Biological Scientist Iv

Join to apply for the BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST IV - role at State of Florida

Requisition No: 867476

Agency:
Agriculture and Consumer Services

Working Title:

BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST IV -

Pay Plan:
Career Service

Position Number:

Salary: $50,584.67 - $55,643.12

Posting Closing Date: 01/13/2026

Contact:
Brad Danner;

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in biological, physical, natural, or agricultural sciences and three (3) years of related professional experience;
• A master’s degree from an accredited college or university as described above and two (2) years of related professional experience as described above;
• A doctorate from an accredited college or university as described above.

Certain positions within this class require individuals to meet specific federal or state regulations as identified by the employing agency. Requires possession of a valid Class E driver license.

Graduates utilizing education attained in the United States to meet the minimum requirements of a position will not be appointed until verification of the applicable degree has been obtained. Foreign trained graduates utilizing a degree attained outside of the United States to meet the minimum requirements of a position must be prepared to provide a copy of a credential evaluation conducted by an Approved Credential Evaluation Agency.

A list of approved agencies can be viewed at “Approved Credential Evaluation Agencies, Florida Department of Education.” Approved Credential Evaluation Agencies (fldoe.org)

• All fields in the Candidate Profile must be completed (an attached resume is not a substitution for the information required on the candidate profile).
• Work history, duties and responsibilities, hours worked, supervisor, and formal education fields, etc. must be filled out to determine qualifications for this position.
• Responses to Qualifying Questions must be verifiable in the Candidate Profile.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services values and supports employment of individuals with disabilities. Qualified individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Moderate travel, including overnight and sometimes up to two weeks at a time on an emergency program, is required.

To maintain fairness and integrity, applicants are required to provide honest and authentic responses during all stages of the evaluation and selection process. Applicants must rely on their own personal knowledge, thoughts, and impressions. A candidate’s use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to answer qualifying questions or participate in interviews will be taken into consideration when determining qualification for the position.

This is a professional position responsible for the survey and detection of exotic and newly established plant pests for the purpose of minimizing or eliminating environmental and agricultural harm. Develops and conducts field surveys for exotic and newly established plant pest detection surveys in natural, agricultural and residential environments. Uses approved sampling methods and equipment to collect laboratory samples. Detects, examines, collects, prepares and submits insects and other arthropods, disease, plant and soil samples indexed to the appropriate technical section for diagnosis and/or confirmation.

Conducts comprehensive pathway analysis for newly emerging pests, pests of limited distribution or pests of state concern (recently detected or not yet detected in Florida and/or the United States). Develops and provides plan of action to supervisor or Division of Plant Industry management team. Attends meetings and workshops and gives presentations to keep the public informed concerning department and Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey program activities.

Maintains proper records of all functions and submits timely and accurate reports of all work performed. Prepares and writes popular and scientific publications based on data compiled from survey and detection studies. These publications are written using standard scientific nomenclature and format and cite references as…