Scientists (Biological Threat Emergency Response) - CR113, CR603

Are you a Scientist knowledgeable about microbiological, molecular biology, or medical sciences?

Are you ready to make a real impact in a fulfilling career with the Commonwealth?

Protect the Commonwealth and advance your career as a Scientist in our Biological Threat Emergency Response Group, where science drives mission‑critical emergency response.

Title: Scientists (Biological Threat Emergency Response) - CR113, CR603

State Role Title: Scientist I

Hiring Range: $62,000 - $78,000

Pay Band: 4

Agency: Department of General Services (DGS)

Location: DCLS

Agency Website: www.dgs.virginia.gov

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

DGS is seeking two Scientists for our Biological Threat Emergency Response Group (BTER) laboratory at the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services (DCLS). In these positions, you’ll analyze unknown substances to identify biological threats that directly influence public health and safety. Your expertise will strengthen statewide preparedness and support coordinated emergency response efforts.

BTER is an all hazards emergency response laboratory that provides 24/7 laboratory testing services to hundreds of local state and federal agencies including the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and federal partners including but not limited to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Homeland (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

BTER scientists investigate unknown or suspicious substances potentially associated with acts of terrorism using a multidisciplinary approach that enables the detection, identification, and confirmation of biological threat agents. Our team works with a diverse range of sample types including clinical, environmental, and food samples to support public health, environmental protection, and emergency response efforts across Virginia and beyond

This is a full-time, restricted position funded by a federal grant. Continued employment is contingent upon the continued availability of funds. Employees in classified restricted positions are eligible for the state employee benefits package (including leave, healthcare, retirement, etc.). Please refer to DHRM Policy 2.20, Types of Employment and DHRM Policy 1.30, Layoff for additional information.

Job duties include, but are not limited to:

• Perform routine and emergency moderate to high-complexity microbiological, molecular, and/or immunological laboratory testing while maintaining turnaround times and managing workload priorities.
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of test results by maintaining chain of custody, performing QA/QC procedures, troubleshoot testing, documenting maintenance, and ensuring data accuracy in LIMS.
• Maintain professional relationships and provide responsive support to internal and external customers.
• Support DCLS mission through effective teamwork.
• Maintain a safe and compliant work environment by following SOPs, laboratory best practices, and safety protocols, up to and including BSL-3 safety protocols.

This position is located in Richmond, Virginia and must report on-site.

This position also serves on the BTER team's on-call rotation to respond emergency testing required outside of normal business hours and participates in testing rotations during public health emergencies, outbreaks, and pandemics.

We’ve got great benefits!

DGS offers excellent health benefits at affordable pricing, pre-tax spending accounts, paid life insurance, paid Short- and Long-Term Disability benefits, paid holidays, vacation, and other leave benefits, wellness programs, and a state retirement plan with options for tax-deferred retirement savings including employer matching. Additionally, DGS is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. 

Minimum Qualifications

• Ability to work weekends, after-hours as well as on-call coverage on a rotational basis.  The standard hours of work for this position are normal business hours (8:15 AM - 5:00 PM) Monday - Friday.
• Meet Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements for a testing personnel in a high complexity-testing laboratory as defined by 42 CFR 493.1489.
• Knowledge of microbiological, molecular biology, or medical sciences.
• Knowledge of laboratory safety practices and protocols.
• Knowledge of quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures.
• Experience operating and troubleshooting laboratory instrumentation.
• Effective and professional oral and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt in a fast-paced work environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully independently and in a team environment.

Additional Considerations

• Experience working in a biosafety level three (BSL-3) environment.
• Experience working with Select Agents.
• Experience performing nucleic acid extraction from a variety of matrices and performing Polymerase Chain Reaction (Standard and Real-Time) testing.
• Experience performing bacterial cultures, biochemical testing, and other conventional microbiological procedures.
• Experience performing immunoassays.
• Experience with computer interfaced instrumentation.
• Experience with laboratory information management systems (LIMS).

Special Instructions

The online state application must contain all required information and fully respond to questions to be considered for this job opportunity. Please be sure that all of your relevant qualifications and considerations are specifically addressed in your submitted application.

This position has regulatory requirements that necessitate certain qualifications, outlined in the information provided above. If you intend to utilize education to meet these requirements, you must submit an unofficial transcript with your application, including a conferral date.

Prior to your first day of employment, you will also be required to submit official attestations from the organizations at which qualifying training and/or experience was attained. Individuals who have degrees from foreign institutions must have an evaluation of their credentials to determine their education is equivalent to that of a United States (U.S.) institution. Please refer to section 493.2 in the Guidelines for Laboratories and Laboratory Services for additional information.

Online applications should be submitted via jobs.virginia.gov. 

Back to search results Apply now Refer a friend