This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Sidney, MT. In this position, you will actively participate in one or more phases of the soil research process by performing a variety of technical duties in a field or laboratory environment.

Duties

Collect and prepare soil samples in a field environment to evaluate soil bulk density, moisture content, and aggregate stability. Maintain, calibrate, and modify specialized equipment and automated systems used to evaluate, record and transmit experimental results. Tabulate and summarize data using software packages. Search literature for procedures or techniques to evaluate soil physical properties in laboratory, field, or greenhouse studies.

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-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 perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience evaluating soil samples; keeping detailed records of experimental data; and performing analytical techniques in a laboratory or field environment. 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 Soil Science, Agronomy, or Environmental 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 perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience performing soil sampling in a field environment; operating field or lab systems for evaluating soil; and analyzing data using software packages. 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 Soil Science, Agronomy, or Environmental Science. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. GS-08: 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-08 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 calibrating or maintaining field or laboratory systems for evaluating soil physical properties; assisting with the planning of experiments involving soil; and analyzing and summarizing data for scientific reports. OR Education: Successful completion of two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include Soil Science, Agronomy, or Environmental 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 2150 Centre Avenue Building D, Suite 300 Fort Collins, CO 80526 US
• Name: Kayleigh Pfeiffer
• Phone: 703-995-9645
• Email: [email protected]