Microbiologist III

Chenega Corporation•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

Come join a company that strives for Extraordinary People and Exceptional Performance! Chenega Government Mission Solutions, LLC, a Chenega Professional Services’ company, is looking for a Microbiologist III to support the Clinical and Environmental Microbiology Branch (CEMB). CEMB is a large laboratory branch which is home to The National Reference Lab, comprised of several teams such as the Antimicrobial Resistance and Characterization Laboratory (ARCL), the Antimicrobial Resistance (AR) Bank, the Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance team, part of our Office of Laboratory Strategies Analytics, several Applied Environmental Labs, the Healthcare Environment Applied Research Team, Biofilm and Microbial Control team, and our Outbreak Response Lab. Our company offers employees the opportunity to join a team where there is a robust employee benefits program, management engagement, quality leadership, an atmosphere of teamwork, recognition for performance, and promotion opportunities. We actively strive to channel our highly engaged employee’s knowledge, critical thinking, innovative solutions for our clients.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
4+ years of experience.
Knowledgeable of aseptic techniques, laboratory and material safety.
Experience with or knowledge of QMS and CLIA.
Experience with or knowledge of Quality Assurance procedures.
Must be attentive to detail and organized, especially related to documentation and record-keeping.

Responsibilities

Provide laboratory operation, testing, data analysis and communication support to the National Reference Lab.
Complete required lab maintenance tasks such as daily lab and room equipment temperature recordings, weekly eye wash station flushes and Reverse Osmosis (RO) water system checks as detailed in the CEMB General Equipment Calibration and Maintenance procedure.
Calibrate laboratory equipment according to procedure.
Acknowledges requests from Quality Management System (QMS) manager within two work days; develops, revises, and reviews laboratory procedures, complies with training and competency requirements (including participation in proficiency testing); submits documentation of nonconforming event (NCE) within one week of the occurrence.
Maintain a safe work environment through required trainings, safety policies, and documentation of safety related issues; addresses deficiencies identified in health and safety audits in timely fashion; maintains chemical reagent and other hazardous substances inventories according to relevant guidelines.
Routinely responds to each customer request within 24 hours of initial contact, at a minimum to confirm receipt of the request, while ensuring that the most accurate and complete information is communicated to the customer as it is available.
Scan and upload sample testing documents into the electronic laboratory management system (ELIMS) monthly.
Perform specimen accessioning in ELIMS and maintain specimen storage inventory in FreezerWorks or other inventory system.
Request and receive supplies needed for laboratory operations and testing through CEMB Visa SharePoint System.
Track sample and isolate requests from external laboratories for AR Surveillance projects, ARCL Reference testing, AR Special Studies, and/or AR Bank isolate panel activities.
Review RedCap AR Alerts data at least weekly and request isolates for AR testing.
Track sample testing status and results in JIRA for AR Bank daily/weekly.
Coordinate sample shipments or AR Bank Isolate Panels with requestors, laboratories and CDC shipping and export team.
Inventory lab reagents, supplies, and other items at least weekly and submit ordering request to Subject Matter Experts (SME)/project leads for approval.
Develop and validate methods (genotypic/phenotypic) for characterization of pathogens associated with healthcare associated infections for Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and/or Quality Manual for Microbiological Laboratories (QMML) compliance.
Perform aseptic technique, processing, and enumeration of bacterial populations daily/weekly as determined by project workload.
Perform cultivation, isolation, strain identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST), AR characterization and classification of healthcare associated, and emerging pathogens daily/weekly as determined by project workload.
Perform conventional and molecular microbiologic techniques for the isolation, identification, and subtyping of healthcare associated and emerging pathogens daily/weekly as determined by project workload.
Perform DNA extraction and evaluation of DNA quality and quantity.
Perform next-generation sequencing and / or metagenomic analysis of samples.
Perform conventional and real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and data analysis.
Prepare media, drug stocks, panels, labeling and dispensing robots operations or other steps associated with pouring of antimicrobial reference broth microdilution (BMD) panels.
When involved with CDC emergency response efforts conduct relevant microbiologic and molecular typing techniques to rapidly identify and characterize pathogens.
Perform molecular detection of antimicrobial resistance genes in a variety of bacterial genera using conventional and multiplex real-time PCR, as well as microarray-based methods for detection of currently circulating β-lactam resistance genes in Enterobacteriaceae.
Draft, edit, or finalize written documents, reports, and analyses or various scientific projects and programs.
Meet with SME/project leads at least monthly to discuss testing results and plans.
Provide a weekly project update in writing to SME/project leads detailing testing status, issues, future scheduling, and other relevant laboratory information.
Develop and implement methods and procedures to collect data and conduct experiments and studies, making adjustments in methods and procedures as appropriate.
Develop, revise and review project protocols and documents according to QMS guidelines.
Analyze data from scientific projects and programs using CDC provided statistical programs (e.g., Excel, SAS, R, BLAST, etc.).
Coordinate and participate in regular meetings relating to ongoing activities/projects for the relevant team (AR Bank, ARCL, or AR Surv).
Communicate with external customers and partners as needed via phone and/or emails. This may include status of testing, results, status of orders, requirements, or other items as determined by the project/activity.
Prepare written protocols, documents, reports, and analyses or various scientific projects and programs using Excel and PowerPoint, as well as sequence tools such BLAST and GenBank.
Lead or provide guidance to laboratory scientists training on various analytical methodologies employed in AR projects.
Serve as a laboratory safety committee representative for respective team (AR Bank, ARCL, or AR Surv) and share relevant knowledge with team.
Site visit travel as required by CEMB to educate personnel at regional lab, state public health labs (SPHL), federal partners (FDA, CMS, EPA, NASA), or international partners as part of GAIHN and GARLRN on isolate testing protocols, data reporting, and data use as it relates to expanded testing of additional new drugs. Site visits will not occur on a routine basis, but timing and need will be determined by requests of external partners and concurrence of CDC Program.
Travel as required by CEMB to update the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) Subcommittee on expanded testing related to new drugs or other relevant working groups. CLSI AST Committee Meetings occur two times a year however attendance may not be required at each meeting. The need for attendance will be determined by the CLSI AST meeting agenda and programmatic need for attendance.
Other duties as assigned.