Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Research Chemist

Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
VEGETABLE CROPS RES
This job announcement has closed

Resumes limited to two pages

Starting on September 27, 2025, federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length. Sign in to your profile and update your resume now.

Summary

The incumbent will be a postdoctoral research chemist in the Vegetable Crops Research Unit and will work as part of an integrated research team that develops novel strategies for improving cranberry production and crop utilization along with evaluating and broadening the knowledge base of cranberries, focusing on characterizing fruit composition and quality.

Overview

Help
Job canceled
Open & closing dates
05/05/2023 to 05/03/2024
Salary
$69,107 to - $107,680 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Madison, WI
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
RA-23MWA-L-11953964-JML
Control number
724162100

Duties

Help
  • Conducts research to elucidate the correlations between cranberry fruit quality attributes and sweetened dried cranberry (SDC) processing outcomes by integrating data from various physicochemical analyses.
  • Develops instrumental techniques to assess the key quality attributes of cranberry fruits, including chemical composition, internal structure, and firmness, as well as those of SDC products, such as visual appearance, flavor, taste, and texture.
  • Laboratory approaches will include HPLC, rheological analysis, texture profile analysis (TPA), and X-ray CT scanning.
  • Collaborates with food scientists, geneticists, and plant physiologists to interpret data, report findings, and enable to select varieties suitable for specific product quality attributes or processing conditions.
  • Assists the development of pre- and post-processing technologies that improve cranberry product acceptability and nutritional value.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
  • Direct Deposit ? Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
  • Appropriations Law and Immigration Law requirements must be met

Qualifications

Knowledge of the current methods used in the physicochemical characterization of food materials, including techniques used in texture or rheological analysis and structural analysis are highly desirable.

Applicants must meet basic Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standard's requirements of the scientific discipline necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position.

Chemistry Series, 1320

Basic Requirements:
  1. Degree: physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics.

    OR

  2. Combination of education and experience - course work equivalent to a major as shown in 1 above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement. You must submit a copy of your academic transcripts OR a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify education when applying for this position. If this information is not provided, your education may not be appropriately evaluated and you may lose consideration for this position. If you are selected for this position, you will have to provide an official copy of your transcripts prior to entering on duty. Application materials will not be returned.

A Ph.D. is required that was obtained recently.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application will be evaluated to determine if you meet eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, and on the extent to which your application shows that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with the position as defined above under "Qualifications".

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.