This position is located on the Soil Management and Sugar Beet Research Unit, in Fort Collins, Colorado. The incumbent serves in the project titled "Development of Sugar Beet Germplasm Enhanced for Resistance to Important and Emerging Plant Pathogens" within National Program 301, Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement. The incumbent's research assignment focuses on molecular genetics and genomics research using molecular and computational biology tools and techniques.

Duties

Manages a research program, including personnel, equipment, and fiscal resources following agency mission and scientific procedures, requirements, and protocols. Uses molecular and computational biology tools and techniques to validate candidate disease resistance genes identified from sugar beet and wild relative germplasm. Characterizes the molecular mechanisms and pathways for candidate resistance genes to develop direct molecular markers for breeding. Mines genetic diversity in homologous genes from candidate pathways from germplasm collections to guide new trait discovery. Elucidates molecular genetic interaction between sugar beet germplasm and their major pests/pathogens to support the project goal of accelerating sugar beet breeding for disease resistance and improved sustainability of sugar beet production. Develops collaborations and communicates technical information pertaining to molecular genetics and genomics research with a variety of individuals, including government officials, scientific and academic communities, etc.

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. Minimum qualification requirements are found in the OPM Qualification Standards Operating Manual for General Schedule Positions. Basic Requirements (Biological Sciences Series 0401) Degree: Biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. Related disciplines include plant molecular biology, plant cellular biology, plant biology, plant genomics or plant genetics. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Appropriate experience includes first author publications peer-reviewed journals in the disciplines of plant molecular biology, plant cellular biology, plant biology, plant genomics or plant genetics. Additional Requirements In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. GS-14: Must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience requirements for the GS-14 level of this position are: Experience leading research or experiments with independent and collaborative research related to plant responses to pathogens. Experience leading research or experiments with independent and collaborative research related to plant responses to pathogens. Experience identifying and characterizing molecular interactions and structures, with demonstrated research in molecular biology and/or structural biology involving the application of molecular and biophysical techniques. Experience conducting and reporting research in plant molecular biology, plant cellular biology, plant host-pathogen interactions, or plant genomics research. Experience collaborating with multiple internal and external stakeholders. Experience producing multiple publications as the primary and/or corresponding author that are of interest and value to the field plant molecular biology, plant cellular biology, plant biology, plant genomics or plant genetics research. Presenting research results related to the field of molecular biology, cellular biology, host-pathogen interactions, genomics or genetics research as an invited speaker at national or international conferences. 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

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.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 2150 Centre Avenue Building D, Suite 300 Fort Collins, CO 80526 US
• Name: Michelle Malott
• Email: [email protected]