Responsibilities The duties may include, but are not limited to: Provides support and technical guidance for laboratory personnel and external customers on LIMS issues; database queries. Participates in the design of primers and molecular probes for PCR, next generation sequencing, microarrays and other new technologies. Recognizes vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in laboratory databases and information management systems and participates in the development of plans to solve such issues. Collaborates and consults with diagnosticians, bioinformaticists, IT and program staff to analyze problems and recommend technology based solutions for a wide range of veterinary diagnostic assays. Assists the preparation of USDA sponsored training courses for state, Federal and university personnel. Compiles and organizes scientific data on veterinary diagnostics for presentation to local, regional, national and international meetings. Travel Required Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. Supervisory status No Promotion Potential 11 Requirements Conditions of Employment 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 Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. 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 E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/ 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: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Writes and performs database SQL queries based on requests from customers and staff. Aligns sequence files and develops primers for sequencing or PCR based on those alignments and queries from national databases such as NCBI. Writes and documents procedures for data entry and data retrieval in laboratory information management systems (LIMS) OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree in the fields of Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, Genetics or Statistics or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree 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-11 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. Education Please see Qualifications Section above for educational requirements.
