Microbiologist

This position is in the Foreign Animal Disease Research Unit (FADRU), NBAF in Manhattan, KS. The mission of FADRU is to conduct basic and applied research on foreign, high consequence diseases of livestock that have high socio-economic consequences and that could be introduced naturally, accidentally, or deliberately into the United States. These diseases include such as foot-and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and African swine fever.

Major duties

• Maintains laboratory and computational SOPs, stage-gate QC criteria, and version-controlled, containerized workflows with senior oversight to enable reproducible analyses under high-containment operational constraints.
• Defines cross-project acceptance thresholds, harmonizes metadata standards, and ensures the auditable lineage of data, code, and results to support decision-making by research leadership.
• Serves in a training capacity advising scientists and program leaders on platform pairing and method selection that align with program priorities and regulatory expectations.
• Assists with designing analytical strategies, overseeing data curation at scale, interpreting viral genomics, host transcriptomics outputs to delineate virulence determinants, host-response signatures, and regulatory networks central to pathogenesis.
• Develops multi-omics integration workflows with a higher-graded specialist and/or the Research Leader that unify genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, microbiome layers, harmonizing ontologies and metadata to support cross-study comparability.

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. In addition to meeting the basic education requirement listed in the Education section of the announcement, all applicants must meet the following minimum qualification requirements GS-09 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-09 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07 which is directly related to the work of this position, or its non-Federal equivalent that included experience preparing, processing, and evaluating biological samples; applying established molecular biology, microbiology, and virology techniques to support research objectives; and collecting, organizing, and interpreting experimental data. OR Education: Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree, if related. Related degrees may include Microbiology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or Public Health. OR An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. GS-11 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-11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-09 which is directly related to the work of this position, or its non-Federal equivalent that included experience coordinating and independently executing advanced molecular biology and genomic research activities; preparing technical reports and scientific documentation; advising researchers on sequencing methodologies and analytical approaches; overseeing sample logistics and data curation efforts; and applying biosafety and biosecurity principles. OR Education: Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if related. Related degrees may include Microbiology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, or Public Health. OR An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. Physical Demands:

• Laboratory work requires extended periods of walking and standing, recurring bending and stooping, especially while conducting detailed experiments and analyses. Work requires sustained attention to detail, with frequent stress of short deadlines for action. Working Environment:
• Work is performed primarily in a laboratory under rigid Agency Safety Rules and Regulations. Risks involve working with or begin exposed to radioactive material, possible contagious diseases, chemicals, and possible burns from autoclaves and sterilizers, and possible injury working with and around laboratory equipment. The incumbent is required to wear protective clothing depending on the experiment and situation. At a minimum, this includes laboratory coat, safety glasses, and gloves. 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

Basic Requirements A. Degree: microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent. OR B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in microbiology, virology, biology, genetics, biochemistry, chemistry, or basic medical science that included courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Graduate Education: Microbiology, or specific area of study such as bacteriology, virology, mycology, algology, protozoology, parasitology, immunology, serology, microbial genetics, or soil microbiology; or specific applied fields of microbiology such as clinical and public health microbiology, food technology, production processes, industrial fermentation, pollution, etc. Graduate study in related fields such as experimental pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, biochemistry, animal or plant physiology, genetics, plant pathology, and insect disease control, may also be pertinent, provided it has direct application to microbiological work. Evaluation of Education: Microbiology is a broad field of science encompassing a number of scientific disciplines or areas of science, the fields in which this science is applied, and related fields where the work is concerned with or involves microbiology. The scientific disciplines or areas of this science include bacteriology, immunology, serology, algology, mycology, parasitology, protozoology, rickettsiology, tissue culture, virology, and similar disciplines or areas of science. The applied fields include environmental, food, dairy, soil, industrial, public health, clinical, and agricultural microbiology, and similar areas in which microbiology is applied. Related fields include taxonomy and systematics, plant, animal, or human physiology or pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, ecology, and similar areas of science where the work is directly related or applies to microbiology. Except where the course work deals with a limited and specific segment of the science, where it might be limited in usefulness, most of the work, including that dealing with the development and use of microbiological methods, procedures, and techniques, is qualifying. In interpreting the substantive value of the course work, credit may be given for courses in related fields, depending on the degree to which the courses are related to micro-biological work. Evaluation of Experience: For positions at GS-9 that involve a substantial amount of work in a specific specialized area or applied field of microbiology, at least 6 months of the experience must either have been in the appropriate area of specialization or applied field of microbiology, or have direct application in the area for which the applicant is being considered. For the GS-11 and higher grade levels of such specialized positions, the experience must have been sufficiently specialized to insure adequate familiarity with the area of specialization or applied field of microbiology or have direct application in the area for which the applicant is being considered.

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. 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 https://www.e-verify.gov/. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period unless previous federal service is creditable. During this time your employment will be evaluated, and we may consider: your performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government, and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Motor Vehicle or Commercial Driver's License Required. Drug Test Required. Vaccine(s) Required. Special Physical Requirements/Demands (May wear full encapsulated suit). SAC and full background investigation required for positions working with BSL-3 (or higher) agents, or in BSL-3/BSL-4 facilities. Other: Department of Justice (DOJ) Security Risk Assessment (SRA) approval is required. National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) clearance is required. Immunizations may be required. Respirator fitting and certification is required.