BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST I - 42001490 (FOR INTERNAL AGENCY EMPLOYEES ONLY)

Requisition No: 848302 

Agency: Agriculture and Consumer Services

Working Title: BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST I - 42001490 (FOR INTERNAL AGENCY EMPLOYEES ONLY)

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 42001490 

Salary:  $48,000.16 

Posting Closing Date: 03/10/2025 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST I

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES

DIVISION OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY

 ***INTERNAL AGENCY OPPORTUNITY --
ONLY CURRENT EMPLOYEES OF THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES WILL BE CONSIDERED***

CONTACT:

David Simon, (321) 697-1413

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 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) 

Requires possession of a valid Class E driver license.

***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:

Incumbent must pass a pulmonary function test with medical evaluation, must undergo and pass regular respirator fit-testing, and must wear a respirator when required.  Will be subject to the requirements of the proper use of appropriate respirator.

Occasional travel required.

Some alternate work hours required to accomplish duties and responsibilities.

JOB DUTIES:

Provides high quality analysis on a variety of Bacteriology testing; processes specimens and conducts bench work analysis for bacterial identification and antimicrobial sensitivity.  Reads biochemical reactions accurately.  Consistent in colonial morphology description to correspond to bacterial identification.  Must target five (5) days turnaround time from processing, reading the culture, identifying and reporting test results accurately and in a timely manner through the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

Assist in the evaluation of fungal culture, microscopic examination and reporting.

Incumbent will assist with cross-training activities for personnel from other sections and participate in cross training to acquire skills in the activities of other sections within the laboratory.

Performs Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM) swabs culture; reads the culture plates for seven (7) days by following the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) guidelines; and reports the negative results through LIMS without failing the turnaround time. 

Performs detailed laboratory work; submits all send out tests with documentation in the specified timeframe on the suspected colonies.

Assist in the development and validation of new tests and testing media within the section.

Prepares in-house culture media, agar, broth and slants.  Vigilant in Quality Control (QC) practices on media, reagents and equipment.  Reports any variations or deviations on media, reagents and stain reaction.  Disposes or discards expired media and reagents.

Cultures, subcultures, and maintains reference QC bacterial strains.

Ensures the Quality Assurance (QA) procedures are performed (or submits request to perform by vendor contract) and documents as required. Assist in evaluation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for revisions and changes in testing.

Assists in the preservation of the unusual or new bacterial isolates in glycerol broth and maintains a spreadsheet record. Isolate and archive target isolates for Vet-LIRN and NALHN AMR projects.

Responsible for maintaining equipment and instrument records in Q-Plus for the bacteriology section according to standard operating procedures.

Reviews scientific literature in order to keep current with new procedures for bacteriology section and recommends procedures which might improve laboratory services.  As required, incumbent is also responsible for training new personnel.

Maintains supplies of test kits, reagents, and other materials and informs the section supervisor to generate purchase requests well before stock is depleted.

Tracks, conducts and maintains all inventory records for section.

Conducts testing and reporting of the tests in the laboratory sections for which they have been cross-trained. Assists, when assigned, Shipping and Receiving with the processing and accessioning of samples received and the packaging and shipping of samples forwarded to outside laboratories. Performs timely and accurate accessioning procedures including data entry into LIMS. 

Performs other related duties as required.  

The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida

Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck.  The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits including:

• Annual and Sick Leave benefits;
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal holiday each year;
• State Group Insurance coverage options, including health, life, dental, vision and other supplemental insurance options;
• Retirement plan options, including employer contributions (For more information, please visit www.myfrs.com;)
• Flexible Spending Accounts;
• Tuition waivers;
• And more!

For a complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.

For an estimate of the total compensation package for this position, please visit the “Total Compensation Estimator Tool” located above under the “Posting Closing Date.”

SPECIAL NOTES:

The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.