This position is located within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Headquarters, Northeast Area (NEA), at the Administrative and Financial Management unit in Beltsville, MD. In this position, you will study the effects of climatic variables, agricultural management practices and soil properties on the growth and yields of major agronomic crops. This is a term time-limited appointment with an initial duration no less than 13 months and can be extended up to a total of 4 years.

Duties

Helps set up network access to ACSL shares and databases. Installs and modifies software for data analysis and programming, and PC maintenance. Tests software and databases. Develops data sets for crop model simulations and scripts for manipulating those data. Develops computer simulation models of plant and soil processes and other technologies to help growers, scientists and policy makers asses the effects of soils, management and weather on crop yields and resource use. Assists scientists and technicians with setup and management of computer resources, data management, debugging and testing of computer code, and writing simple programs for data management and access. Develops scripts for managing data and computers.

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 one-year trial 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: Individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below: Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. AND 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-05 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 installing software for programming; manipulating or managing databases; and troubleshooting and resolving IT problems. OR Education: Successful completion of 1 full year of graduate level education leading to a degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Science, Information Systems Management, Mathematics, Operations Research, Statistics, or technology management or graduate degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. OR Superior Academic Achievement: as demonstrated by a bachelor's degree in a related field from an accredited college or university with one of the following. NOTE It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet one of the provisions: A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study; a GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; or membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. 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-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 the installation or maintenance of computer hardware or software; manipulating or managing databases (such as SQL); cleaning and summarizing data; and assisting in developing manuals or web pages. OR Education: Completion of a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in a related major field of study; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. GS-11: 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-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 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 installing and maintaining computer hardware or software programs; developing technical manuals or web pages; formulating, adjusting, or testing code; troubleshooting and resolving IT problems; and utilizing software automation systems. OR Education: Completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a related major field of study; or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. 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 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Juliana Hensley
• Phone: (571) 669-3483
• Email: [email protected]