This position is located in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Field Organization, Pacific West Area (PWA), Crops Pathology/Genetics Research Unit located in Davis, CA. In this position, you will develop practical means to mitigate during winemaking (e.g., fermentation, processing, bottle aging) the chemical components associated with grape smoke exposure.

Duties

Evaluate a range of enological and viticultural mitigation strategies (e.g., filtration, enzymes, nanoparticles, barrier sprays) to ameliorate the impact of smoke exposure on wine quality/composition. Investigate the mechanism, including the physical and chemical conditions, of release/extraction of smoke-related compounds during winemaking processes. Utilize sensory evaluations of the finished product and combined with multivariate analyses, distinguish and classify quality attributes. Develop statistical models to predict the extraction of smoke-taint compounds from grapes, through processing, and in the final wine.

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. Basic Requirements for Food Technology Series, 1382 Degree: food technology, or dairy technology, microbiology, biology, chemistry, physics, or a related discipline or field of biological or physical science. The course work must have been comprised of at least 30 semester hours in the basic biological and physical sciences, and included at least 20 semester hours in food technology and closely related subjects, or 20 semester hours in subjects that can be applied directly to food technology. OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major, including the course work specified, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Requirements for Chemistry Series, 1320 Degree: physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics. OR Combination of education and experience: course work equivalent to a major as shown above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. PLEASE SEE EDUCATION SECTION OF ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SERIES, 0893 Additional Requirements In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above and in the education section of the announcement, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. GS-12: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or possess an equivalent combination of graduate level education and experience. Graduate education must be directly related to the work of the position and must have equipped applicants with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-12 level of this position are: Conducting research focused on physical and chemical processes in food production; developing methods to quantify chemical composition in food products; investigating extraction mechanisms during food processing across environmental and genotypic factors (i.e., seasonal and cultivars); developing statistical models to predict extraction mechanisms during food processing; evaluating a range of techniques to remove unfavorable chemical components in food products during processing; utilizing sensory evaluations of finished food products in conjunction with multivariate analyses to evaluate amelioration techniques and classify quality attributes. GS-13: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-13 level of this position are: Leading a team to conduct research focused on physical and chemical processes in food production; developing methods to quantify chemical composition in food products; investigating extraction mechanisms during food processing across environmental and genotypic factors (i.e., seasonal and cultivars); developing specialized technology and equipment for the targeted removal of unfavorable chemical components in food products; conducting statistical prediction models to gain insight in extraction mechanisms during food production; evaluating a range of techniques to remove unfavorable chemical components in food products during processing; utilizing sensory evaluations of finished food products in conjunction with multivariate analyses to evaluate amelioration techniques and classify quality attributes; developing approaches for performance optimization for these aforementioned processes; authoring scientific publications and presenting at professional/stakeholder meetings to communicate results effectively to the scientific and grower communities. To further support your qualifications, it is strongly recommended that you submit a one-page abstract of your MS thesis and/or Ph.D. dissertation. Failure to do so could result in loss of your consideration/referral. Also, please submit a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of persons familiar with your stature, contributions, recognition; any honors or awards received; memberships in professional or honor societies; invitations to make presentations at scientific/technical meetings; scientific society office and committee assignments; presentations (other than invitation); and publications. 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. 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.

Education

Basic Requirements for Chemical Engineering Series, 0893
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 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Specified academic courses: Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that include 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.
4. 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.)

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 800 Buchanan Street Albany, CA 94710 US
• Name: Kendra Bledsoe
• Phone: 7032599425
• Email: [email protected]