Biological Scientist II: Plant Pathology & Diagnostics

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requisition no:876201

agency: agriculture and consumer services

working title: biological scientist ii -

florida department of agriculture and consumer services

division of plant industry

*** open competitive opportunity**
*

contact:

minimum requirements:

a bachelor’s degree (4 years) from an accredited college or university with a major in biological, physical, natural, or agricultural sciences and one (1) year of related professional experience;
or

a master’s degree (6 years) 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.

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 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)

*** attention candidates**
*

to be considered for a position with the florida department of agriculture and consumer services:

• 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.

additional requirements:

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

notes:

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.

job duties:

general statement: this is a professional position responsible for performing a variety of biological tasks related to diagnosis of fungal and oomycete diseases in plants, as well as identifying abiotic plant disorders.

assists with routine diagnostic activities, including the isolation of fungal and oomycete plant pathogens, execution of molecular protocols for pathogen identification such as dna extraction, polymerase chain reaction (pcr), quantitative pcr (qpcr), and sanger sequencing, as well as provide support for ongoing experiments. Maintains dna samples and keeps dna database accurate, organized and up to date. Responsibilities include accurately cataloging submitted samples, preparing culture media and reporting diagnostic results to other specialists for verification when necessary.

receives and processes plant and soil samples submitted to the plant pathology section. Lead investigations of unknown fungal and oomycete plant diseases in the absence of the supervisor and assist with literature research. Provide support during on-site visits to assess urgent plant health issues when necessary.

assists in conducting serological and molecular tests to support and confirm morphology-based identification methods. Serve as a member of the department’s multidisciplinary molecular team, which supports botany, entomology, nematology,…