Biological Science Technician

Duties Summary

This position is located in the Pacific West Area at the Plant Germplasm Introduction and Testing in Prosser, WA. You will participate as a team member with the scientist in all phases of the research process and assumes full technical and operational responsibility for specific phases of the research.

Requirements and Qualifications

• Time in Grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet the time in grade requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.
• GS-07 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience comparable to GS-06, directly related to the work, including supporting and conducting service and research related to managing forage legume germplasm in a laboratory, greenhouse and/or field environment; collecting or evaluating forage legume seed and samples; operating and maintaining laboratory equipment; and recording or analyzing scientific data. OR Education: Successful completion of one full year of graduate level education leading to a Master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related (related degrees may include Crop Science, Biology, Biochemistry, Food Science, and Genetics). OR A combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above.
• GS-08 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience comparable to GS-07, directly related, including experience supporting and conducting service and research in projects related to forage legume plants germplasm plant pathology screenings, or pre-breeding and genetics; collecting, summarizing and finding trends and outliers in data; and maintaining equipment and automated systems used for test and evaluation procedures. OR Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related (related degrees may include Genetics, Biology, Molecular Biology, Botany, Plant Pathology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Cereal Chemistry). OR A combination of education and experience as described above.
• GS-09 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience comparable to GS-08, directly related, including experience setting up and conducting experiments or research projects related to forage legume germplasm plant pathology screenings; collecting, preparing, and evaluating plant samples for traits or inoculations, crosses or laboratory analyses, and supporting records; and summarizing research results for preparation in scientific reports or manuscripts. OR Education: Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related (related degrees may include Genetics, Biology, Molecular Biology, Botany, Plant Pathology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Cereal Chemistry). OR A combination of education and 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.
• Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. What we do matters in science and the world. For more information about Agricultural Research Service, go to https://www.ars.usda.gov/.