This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit in Columbia, MO. In this position, you will actively participate in one or more phases of the research process by performing a variety of technical duties in a laboratory, field, or greenhouse.

Duties

Operates equipment to plant, maintain, and harvest crops and collect data. Maintains, calibrates and modifies complex specialized crop production equipment incorporating computer control and data collection. Safely applies pesticides in the field and maintains required records. Searches literature pertinent to area of research for new procedures or techniques. Adapts, modifies, or develops new techniques, procedures, and specialized equipment to satisfy the needs of the research project. Maintains records, locates and compiles data and other information from various sources.

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-7 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 participating in a research project; statistically analyzing or summarizing data; and maintaining and operating crop production equipment in a 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: Biology, Soil Science, Crop Science, Horticulture, Agricultural Systems Management, Environmental Science, or Agricultural Science. OR A combination of graduate level education and experience as described above. GS8 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 participating in one or more phases of a research process; collecting crop or soil samples; and operating and maintaining specialized crop production equipment to collect data in a field research environment. 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: Biology, Soil Science, Crop Science, Horticulture, Agricultural Systems Management, Environmental Science, or Agricultural 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 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Frances Ozyurt
• Phone: 703-259-9383
• Email: [email protected]