Consumer Safety Inspector

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service; Norwalk (WI); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign-on bonus

Annual leave accrual credit

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Accelerated promotion

Referral bonuses

Job summary

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service in Des Moines District is seeking a Consumer Safety Inspector to ensure safety of meat, poultry, eggs, and other ingestibles. The role includes applying sampling techniques, conducting inspections, and ensuring compliance with federal standards.

Positions at GS-05 to GS-09 levels offer diverse shifts, on-site work, and opportunities for career growth through specialized experience recognition and corporate programs.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience with regulated food commodities and inspection environments.
• Ability to collect samples, perform field tests, and report results clearly.
• Strong written and verbal communication with internal/external contacts.

Responsibilities

• Inspect plants to verify sanitation and compliance with standards.
• Document findings and recommend corrective actions.
• Prepare reports and communicate results to stakeholders.

Skills

Sampling procedures

Quality control

Sanitation standards

Report writing

Verbal communication

Job description

$5,000 Sign on Bonus, Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual, Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, Accelerated Promotion Program , and Referral Bonus Awards are available.

Shifts and species will vary based on assignment. For add'l information call Dr. Jason Schewe 507-381-3911

Employee may be detailed to any shift at any plant in the Des Moines District.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Specialized experience:

Specialized experience is experience that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities or other products for human consumption. Such experience may have been acquired in work such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aide, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or similar position with responsibility for sampling, quality control and sanitation in a food manufacturing or production environment, or similar environment for other ingestible items.

See specific grade level specialized experience definitions below.

For the GS-05 Level: Applicants must have at least 52 weeks of qualifying experience that provided knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food or beverages for human consumption, or other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals. You are to show in your resume examples such as applying proper techniques for collecting samples and/or performing field tests and examinations (e.g. identifying abnormalities in the product or production environment and recommending corrective actions), developing written reports and/or reporting findings of results orally (e.g. documenting abnormalities in the product or production environment and communicating those findings to others), and/or skill in maintaining effective personal contacts with a variety of individuals (e.g. discussing findings with internal or external contacts regarding the food safety standards established in the production environment), or other similar work making determinations on products for human consumption or the production environment (e.g. ensuring conformance with established standards). Such experience may have been acquired working positions such as consumer safety inspector or inspection aid, food inspector, public health inspector, quality inspection specialist, or other related position.

For the GS-07 Level: In addition to the qualifications above, applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 level), and incumbents are expected to have performed standard and recurrent duties on an independent basis. Your resume should demonstrate at least 52 weeks of experience in independently carrying out routine, standard assignments on a regular and recurring basis that provided you with knowledge of the properties and characteristics of regulated food commodities and substances; such as: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or other food for human consumption, and other ingestible substances, such as pharmaceuticals.

For the GS-08 Level: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level). In addition to the qualifications above, experience must include working with the Federal Meat, Poultry, and Egg Products Inspection Acts in order to inspect meat, poultry and egg products; working with basic SSOP and HACCP principles and practices in order to verify plant HACCP and SSOP responsibilities; performing basic mathematics and elementary statistical concepts and methods to perform testing and sampling procedures; and experience in reaching and interpreting conclusions.

For the GS-09 Level: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-08 level). In addition to the qualifications above, incumbents are expected to have experience working at a more independent level than lower graded CSIs, which may include duties such as recommending refusal of exports and providing temporary coverage at locations outside of the official duty station.

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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Please view OPM's Qualifications Standards, Consumer Safety Inspector Series, GS-1862.

The duties of a Consumer Safety Inspector are performed in a hazardous working environment. For additional information, please click here. The below requirements are not an all-inclusive list. Failure to fully meet a functional requirement is not automatically disqualifying.