AGRICULTURAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST III

Position will be located at a New State of the Art Salisbury Animal Health Laboratory due to open Spring 2022!

16

27722 Nanticoke Rd. Salisbury, MD 21801

To support Agency mission to prevent and control infectious disease of livestock and poultry and assure consumer confidence by conducting veterinary analytic and diagnostic tests in the assigned regional laboratory of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. This employee has the lead responsibility for technical and scientific work performed in the serology and immunology diagnostic program and performing backup duties for the microbiology and molecular laboratory sections. This position is considered an essential employee for continuity of operations purposes.

Acts as the lead Agricultural Scientist responsible for all serologic testing performed in the laboratory and assist in planning, implementing and evaluating of new laboratory procedures for the serology laboratory.  Responsible for the ordering and developing of testing costs and budgets for serological and immunological tests.  

Provides backup to Agricultural Laboratory Scientists performing parasitology and bacterial identification using automated MALDI-TOF and Vitek 2 equipment. Will provide assistance to the molecular diagnostic lab to perform Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (rRT-PCR) testing for Avian Influenza, Swine Influenza Virus and Newcastle Disease.  Both primary and backup testing responsibilities will be performed according to ISO 17025 requirements and the laboratories’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). 

Lead and train other laboratory employees in technical details regarding the procedures performed in the serology laboratory.  Maintains accurate records of worksheets and test results, as required by Federal and State guidelines, as periodically inspected by Laboratory Supervisor and others.   

Some weekend and evening duty required in the event of a disease outbreak or other assigned agency activity. May involve occasional overnight travel in and out of state.

Education:   A Bachelor’s degree in the biological or chemical sciences from an accredited college or university including one course in general microbiology and one course in pathogenic, clinical or medical microbiology.

Experience: Two years of experience performing laboratory analysis work in a biological, chemical, food, commercial, animal health, medical or public health laboratory.

Notes:

1. Experience performing veterinary analytical, diagnostic, and epidemiological laboratory testing work may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for the required education.

2. A Master’s degree in the chemical or biological sciences from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

3. A Doctorate degree in the chemical or biological sciences from an accredited college or university may be substituted for the required experience.

4. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in natural resources management and biological science classification or natural resources management and biological science specialty codes in the animal science field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience and education.

Experience using either enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), Serum Plate Agglutination and Agar Gel Immunodiffusion (AGID) in a laboratory that includes test setup, troubleshooting and interpretation of results as a primary responsibility.      

Experience performing laboratory diagnostic and analysis work by conducting tests in multiple assigned areas, such as microbiology, mycology, parasitology and molecular diagnostics.    

Experience performing diagnostic testing in an ISO 17025 or other accredited diagnostic laboratory.

1. Candidates for some positions may be given a medical examination to rule out color blindness.

2. Employees in this classification must be willing to undergo and maintain rabies immunization.

Please make sure that you provide sufficient information on your application to show that you meet the qualifications for this recruitment. All information concerning your qualifications must be submitted by the closing date. We will not consider information submitted after this date. Successful candidates will be ranked as Best Qualified, Better Qualified, or Qualified and placed on the eligible (employment) list for at least one year.

STATE OF MARYLAND BENEFITS

For questions concerning this recruitment, please contact: Kathleen Newhouse at 410-841-5837 or kathleen.newhouse2@maryland.gov

The online application process is STRONGLY preferred. If you are unable to apply online, you may mail a paper application to: Maryland Department of Agriculture Human Resource Office, Room 304, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway Annapolis, MD 21401. If you are unable to upload, you may mail, hand-deliver or fax (HR Fax # 443-602-9831). All paper applications must be received by 4:30 PM on the closing date, no exceptions. (Postmarks not accepted.) Resumes will NOT be accepted in lieu of completing the online or paper application.     

TTY Users: call via Maryland Relay As an equal opportunity employer, Maryland is committed to recruiting, retaining and promoting employees who are reflective of the State’s diversity. People with disabilities and bilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. We thank our Veterans for their service to our country.