This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. National Arboretum, Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit, Beltsville, MD. In this position, you will be responsible for leading, planning, conducting, and evaluating research for developing new woody ornamental cultivars with improved tolerances to abiotic stress, diseases, and pests, as well as non-invasiveness.

Duties

Responsible for leading, planning, conducting, and evaluating research for developing new woody ornamental cultivars with improved tolerances to abiotic stress, diseases, and pests, as well as non-invasiveness. Develops and applies molecular tools for identification or characterization of plant germplasm. Elucidate breeding barriers and mechanisms for overcoming them. Determine inheritance or genetic mechanisms for important pest, disease, and ornamental traits using genotyping and phenotyping tools. Introduces novel cultivars, including coordinating the evaluation, propagation, naming, release, and promotion with stakeholders. Establish partnerships with ARS, university, and private sector scientists to build the multi-disciplinary team necessary for this research.

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. Basic Requirements Genetics Series 0440 Degree: genetics; or one of the basic biological sciences that included at least 9 semester hours in genetics. Graduate Education: Genetics, or a curriculum or pattern of training that placed major emphasis on genetics. Graduate study in related fields such as agronomy, horticulture, animal, dairy, or poultry husbandry, entomology, microbiology, plant pathology, chemistry, molecular and cellular biology, and physiology that involved cross-training in genetics is qualifying, provided it placed sufficient emphasis on genetics. Evaluation of Education: Most students in the field take graduate work because specific training in genetics may be limited at the undergraduate level. Under these circumstances, it may be necessary to evaluate undergraduate course work in genetics in one of two ways, as described below, to determine whether or not it is qualifying. Courses dealing with genetics, some phase of genetics, or specific techniques that are applied in genetics work are acceptable. This includes courses in genetics, plant or animal genetics, molecular and cellular biology, mathematics and statistics (as they apply to genetics), population dynamics, and certain techniques such as those dealing with irradiation. Course work consisting of an appropriate combination of basic courses in genetics and cytology or statistics are also acceptable. Additional Requirements In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. GS-12: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or possess an equivalent combination of graduate level education and experience. Graduate education must be directly related to the work of the position and must have equipped applicants with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-12 level of this position are: conducting research related to plant genetics, germplasm, or genomics; utilizing multiple genetic or molecular tools for genotyping and phenotyping plant germplasm; publishing research results in peer reviewed journals related to plant genetics or plant breeding; and collaborating with scientific research teams. GS-13: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-13 level of this position are: experience planning and conducting independent and collaborative molecular, genetic, or biochemical research related to herbaceous or woody horticultural crops; experience developing new or improved varieties of plant species that are important to the horticulture industry; primary authorship of publications of considerable interest and value to the field of breeding, crop improvement, or plant evaluation; and invitations to make presentations to professional societies and others outside the organization on technical matters and practices in the area of breeding, crop improvement, or plant evaluation. 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. 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. Applicants must be available to report for duty at the time a selection is made. Selections are typically made within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Chirag Patel
• Phone: 5716693542
• Email: [email protected]