This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Food Systems Research Unit in Burlington, VT. In this position, you will actively perform a variety of microbiological techniques to isolate, detect, and identify foodborne pathogens from various environmental or food samples. It will also involve performing research related to food systems in the field or laboratory environment.

Duties

Perform isolation, detection, and enumeration of pathogenic foodborne microorganisms using aseptic techniques. Maintain, calibrate, and modify specialized equipment including Carbondioxide Incubators, ThermalCycler, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Phase-contrast microscope, and other microbiological instruments. Collect, prepare, evaluate, and verify food and agricultural samples to conduct research experiments. Independently carry out research projects related to food and agriculture. Adapt, modify, and develop new techniques or procedures to satisfy the needs of the research project.

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-05: 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-05 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-04 which is directly related to the work of this position, and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience assisting in one or more phases of a research process related to microbiology in a laboratory setting; and operating common laboratory equipment. OR Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study above the high school level leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position being filled. Related degrees may include Microbiology, Food Microbiology, or Food Science. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. GS-06: 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-06 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 successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience collecting or evaluating food or agricultural samples; keeping detailed records of experimental data; and performing microbiological techniques in a laboratory setting. OR Education: Successful completion of 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 Microbiology, Food Microbiology, or Food Science. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. 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 successfully perform the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience performing microbiological techniques including cell culturing or polymerase chain reaction analysis; analyzing samples using software packages, and maintaining specialized laboratory equipment. OR Education: Successful completion of 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 Microbiology, Food Microbiology, or Food Science. 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 10300 Baltimore Avenue Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Kayleigh Pfeiffer
• Phone: 703-995-9645
• Email: [email protected]