Entomologist

Summary

See below for important information regarding this job.

Duties

• Serves as the DLA Pest Management Program Manager , acting as the agency's point of contact (POC) and technical authority on all matters related to integrated pest management (IPM), medical entomology, and Force Health Protection (FHP).
• Provides comprehensive program oversight, develops long-range strategic plans, and advises Agency Senior Leaders on IPM methods to prevent critical economic and health losses.
• Serves as the certifying official for all DoD Pesticide Applicator Certifications held by the DLA workforce. Represents the Agency as a voting member of the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB).
• Conducts in-depth investigations and special studies (e.g., population evaluations, contractual evaluations) to resolve issues not susceptible to standard methods.
• Develops plans to prevent and control medical and economic issues caused by pests, disease vectors, and Invasive Alien Species (IAS).
• Develops and disseminates technical guidance, communication materials, and operational guidelines for novel situations.
• Monitors DLA installation compliance with all DoD, Federal (e.g., EPA), and international regulations, coordinating with other government agencies on shared FHP initiatives and providing expert assistance to local medical authorities and commands.
• Serves as the budget officer for DLA’s Safety and Occupational Health (SOH) Office including the management of the Fiscal Year (FY) Annual Operating Budget (AOB) for Defense Working Capital Fund (DWCF) and Appropriated funds as required.

Qualifications

To qualify for an Entomologist, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Basic Requirement: A Bachelor's Degree or higher in entomology; or a related discipline of the biological or physical sciences that included at least 16 semester hours in entomology. Applicants with major fields of study in biology, zoology, or invertebrate zoology may fully meet the basic educational requirements if their academic preparation included substantive instruction (including appropriate laboratory and field work) in basic general entomology, taxonomy, physiology, ecology, general and organic chemistry, general physics, and mathematics or statistics that provided some training in the analysis of variables. OR Combination of education and experience - Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A. above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform work in the occupation, and is comparable to that normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate fields. In addition to courses in the major and related fields, a typical college degree would have included courses that involved analysis, writing, critical thinking, research, etc. These courses would have provided an applicant with skills and abilities sufficient to perform progressively more responsible work in the occupation. Therefore, creditable experience should have demonstrated similarly appropriate skills or abilities needed to perform the work of the occupation. Education must be from an accredited college recognized by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. If using education completed outside the U.S., it must be submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. YOU MUST SUBMIT TRANSCRIPTS. Failure to submit transcripts will result in a rating of ineligible. AND B. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-14 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade (General Schedule (GS) positions only), time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes: Serving as the designated agency technical authority for medical entomology, vector borne disease surveillance, biosecurity, and Force Health Protection (FHP) across multiple installations or contingency locations to resolve vector-borne disease threats, conduct population evaluations, and advise on facility pest mitigation. Certifying pesticide applicators and coordinating/approving pesticide use plans ensuring compliance with applicator certification requirements. Overseeing the collection, reporting, and permanent archiving of pesticide application records in accordance with federal regulations (FIFRA, NEPA) and DoW records management policies. Designing, directing, and executing agency or enterprise-wide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. 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, religious, 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. Physical Demands: Some travel (10-25%) is involved conducting field surveys to obtain samples and assess conditions. There may be some walking, standing, bending and climbing, including the potential for travel to austere environments and/or lifting of moderately heavy objects. Work Environment: The work is usually performed in an office environment. However, during field visits there is the potential for exposure to toxic chemicals and physical stress. Work involves exposure to moderate risks and discomfort. Incumbent may be required for periods of time to work in uncomfortable outdoor climates, such as very hot and humid, and wear uncomfortable protective and safety clothing and equipment when conducting survey and evaluation operations; encounter hostile wildlife; exposure to vectors in areas of endemic arthropod-borne disease transmission; exposure to chemical and physical hazards for which protective precautions are required or mandated by law. Certain immunizations as recommended by the medical authority may be required.

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level. You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application. GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study. FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/25/2026. After submitting your online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take any additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you do not receive the email invitation to the assessment and you meet the minimum qualifications for the position, you should contact https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket to request the email be re-sent. Requests to re-send invitations to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments must be received by https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket BEFORE the close of the JOA. If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements. NOTE: Set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application. You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/articles/29113644431764-Requesting-an-accommodation. To preview the questionnaire, please go to https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13062514.