Biological Scientist

About the role

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. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. TIME-IN-GRADE: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. BASIC REQUIREMENT: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; OR 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 course work. 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. In addition to the basic requirement, applicants must meet the below: FOR THE GS-09 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-07 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Performing laboratory activities to evaluate and characterize biological specimens. Writing and reviewing diagnostic case reports, test validation documents, or standard operating procedures for laboratories. Scheduling, training, the ordering of equipment and reagents, and the periodic maintenance of equipment. OR 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in Microbiology, Microbiology and Genetics, Veterinary Microbiology Immunology, Molecular Biology, Virology Animal Science. 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-09 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.

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