: (334) 344-0228
• Email: [email protected]