This position is located in the Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit (FABADRU), at the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF), in Manhattan, Kansas. The 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.
Study factors that permit transmission of these viruses, and the other viruses studied by the FABADRU, to livestock hosts in order to break the transmission cycle and develop methods and countermeasures to prevent and control outbreaks of disease.
0701 Degree: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree, i.e., Veterinary Medical Doctor (VMD), obtained at a school or college of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA). The AVMA website, http://www.avma.org (external link), has a listing of all AVMA-accredited veterinary medical schools.
OR Graduates of foreign veterinary medical schools that are not accredited by the AVMA Council on Education (Refer to AVMA website, http://www.avma.org (external link)for information about schools in this category) must meet one of the following requirements.
Proof of certification of their final transcript by the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) Possession of a permanent, full, and unrestricted license to practice veterinary medicine in a State, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States that includes successful completion of the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE) or its predecessors, the National Board Examination (NBE) and the Clinical Competency Test (CCT).
Proof that the education obtained in a foreign veterinary medical program is equivalent to that gained in a veterinary medical program that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education.
Under this provision, equivalency is established only if an AVMA-accredited veterinary medical school or college accepts the graduate's final transcript from the foreign veterinary medical school at full value for placement into an advanced degree, postgraduate educational program, or training program (e.g. residency or graduate program).
Graduates of foreign veterinary medical programs must also provide proof of proficiency in the English language by successfully completing one of the nationally and internationally recognized examinations that incorporate assessments of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills.
Examples of examinations that assess mastery of the English language are shown below: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) - Minimum scores for the TOEFL are 560 for the paper-based version; 220 for the computer-based version; or overall score of 83 for the internet-based version (including 26 or higher in speaking, 26 or higher in listening, and 17 or higher in writing).
For the computer-based and paper-based test versions, applicants must also complete the Test of Spoken English (TSE) and the Test of Written English (TWE). Minimum required scores are 55 for the TSE and 5.5 for the TWE; Academic tests (listening, writing, and speaking) offered by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 7.0, with at least 7.0 in speaking, 6.5 in listening, and 6.0 in writing; OR Canadian Academic English Language Assessment (CAEL). Applicants must achieve a minimum overall band score of 70, with at least 60 in speaking, 60 in listening, and 50 in writing.
0403 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 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 technology, 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, rickettsiology, 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 ensure 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.
Krystall.Williams@usda.gov · 571-347-3455
This position is with Agricultural Research Service, Department of Agriculture.
The posted pay range is $89508 – $192331/yr.
This position is eligible for telework.
This position requires a Secret security clearance.
Applications close on 2026-12-07.
This position is open under the 'Fed Transition' hiring path.
Source: USAJOBS.gov — U.S. Federal Government · Retrieved 2026-11-06 · Not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM or USAJOBS.gov
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