The pay grade for a senior federal scientist runs to the top of the scale

Federal pay runs on the General Schedule, with published pay rates and
tables. For most roles that is the whole story. For senior scientists it is
not, and the exception is worth understanding by anyone considering the move.

The Senior Biomedical Research Service

An SBRS member's salary ranges from GS-15 to Executive Level 1 (EX-1) —
effectively the top of the federal scale.

Who decides where in that range:

• The Director of the CDC can determine pay below EX-II
• **Pay between EX-II and EX-III must be approved by the Secretary of Health
  and Human Services**

That escalation is unusual, and it tells you what the service is for: a route
to pay a research scientist competitively without making them a manager.

Three terms and conditions attached:

• Not eligible for the Physicians Comparability Allowance
• Eligible for performance awards and recruitment, relocation or retention
  bonuses, and for incentive cash awards on the same basis as other employees,
  with the CDC Director's approval
• Only base pay counts for retirement and insurance purposes — the bonuses
  do not build a pension

The rest of the package

**Federal benefits are among the best offered in the private and public
sectors**, with eligibility depending on the position and on whether the job is
full-time, part-time or intermittent.

Incentives and awards include **periodic performance-based within-grade step
increases, cost of living allowances, special salary rates for selected
positions, recruitment and relocation incentives**, and the **Incentive Awards
Program**.

With one honest footnote: incentives and awards are not guaranteed.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.