Chemist

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 Requirements A. Degree: physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics. OR B. Combination of education and experience-course work equivalent to a major as shown in A above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND in addition to meeting the basic education requirement above, 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 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 participating in a chemical experiment or chemical research project related to horticulture; operating laboratory equipment; performing physical tests and laboratory analysis of biological samples; and devising experimental protocols to help meet research objectives. OR Education: Successful completion of two full years of graduate level education or a master’s degree, if directly related to the position. Related degrees may include chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, agricultural chemistry, food science, analytical biochemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacology, toxicology, and horticulture. OR A combination of graduate 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 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 designing and executing new experimental techniques related to chemistry; providing technical guidance for a chemistry research program; performing thin layer chromatography or planar chromatology technique while conducting research; and determining the proper experimental approach for a chemical experiment or chemical research project related to horticulture. OR Education: Successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related. Related degrees may include chemistry, biochemistry, analytical chemistry, environmental chemistry, agricultural chemistry, food science, analytical biochemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacology, toxicology, and horticulture. OR A combination of 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.
This position is located at the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station, Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Area, in Miami, FL. In this position, you will be providing environmentally sound research on pest management for tropical and subtropical fruit and ornamental crops to provide control/eradication strategies of exotic plant insect pests. This is a temporary position with a not-to-exceed date of 1 year and may be extended for up to 1 additional year (24 months of total service)