Position Title: Interdisciplinary Research Staff Fellow / Visiting Scientist

Series: This position will be filled in an appropriate occupational series (such as biology, microbiology, chemistry, or related fields) under Title 42 U.S.C. 209(g). An official transcript or a foreign education credential will be required upon selection for the position. A course-by-course foreign education credential may be required depending on the occupational series selected.

Location: Jefferson, AR. Position is Telework Eligible.

Opening Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Closing Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Salary Range: Salary is commensurate with education and experience.

Area of Consideration: All U.S. Citizens or all eligible foreign nationals

Special Notes: This position will be filled as a Title 42 209 (g) appointment. This is an Excepted Service position under Title 42. This appointment does not confer any entitlement to a position in the competitive service. This position is covered by the HHS and NTEU Consolidated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). We may make additional selections for similar positions from this vacancy announcement.

Introduction:

This position is located in the Division of Microbiology, Office of Research, National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation.

NCTR is a multi-disciplinary research center. NCTR’s primary mission is to conduct peer-reviewed research and develop new scientific tools for the FDA to improve public health. This research produces new data and innovative tools to solve complex health issues and anticipated toxicological problems, thus enhancing FDA regulatory decision making. NCTR provides multidisciplinary training and fosters national and international collaborations with scientists from government, academia, and industry.

The Division of Microbiology serves a multipurpose function with specialized expertise to perform fundamental and applied research in microbiology in the area of FDA’s responsibility in toxicology and to respond to microbial surveillance and diagnostic needs for research projects within NCTR and FDA.

Duties/Responsibilities:

NCTR is seeking a highly qualified research scientist, who will serve as an investigator on various research projects and provide technical and scientific implementation of the research projects that support the mission of the Division of Microbiology.

Specific duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conducts research to support key aspects of the Division of Microbiology’s research program.

• May work independently or with a senior principal investigator to support more complex research that requires development of new and/or modification of existing methods using culture-based, genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics techniques to advance the state of knowledge in specialized areas to increase the Agency's scientific capability for efficient and effective regulatory analysis.

• Assists with development / Develops new hypotheses and concepts related to the Division of Microbiology research mission. The methodology employed in these research projects includes wide variety of research approaches including the utilization of cutting edge molecular, genomic, microbial physiology, biochemical and bioinformatic techniques.

• Works independently to plan, organize, and execute experiments or portions of experiments. After completion of the experiments and the appraisal of the data, the incumbent interprets the results.

• Work effectively in a multi-disciplinary team of regulatory scientists and research scientists to enhance accomplishment of FDA’s mission. Work results in contributions that assess and validate the effectiveness of research activities and generates data that may provide direction to major investigatory or scientific projects.

• Interacts with colleagues throughout the Agency in support of the FDA research and missions and exchanges information and ideas with other scientists on the latest developments in the biomedical sciences and current trends in the microbiological sciences.

• Writes / edits research protocols, reports, and manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, as well as maintains current awareness of new and emerging technologies / scientific break-throughs.

• Prepares and reviews technical reports and scientific papers from within and outside NCTR.

• Present research in scientific journals and professional conferences.

Application Procedures:

Candidates must submit a CV and brief statement of interest to:

Steven Foley, Ph.D.

Director, Division of Microbiology

Building 51-131, HFT-520

National Center for Toxicological Research

3900 NCTR Rd., Jefferson, AR 72079

Email: steven.foley@fda.hhs.gov

Additional Announcement Information:

The FDA will provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who are not able to apply by sending a letter or email to the hiring manager, upon request.

Benefits: The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal employees at https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/benefits.

Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require you to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives include the following: moving expenses, recruitment or relocation incentive; student loan repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed military service, etc.