You may qualify at the GS 13, if you fulfill the following qualifications:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service as listed below:
- Comprehensive knowledge of and experience (3+ years) in applying advanced theories, principles, concepts, of the field of microbiology sufficient to plan, coordinate, integrate, implement, and evaluate research and development which address war-fighter requirements in chemical and biological countermeasures within the specialty area of vaccines, immunology, therapeutics, and related fields applicable to the biological medical S&T program.
- Comprehensive knowledge of the scientific principles applicable to pretreatment and therapeutic appropriates and capabilities, and a full working knowledge of the methodology peculiar to that area or field.
- Comprehensive knowledge of and experience (3+ years) with DoD cooperative research and development programs, policies, and procedures in order to plan and execute long-range S&T programs and projects of national and international significance that result in the generation of candidate medical biological countermeasures for the warfighter and beyond.
- Extensive experience (3+ years) and skill in the application of existing theory, unconventional or novel approaches or sophisticated research relating to the development of vaccines, pre-treatment technologies and therapeutics in order to plan, coordinate and direct the implementation of scientific programs and projects involving microbiological investigations and tests.
You may qualify at the GS 12, if you fulfill the following qualifications:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service as listed below:
- General knowledge of and experience (<3 years) in applying advanced theories, principles, concepts, of the field of microbiology sufficient to plan, coordinate, integrate, implement, and evaluate research and development which address war-fighter requirements in chemical and biological countermeasures within the specialty area of vaccines, immunology, therapeutics, and related fields applicable to the biological medical S&T program.
- General knowledge of the scientific principles applicable to pretreatment and therapeutic appropriates and capabilities, and a full working knowledge of the methodology peculiar to that area or field.
- General knowledge of and experience (<3 years) with DoD cooperative research and development programs, policies, and procedures in order to plan and execute long-range S&T programs and projects of national and international significance that result in the generation of candidate medical biological countermeasures for the warfighter and beyond.
- Experience (<3 years) in the application of existing theory, unconventional or novel approaches or sophisticated research relating to the development of vaccines, pre-treatment technologies and therapeutics in order to plan, coordinate and direct the implementation of scientific programs and projects involving microbiological investigations and tests.
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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0403, series as listed below:
Degree: microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry, physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent. Or Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in microbiology, biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Graduate Education: Microbiology, or specific area of study such as bacteriology, virology, mycology, algology, protozoology, parasitology, immunology, serology, microbial genetics, or soil microbiology; or specific applied fields of microbiology such as clinical and public health microbiology, food tech-nology, production processes, industrial fermentation, pollution, etc. Graduate study in related fields such as experimental pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, biochemistry, animal or plant physiology, genetics, plant pathology, and insect disease control, may also be pertinent, provided it has
direct application to microbiological work.
Evaluation of Education: Microbiology is a broad field of science encompassing a number of scientific disciplines or areas of science, the fields in which this science is applied, and related fields where the work is concerned with or involves microbiology. The scientific disciplines or areas of this science include bacteriology, immunology, serology, algology, mycology, parasitology, protozoology, rickettsi-ology, tissue culture, virology, and similar disciplines or areas of science. The applied fields include environmental, food, dairy, soil, industrial, public health, clinical, and agricultural microbiology, and similar areas in which microbiology is applied. Related fields include taxonomy and systematics, plant, animal, or human physiology or pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology, ecology, and similar areas of science
where the work is directly related or applies to microbiology. Except where the course work deals with a limited and specific segment of the science, where it might be limited in usefulness, most of the work, including that dealing with the development and use of microbiological methods, procedures, and techniques, is qualifying. In interpreting the substantive value of the course work, credit may be given for courses in related fields, depending on the degree to which the courses are related to micro-biological work.
Evaluation of Experience: For the GS-11 and higher grade levels of such specialized positions, the experience must have been sufficiently specialized to insure adequate familiarity with the area of specialization or applied field of microbiology, or have direct application in the area for which the applicant is being considered.