Research Chemist/Chemical Engineer/Food Technologist

This position is located with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, IL. The incumbent is responsible for conceiving, initiating, directing, and coordinating broad research programs focused on developing technologies and strategies enabling the use of proteins and other components of alfalfa in food and cosmetics applications.

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 Qualification Requirements
Chemistry Series, 1320:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/chemistry-series-1320/
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.
Chemical Engineer Series, 0893:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/chemical-engineering-series-0893/
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org. The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html.
Food Technology Series, 1382:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/food-technology-series-1382/
A. Degree: food technology, or dairy technology, microbiology, biology, chemistry, physics, or a related discipline or field of biological or physical science. The course work must have been comprised of at least 30 semester hours in the basic biological and physical sciences and included at least 20 semester hours in food technology and closely related subjects, or 20 semester hours in subjects that can be applied directly to food technology.
OR
B. Combination of education andexperience: courses equivalent to a major, including the course work specified, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Additional Requirements:
In addition to meeting the basic requirements for at least one of the series described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled.
GS-12: Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related to the duties of the position (i.e., chemistry, chemical engineering, biological engineering, agricultural engineering, food science, food technology, and biochemistry) OR 1 year of specialized (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the federal service OR a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience.
The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-12 level are:

• Conducting research related to alfalfa, grain hay, and/or other legume processing and utilization in foods and non-foods; AND
• Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND
• Presenting research findings at scientific conferences or academic meetings, either in person or virtually.

GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the federal service.
The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-13 level are:

• Leading group efforts and conducting independent research related to alfalfa or grain hay processing and utilization in foods and non-foods; AND
• Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND
• Presenting research findings at scientific conferences and/or stakeholder meetings, either in person or virtually; AND
• Experience in leading a team of scientists to accomplish research objectives.

Education: Please see above for education qualification requirement information.Employment Type: FULL_TIME