Lead Microbiologist

Full Job Description

This position is located in the Food and Drug Administration and is located in the Center for Tobacco Products, Office of Science, Division of Product Science (DPS) in Silver Spring, MD.

Serve as a Lead Microbiologist and is knowledgeable about the microbiology of tobacco products and understands the regulations and laws applicable to tobacco products.

The position of Lead Microbiologist falls within the 0403 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GS-14, you must meet Time-in-Grade requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 03/31/2026.

Basic Requirements: 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.

AND; Minimum Qualifications: Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

The specialized experience must demonstrate one year of full-time work experience, or the equivalent if part-time (for example, an employee working 20 hours per week for a 12-month period should be credited with 6 months of experience.) Experience may have been obtained in either the federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations.

GS-14: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13, in the Federal service, which includes: working independently or with a team to develop and draft new or revised guidelines, policies and/ or procedures for regulated tobacco products; determining the adequacy of data and tests submitted by manufacturers regarding the safety and public health impact of regulated tobacco products; and remaining current on scientific literature and research to assist with internal research goals.

In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description.

Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment.

The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the percentage of times the other duties were performed.

It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record.

In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above.

PHS Commissioned Corps Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps may apply online to this announcement.

Candidates will be referred to (CC) personnel and not as candidates for conversion to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://secure.login.gov/ select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position.

The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.

Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience.

In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time.

As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.

Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

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. You must submit supporting documentation to verify your eligibility to apply for this vacancy.

For internal applicants an SF-50 will be required. If Educational requirements are listed, you must submit a Transcript, even if you occupy the series/grade in question.

See the Required Documents section for full details...

If you are serving, or have served in the last 5 years (from 03/31/2026) as an Executive Branch political, Schedule C, or Non-career SES appointee, HHS/FDA may be required to obtain approval by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prior to beginning employment.

You can find out if you have held one of these appointment types by looking at your Standard Form 50s in your Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF), in Section 5 where the legal authorities are listed.

If you have served or are currently serving, you must provide a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting this appointment.

In addition, you will be required to respond to the question in the assessment and certify your responses to the questionnaire. Political Appointees FAQ - OPM Major Duties:

• Serving as a technical authority in providing microbiology expertise in dealing with the microbiology aspects of public health issues.
• Reviews documents submitted for regulatory action; advises management on issues related to scientific matters; and provides verbal and written responses.
• Partnering with other government agencies and private organizations to accomplish program objectives.
• Working with complicating factors (e.g., the accepted solution of one issue may be in direct conflict to the accepted solution of another issue).
• Identifying, assessing, and interpreting emerging and precedent-setting issues that impact programs, regulations, and policies as they relate to microbiology.