The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Research Program strives to promote Veteran centered care to improve patient experience and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden. The position is vital within the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the facilities where research programs are conducted.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/16/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" to indicate your current federal status. You must also submit additional SF-50(s) to clearly demonstrate one year time-in-grade as required in the announcement. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate that you possess one year time-in-grade. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one year time-in-grade. Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. AND You may qualify based on your education/experience/combination as described below. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): Positions in this series requires specialized experience related to the work of the position for which application is made. The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Research activity or control program work. Nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment. Work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice. In addition to the IOR, candidates must also meet one of the following requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Knowledge of the basic principles of biological science to assess readings and measurements taken, tests executed, observations made, work completed, and samples collected, assess data and its applicability to the higher objective of a research study, Assess and report on the characteristics and quality of the source of data. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 1 year (18 credits) of graduate education in the field directly related to the position being filled. (Transcripts Required) OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and graduate education. (Transcripts Required) To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-07. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Animal Husbandry Data Management Research Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties. To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp.
VA offers a comprehensive total rewards package: VA Total Rewards Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 6:00am - 2:30pm Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available Telework: Not Available Duty Location Status: Will work from a VA owned or leased space Position Description Title/PD#: Biological Science Laboratory Technician (Animal)/ PD99486S Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Physical Demands: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion such as standing for long periods of time, bending over microscopes, manipulating small parts, and lifting moderate to heavy weights. The work also requires fine motor skills and coordination (hand/eye coordination) in the use of laboratory equipment. Some of the work may need to be performed under hoods. Tasks may involve repetitive motion Major Duties: Prepares samples of blood, tissue, urine, or other organic substance from animal test subjects to provide specimens that effectively support laboratory test, examination, or research procedures. Prepares samples, slides, smears, and diagnostic reagents common to the laboratory. Prepares primary cultures for relatively pure populations of specific cell types to evaluate regulation of cell behavior independent of the animal. Follows standard procedures and applies a practical knowledge of the properties of the specimens to ensure effective presentation of the qualities or characteristics critical for accurate testing or examination. Performs work involving operative and autopsy techniques, gross pathology techniques, special breeding or feeding methods peculiar to the collection and examination of animal cells, fluids or tissue, techniques for administering drugs or other chemical agents, or observations of physiological and behavioral effects of various conditions, agents and stimuli on laboratory animals. Maintains complete and accurate records of all procedures followed and all test results using laboratory databases. Develops and maintains detailed records of all experimental or other protocols. responsible for data analysis including arithmetic calculations, algebra, graphing of data using interactive computer programs and preliminary statistical evaluations. Maintains the laboratory facilities and equipment and controls supplies. Follows the medical center requirements for laboratory function as well as those of federal, state, and other regulatory oversight agencies.