This position is located in the Environmental Microbial and Food Safety Laboratory (EMFSL), Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Northeast Area, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, in Beltsville, Maryland. In this position, you will serve as a Biologist on a multi-disciplinary team and works in a broad range of research environments to advance science and practices to control food-borne human pathogens and improve food safety and quality of fresh produce.

Duties

Searches scientific literature for principles, methods, and procedures and selects the most appropriate for the research goals and fiscal resources. Understand the microbial ecology and safety of fresh produce and to mitigate risk of food-borne pathogens. Performs a wide range of research studies pertaining to food safety and quality of fresh and fresh-cut produce, in the research laboratories and the food processing environment. Develops new methodologies, technologies, or equipment for research and monitoring. Uses various software (e.g. Excel, Sigma plot, SAS, etc.) to process and evaluate data and findings. Evaluates findings to assess the effectiveness of the equipment and data collection procedures. Conducts research to evaluate major factors that influence pathogen survival, growth, and inactivation during production, post-harvest handling and fresh cut processing of fresh produce. Develops control measures that limit pathogen proliferation in the supply chain.

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. Basic Requirements: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND 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 conducting biological experiments related to fresh produce and the associated microorganisms (such as E. coli, bacteria, or fungi) of food safety and quality significance; maintaining laboratory instrumentation or food processing equipment; recording experimental data to prepare scientific reports; and using software programs for equipment prototyping or data analysis. OR Education: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include microbiology, food science, horticulture, engineering, plant pathology, and post-harvest plant physiology and technology. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A qualifying combination of Ph.D. level education and specialized experience as described above. Physical Demands: The work often requires standing for prolonged periods of time. In other situations, there may be special requirements for agility or dexterity such as exceptional eye-hand coordination, and lifting up to 50 lbs. Work Environment: Work is performed in diverse environments including the microbial, food chemistry, field or greenhouse, growth chamber, fresh-cut pilot processing facility, and office. The incumbent will at times work in a biological safety level 2 laboratory, be exposed to irritant chemicals and very loud noises, and on such occasions, is required to follow special safety precautions and wear protective clothing and gear such as laboratory coat, safety glasses, hard hat and boots, gloves, and ear protection. 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.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Jared Foret
• Phone: 7032599390
• Email: [email protected]