Department: Department of Agriculture
Location(s): Manhattan, Kansas
Salary Range: $89508 - $192331 Per Year
Job Summary: This position is located at the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF), within in the Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit (FABADRU), in Manhattan, Kansas. The Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit's (FABADRU), mission is to protect animals from domestic, exotic, and emerging arthropod borne animal pathogens and provide information to enhance U.S. competitiveness in international trade of livestock.
Major Duties:
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: Positions in the GS-0701 series must meet basic qualifications as found in the Education section below. In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements, Specialized Experience must also be met. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL (0403 Series Only): Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: 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. Independently implementing scientific principles, methods, and processes to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry into animal diseases and host-pathogen relationships dealing with the zoonotic arthropod-borne viruses. . FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL(0401 SERIES ONLY): Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Experience in animal and/or arthropod work collecting samples for molecular analysis in compliance with US government animal welfare regulations and experience independently researching the molecular virology of zoonotic arthropod-borne viruses as evidenced through publications. FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL (0701 SERIES ONLY): Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Independently implementing scientific principles, methods, and processes to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry into animal diseases and host-pathogen relationships dealing with the immunology against animal zoonotic viruses. OR Successful completion of a Master's degree in an area of specialization including, but not limited to: animal science, avian medicine, food safety, infectious diseases, veterinary clinical sciences, pathobiology, biomedical sciences, veterinary anatomy, veterinary preventive medicine, comparative biological sciences, epidemiology, veterinary parasitology, molecular veterinary biosciences, public health, microbiology, pathology, immunology, laboratory animal medicine, toxicology, wildlife, zoological animal medicine, or other sciences related to the work of a veterinary medical officer position. OR RESIDENCY/POST GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE GS-12 GRADE LEVEL: Successful completion of two years of an internship, residency program, or fellowship training program in a discipline related to the position. Applicants should provide a certificate or letter documenting the completion of this program. FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL (0701 SERIES ONLY): Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Experience in animal work collecting samples for immunological analysis in compliance with US government animal welfare regulations and experience independently researching the immunology of zoonotic viruses of agricultural concern as evidenced through publications. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-13 GRADE LEVEL: Successful completion of a PhD degree in an area of specialization including, but not limited to: animal science, avian medicine, food safety, infectious diseases, veterinary clinical sciences, pathobiology, biomedical sciences, veterinary anatomy, veterinary preventive medicine, comparative biological sciences, epidemiology, veterinary parasitology, molecular veterinary biosciences, public health, microbiology, pathology, immunology, laboratory animal medicine, toxicology, wildlife, zoological animal medicine, or other sciences related to the work of a veterinary medical officer position. OR RESIDENCY/POST GRADUATE TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE GS-13 GRADE LEVEL: Successful completion of three years of an internship, residency program, or fellowship training program in a discipline related to the position. Applicants should provide a certificate or letter documenting the completion of this program. OR BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR THE GS-13 GRADE LEVEL: Specialty boards that are recognized by the American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS) of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) certify eligible candidates as specialists in specific veterinary medical fields. Veterinarians who successfully complete all requirements for Diplomate status in an ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty organization may qualify for the GS-13 grade level. Applicants should provide a certificate or letter documenting their diplomate status. FOR THE GS-14 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Experience leading the planning and implementation of molecular virology based study against zoonotic arthropod-borne virus based diseases with accomplishments in virology and host-vector-pathogen interactions as demonstrated in scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals, books, or similar scientific literature. FOR THE GS-15 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-14 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: A reputation that serves as a recruiting tool for your organization and experience in research that has led to international recognition as a technical authority and leader in the immunology of animal zoonotic viruses. Research that has led to awards, honors, or recognition from major national and international organizations. Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-14 or GS-15 grade levels. 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 further support your qualifications, it is strongly recommended that you submit a one-page abstract of your MS thesis and/or Ph.D. dissertation. Failure to do so could result in loss of your consideration/referral. Also, please 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.
How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.
Application Deadline: 2026-06-03