Biological Scientist

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (DOA)

Manhattan (KS)

On-site

USD 75,000 - 97,000

Full time

2 days ago

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Job summary

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in Manhattan, KS is seeking a biological scientist for the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. The role involves designing and executing diagnostic assays, interpreting data, and maintaining strict records to support foreign animal disease diagnostics.

The position is permanent, full-time at GS-11 level with occasional travel and a background in laboratory methods and data interpretation.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date, including specialized experience and/or education.
For GS-11, one year of specialized experience or PhD or 3 years of grad education in relevant fields.
Combination of education and experience as described above is acceptable.

Responsibilities

Assists with design, execution, interpretation and reporting of experiments for diagnostic assays.
Performs assays for detection of antigens, nucleic acids and antibodies indicating foreign animal disease.
Operates equipment including thermocyclers, DNA sequencers, ultracentrifuges, flow cytometers, robotics, and electrophoresis apparatus.
Maintains records of literature, select agent inventories, quality control, and experimental logs.
Coordinates receipt and shipping of biological materials to support FADDL mission.
Conducts quality assurance, quality control and inventory activities.

Skills

Laboratory techniques

Education

Biological sciences degree

Tools

Thermocyclers

DNA sequencers

Ultracentrifuges

Flow cytometers

Robotics equipment

Electrophoresis

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a biological scientist within the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL). The key functions of the FADDL are the diagnosis of animal diseases foreign to the United States, the development and validation of diagnostic tests and reagents for foreign animal disease diagnosis, training and proficiency testing of state diagnostic laboratory personnel in diagnostic assays for exotic livestock diseases, generating and providing standards to be used in diagnostic assays.

Location

Manhattan, KS (2 vacancies)

Telework eligible: Yes (as determined by the agency policy).

Remote job: No.

Relocation expenses reimbursed: No.

Salary

$74,678 – $97,087 per year

Pay Scale & Grade

GS 11

Work Schedule

Full-time

Travel Required

Occasional travel – You may be expected to travel for this position.

Appointment Type

Permanent

Occupations and Job Series

0401 General Natural Resources Management And Biological Sciences

Supervisory Status

Federal Service Type

Competitive Service

Drug Test

Yes

Security Clearance

Secret

Position Sensitivity and Risk

Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk. Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job. Background check type: Credentialing, National security.

Announcement Number

DH-13103674-FY27-VS-HYR

Control Number

891108200

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

The duties may include, but are not limited to:

Assists with the design, execution, interpretation and reporting of experiments and experimental data associated with development and validation of new or modified diagnostic assays.
Performs assays for the detection of antigens, nucleic acids and antibodies indicating the presence of a foreign animal disease.
Operates sophisticated laboratory equipment including thermocyclers, DNA sequencers, ultracentrifuges, flow cytometers, robotics equipment, and electrophoresis apparatus.
Maintains a current knowledge of the literature with particular focus on foreign and emerging animal diseases of livestock, including diagnostic testing, reagent production vaccine production, etc.
Maintains accurate records of select agent inventories.
Coordinates receipt and shipping of biological materials to support FADDL mission.
Maintains accurate records regarding developmental, testing, and quality control procedures performed.
Conducts Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Inventory activities.
Assists in the development of new technologies to support the FADDL mission.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

You must be a US Citizen or US National.
Individuals who were born male 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. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
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/
Testing Designated Position: Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use.
All USDA employees are required to be enrolled in Continuous Vetting, which authorizes government agencies to receive notifications of criminal activity on individuals who hold low risk, public trust, or national security positions.

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 REQUIREMENT: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

Combination of education and experience: post high school education with courses equivalent to a major, which is defined as 24 semester/36 quarter hours, in the biological sciences, agriculture, natural resources management, chemistry or related disciplines appropriate to the position, PLUS appropriate experience or additional coursework. The quality of the combination must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above.

FOR THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: GRADE LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

Designing, optimizing, or validating diagnostic assays, including interpreting experimental data and preparing technical reports.
Performing laboratory diagnostics using microbiological methods, virus isolation techniques, and molecular biology procedures such as PCR, RT-PCR, sequencing, or other nucleic acid-based tests.
Maintaining precise laboratory records, including select agent inventory tracking, quality control documentation, and experimental logs.

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in the fields of Microbiology, Microbiology and Genetics, Veterinary Microbiology Immunology, Molecular Biology, Virology Animal Science, or closely related.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.

TRANSCRIPTS are required if:

This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified.
You are qualifying for the position based on education.
You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education.
This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university.

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level.
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 must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be well qualified, which means having knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies that exceed the minimum qualification requirements for this position. CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100 to receive selection priority.
First time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected.
Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expense associated with reporting for duty will be the responsibility of the selected employee.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case‑by‑case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.
For the health and safety of the incumbent, and to prevent the spread of disease, immunization against diseases being studied at FADDL which are transmissible to humans may be required where the vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safety and effectiveness under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, as amended 21 USC 321-392. Where the vaccine has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for investigational purposes, the incumbent will be advised that such immunization is voluntary.
Must apply strict safety regulations to prevent the escape of pathogens from the laboratory which may include restrictions on contact with livestock outside of the laboratory.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full‑time, part‑time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This is a Direct-Hire Authority position, all applicants who meet the minimum qualifications, to include any specialized experience and/or selective placement factor(s), if applicable, will be referred to the selecting official. Before a certificate is issued to the selecting official, your application is reviewed to ensure that you meet all the qualification requirements. A rating will not be used; veteran’s preference does not apply due to the existence of the Direct Hire authority for this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):