This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Produce Safety and Microbiology Research Unit in Albany, CA. In this position, you will be responsible for serving as part of a research team conducting microbial research and evaluating microbial, plant, and DNA/RNA samples for analysis and supporting records.

Duties

Participate in one or more phases of the microorganism research process by performing a variety of complex technical duties, in a laboratory, field, or greenhouse environment. Perform functions with microbiological, environmental, or plant samples such as collecting bacteria and measuring their populations, analyzing samples with chemical assays, and analyzing nucleic acids by PCR, RT-qPCR, Omics, or sequencing. Adapt, modify, or develop new techniques and/or procedures to satisfy the needs of the microorganism research project. Participate in the research process by performing a variety of technical duties related to microbiological research such as: inoculate and recover bacteria from various samples and manipulate bacteria with DNA. Perform the full range of techniques and studies using a variety of specialized laboratory and field equipment. Work with, modify, and analyze by molecular and chemical approaches bacteria and plants using: incubators and plant growth chambers, biosafety cabinet, centrifuges, DNA cyclers, microscopes, microplate readers and spectrophotometers.

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 one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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. GS-07 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-07 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience participating in a research project related to microorganisms; statistically analyzing or summarizing microbial data; and maintaining equipment and automated systems used for test and evaluation procedures. OR Education: One full year of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include biology, microbiology, food microbiology (if related to safety of produce), molecular and cell biology, plant pathology, or plant microbiology. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. GS-08 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-08 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience participating in one or more phases of a microorganism research process; collecting and analyzing microbial samples and DNA samples, such as by polymerase chain reaction (PCR); and operating, maintaining, calibrating, or modifying specialized equipment. OR Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include biology, microbiology, food microbiology (if related to safety of produce), molecular and cell biology, plant pathology, or plant microbiology. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. GS-09 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-08 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience setting up and conducting an experiment or research project related to microbiology; collecting, preparing, and evaluating microbial, plant, and DNA/RNA samples for analysis and supporting records; and summarizing research results for preparation in scientific reports or manuscripts. OR Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include biology, microbiology, food microbiology (if related to safety of produce), molecular and cell biology, plant pathology, or plant microbiology. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. 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

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 800 Buchanan Street Albany, CA 94710 US
• Name: Chirag Patel
• Phone: 5716693542
• Email: [email protected]