This position is located with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Renewable Product Technology Research Unit in Peoria, IL. The incumbent is responsible for planning and conducting research to develop improved technologies for the conversion of agricultural feedstocks, food waste, and processing byproducts to microbial protein and targeted molecules for food and animal feed applications.

Duties

Perform feedstock selection and pretreatment improvement. Utilize state of the art techniques, including genetic modification to develop microbial strains for enhanced growth potential on desired feedstocks, nutritional characteristics, protein digestibility, or flavor profiles. Apply bioprocess design for efficient production and harvesting of microbial biomass and/or protein. Perform fermentation scale-up for cost-effective production of desired commercial products. Conduct analytical and sensory analysis to assess end-use quality. Develop novel and advanced methodologies, and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) or similar framework to quantitatively assess the environmental and economic sustainability of newly developed renewable product technologies and potential benefits. Work closely with commercial partners and collaborators for end-product applications and organoleptic analysis. Analyze, interpret, and report results in the form of presentations, publications, patents, and technical reports. Develop a stakeholder base to advocate for enhancing the research and to enable commercialization of products to meet mandated technology transfer objectives.

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.
• Successful completion of a 3-year probationary period.
• 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/.

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. Basic Requirements General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series, 0401 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/general-natural-resources-management-and-biological-sciences-series-0401 1. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Microbiology Series, 0403 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/microbiology-series-0403/ 1. Degree: microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent. OR 2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in microbiology, biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Chemical Engineering Series, 0893 https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/chemical-engineering-series-0893/ A. 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 (http://www.abet.org/); 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 B. 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. The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. Additional Requirements In addition to meeting the basic requirements for at least one of the series described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. GS-12: Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related to the duties of the position (e.g., molecular biology, microbiology, food science, biochemistry, or chemical engineering) OR 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience (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. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-12 level are: Conducting independent research related to conversion of agricultural feedstocks, food waste, and processing byproducts to microbial protein and targeted molecules; AND Presenting research findings at scientific conferences or academic meetings, either in person or virtually; AND Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals. GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Service. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-13 level are: Leading group efforts and conducting independent research related to conversion of agricultural feedstocks, food waste, and processing byproducts to microbial protein and targeted molecules; AND Presenting research findings at scientific conferences, either in person or virtually; AND Publishing research results as the primary author in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Heather Lee
• Phone: 301-956-3803
• Email: [email protected]