Ops Biological Scientist

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Requisition No: 868116

Agency:
Agriculture and Consumer Services

Working Title:

OPS BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST I -

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in biological, physical, natural, or agricultural sciences. Certain positions within this class require individuals to meet specific federal or state regulations as identified by the employing agency.

Educational

Note:

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 must 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.”

• 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.

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.

General Statement: This is a professional position responsible for assisting with duties that support the Division of Plant Industry Entomology Section in the areas of Pinned-Wet-Slide and Lepidoptera collections.

• Conservation of collections, as assigned by the supervisor. Replacing or upgrading storage containers, replenishing preservatives, monitoring for pests, labeling storage units, complete processing of incoming materials, discarding unwanted or degraded materials.
• Sorting and identification of specimens, labeling materials, and other processing of samples to completion for long-term storage and availability.
• Improve efficiency in assigned areas by helping maintain and organize resources and curation of collections.
• Process specimen shipments, including incoming and outgoing packages and associated paperwork.
• Digitization projects, including inventories, data capture and organization, and photography.
• Other related work as assigned by the supervisor.

Travel may be requested to help facilitate activities associated with current section, bureau or division duties, including grant projects, farm bills and/or pest surveys, public outreach, and emergency programs.

Performs other duties as required by management.

• Knowledge of digitization, data entry, and high-resolution photography.
• Knowledge of current systematic practice and theory, specimen curation and preparation procedures.
• Knowledge of basic laboratory safety procedures.
• Knowledge of basic arthropod taxonomy and ability to learn morphological characters.
• Skill in using compound and stereo microscopes.
• Skill to remove tissues from insects for DNA analysis.
• Skill in using keys and other identification methods.
• Skill in organization of physical objects.
• Ability to lift 25 lbs. and bend repetitiously.
• Ability to use laboratory computer applications (email, data processing, spreadsheet, database, word processing) in a networked environment.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate work…