This position is located within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Northeast Area (NEA), at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. In this position, you will evaluate environmental adaptability, disease and pest resistance, and ornamental merit of diverse, wild- and cultivated plant germplasm for use by industry, the research community, and the public, and to cooperate in research studies which yield new information on woody ornamental plant genetics or propagation.

Duties

Develops new floral, nursery, and turf plants. Detects and controls pathogens in ornamental plants. Improves nursery production systems. Curates woody landscape plant germplasm as part of the National Plant Germplasm System.

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/
• The incumbent is required to obtain and maintain a certified pesticide applicator license and a current driver’s license.
• Safety and Health – The incumbent performs duties in a safe and healthy work environment and exercises caution and maintains all safety requirements.
• FLSA: The position is Exempt from coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Ref: 5 CFR 251.207, professional exemption.

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: A. Degree: horticulture; or a related discipline of basic plant science that included at least 30 semester hours in the basic plant sciences, of which at least 16 semester hours were in horticultural subjects such as those dealing with the breeding, care, management, production, and post-harvest handling of horticultural crops. OR B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in horticulture or a related discipline of basic plant science that included course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Evaluation of Education:Courses in botany, plant physiology, plant taxonomy, plant pathology, genetics, agronomy, horticulture, and similar courses may be used to meet the 30-semester-hour requirement in basic plant sciences. The 16-semester-hour requirement in horticulture includes course work in basic horticulture and course work related to any of the recognized subject-matter fields of horticulture, i.e., fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, nursery work, seed production, or course work in related areas of science, such as micro-biology, entomology, plant pathology, plant physiology, or genetics that is directly related to horticultural work. AND In addition to the basic requirements above, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements: 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 collecting or analyzing plant samples; recording and evaluating scientific data; and operating laboratory or field equipment. OR Education: Successful completion of one (1) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree. Related degrees may include crop science, horticulture, botany, plant physiology, plant genetics, plant breeding, plant molecular biology, or agricultural food and science. OR Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Completion of a bachelor's degree, with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.). Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, as described above. S.A.A. is based on (1) A grade point average of B (a GPA of 3.0 or higher) for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study; OR (2) A grade point average of B (a GPA of 3.5 or higher) for all courses in your major field of study, or those courses in your major completed in the last two years of undergraduate study; OR (3) Rank in the upper one-third of your class in the college, university, or major subdivision; OR (4) Membership in a national honor society (other than freshman honor societies) recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. OR A combination of specialized experience and education 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-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 collecting or analyzing plant samples; participating in a research project related to horticulture or botany; and operating laboratory or field equipment. OR Education: Successful completion of two (2) full year of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree. Related degrees may include crop science, horticulture, botany, plant physiology, plant genetics, plant breeding, plant molecular biology, or agricultural food and science. OR A combination of specialized experience and education 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Juliana Hensley
• Phone: (571) 669-3483
• Email: [email protected]