Please see the following website for full job posting and application link: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/540635500?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

Open & closing dates

 07/31/2019 to 08/21/2019

Salary

$74,596 to $115,313 per year

Summary

The Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit in Wapato, Washington is seeking a permanent, full time, Research Entomologist. The mission of the Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit is to seek new and more effective means to control insect pests of temperate tree fruit and vegetable crops.

Responsibilities

  • Plans, conducts, interprets and reports basic research on insect pests and insect-transmitted pathogens.
  • Develops methods and approaches to manage insect pests and insect-transmitted pathogens of potato and other vegetable crops.
  • Utilizes advanced molecular techniques to confirm pathogen infections in both host plants and vectors, and to identify mechanisms of disease transfer.
  • Oversees the establishment and maintenance of infective and pathogen-free insect colonies in the laboratory to use in the proposed studies.
  • Rears individual insects on selected hosts to investigate vector biology.
  • Conducts extensive field sampling of potato-disease vectoring insects, and uses advanced technologies, such as electrical penetration graph (EPF) technology, to assess the feeding behavior and host preference of disease vectors.
  • Serves on peer review panels (i.e. professional journals, grant review, academic) to review scientific research; and
  • Prepares scientific papers for presentation and/or publication in peer-reviewed research journals.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement (08/21/2019) including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Basic Requirements 0414: Degree in entomology; or a related discipline of the biological or physical sciences that included at least 16 semester hours in entomology OR Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major that included course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Education: Applicants with major fields of study in biology, zoology, or invertebrate zoology may fully meet the basic educational requirements if their academic preparation included substantive instruction (including appropriate laboratory and field work) in basic general entomology, taxonomy, physiology, ecology, general and organic chemistry, general physics, and mathematics or statistics that provided some training in the analysis of variables.

Additional Requirements: In addition to meeting the basic requirements described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below.

GS-12: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or possess an equivalent combination of graduate level education and experience. Graduate education must be directly related to the work of the position and must have equipped applicants with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled.

The specialized experience requirements for the GS-12 level of this position are: Experience in planning and conducting field and laboratory research on biology and ecology of insect vectors of crop pathogens; Experience designing replicated experiments and performing rigorous statistical analyses of laboratory and field data; Experience with molecular biology including conventional or quantitative PCR, transcriptomics, or functional genomics including CRISPR/Cas9; Experience in publication of results in peer-reviewed journals.

GS-13: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled.
The specialized experience requirements for the GS-13 level of this position are: Experience in planning and conducting field and laboratory research on biology and ecology of insect vectors of crop pathogens; Experience designing replicated experiments and performing rigorous statistical analyses of laboratory and field data; Experience with molecular biology including conventional or quantitative PCR; Experience in publication of results in peer-reviewed journals; Experience in epidemiology and plant disease modeling; Experience with grant writing; Experience leading team research in the applicant’s field of research.

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.To be considered for this position, you must submit a one-page abstract of your MS thesis and/or Ph.D. dissertation. Also, submit a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of persons familiar with your stature, contributions, recognition; any honors or awards received; memberships in professional or honor societies; invitations to make presentations at scientific/technical meetings; scientific society office and committee assignments; presentations (other than invitation); and publications.

Applicants must be available to report for duty at the time a selection is made. Selections are typically made within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.