Geneticist

This position is located in Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Field Organization, Midwest Area, Corn Insect and Crop Genetics Research in Ames, IA. The position works with the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (MaizeGDB). The MaizeGDB is a community-oriented, long-term federally funded service to researchers focused on the crop plant and model organism Zea mays.

Major duties

• Responsible for data curation required to maintain research data long-term so it is available for reuse and preservation for the MaizeGDB project.
• Provides guidance and advise on computational biology methods, techniques, and results to other ARS scientist in the Management Unit.
• Formulates hypothesis, plans and carried out experiments, addresses experimental problems and solicits input from other geneticists and scientists.
• Conducts studies using the genomic approaches to identify genome structure and regulation to integrate new data with the MaizeGDB phenotype dataset .
• Manage the MaizeGDB Editorial Board and curate data from papers selected by Board members on a quarterly basis.
• Technical resource to the project in the areas of genetics, plant breeding, molecular biology and development.
• Collaboratively develops timelines on formatting data and provides instruction to maize researchers to better utilize MaizeGDB.
• Create documentation on contig and physical maps and gene function.

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: genetics; or one of the basic biological sciences that included at least 9 semester hours in genetics. In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. 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 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 experience collaborating with laboratory and computational scientists to develop improved data warehousing approaches supporting crop genetics research. Providing technical guidance to researchers and scientists on computational biology methods, data formatting standards. Conducting genomic studies to characterize genome structure and regulation. OR Education: Successful completion of three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, if directly related to the position. Related degrees may include Plant Pathology, Genetics, Genomics, Molecular Biology, Biology, or related fields. OR A combination of graduate level education and specialized 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.

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.