USDA Is Hiring 228 Workers in Edinburg, Texas, With Possible On-Site Offers at a Nov 17-19 Hiring Event

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin hiring for 228 positions at the New World Screwworm (NWS) Sterile Fly Production Facility in Edinburg, Texas, in a release dated November 10, 2026. You can apply on USAJOBS or walk into a hiring event in McAllen from Nov. 17-19, 2026, where hiring managers interview on the day and APHIS lists on-the-spot job offers for select positions. For Metaintro readers in the Rio Grande Valley, this guide covers which jobs are open, what each group pays, how the hiring fair works and what an earlier Insect Production Worker posting at the base asked for.

What Is USDA Hiring For in Edinburg, and How Many Jobs Are There?

The jobs are at the new New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility at the Moore Air Base in Edinburg, where construction will be completed in April 2027.

The roles belong to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), whose staff Under Secretary Dudley Hoskins called vital to defending our nation against invasive pests and diseases that could devastate the agricultural industry. APHIS is hiring hundreds of professionals across multiple career fields, from scientific and technical roles to skilled trades, safety, administrative support and IT.

USDA gave a breakdown of the Edinburg positions by job group, listed in the News4SA hiring story.

• One hundred twenty-five skilled trades, craft, and laboring positions
• Eighty-two biological sciences and laboratory support positions
• Eight administrative and support positions
• Seven occupational safety and health positions
• Six information technology positions

So the majority of jobs are skilled trades, craft, and laboring positions, as well as biological sciences and laboratory support positions, and there are a few job openings for administrative, technology and occupational safety and health positions. The FOX 26 Houston story lists as unknown how quickly the USDA expects to fill all 228 roles or when the initial wave of new hires will begin training.

What Do the Five Job Groups Pay?

USDA shared a starting salary and the most common pay range for each group, listed in the News4SA story on the hiring push. These are annual salaries for each job group.

• Skilled trades, craft and laboring roles start at $29,725 a year, and most commonly earn between $36,409 and $47,334.
• Biological sciences and lab support roles start at $36,409 a year, and most commonly earn between $55,882 and $72,644.
• Administrative and support roles start at $74,678 a year, and most commonly earn between $89,508 and $116,362, the same bands USDA gave for the safety and health roles.
• IT roles start at $89,508 a year, and most commonly earn between $106,437 and $138,370.

On the earlier Edinburg posting, first time hires to the federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected.

Which Job Titles Is APHIS Recruiting For?

A sample of the types of positions that will support the new sterile fly production facility is posted by APHIS, and these openings include entry‑level, mid‑career, supervisory, and specialized roles.

The facility operations, maintenance and production list on the APHIS Moore Air Base page includes Laborer, Laborer (Tractor Operator), Laboratory Worker, Sheet Metal Worker Helper, Lead Maintenance Worker, Maintenance Worker, Maintenance Mechanic, Supervisory Insect Production Worker, Insect Production Worker, Water Treatment Plant Operator and Laundry Technician.

The lab titles on the same APHIS page are Supervisory Biological Science Lab Technician, Biological Science Lab Technician and Plant Protection and Quarantine Technician. These staff apply biological principles and laboratory practices to ensure the quality and efficiency of sterile fly production.

The other lists on the APHIS hiring page cover the rest of the site.

• Safety roles include Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist and Occupational Health Nurse, listed on the APHIS careers page.
• Operations roles include Management Analyst, Supervisory Management and Program Analyst, Program Analyst (Assistant Chief of Staff), Supervisory Program Analyst (Chief of Staff) and Supervisory Facilities Operations Specialist, also on the APHIS careers page.
• IT roles include three IT Specialist titles covering systems analysis, customer support, system administration and data management, plus an IT Project Manager, on the APHIS careers page.

Lab applicants can develop and showcase laboratory skills in their job search before the fair.

How Does the McAllen Hiring Event Work?

The event is at the Embassy Suites by Hilton McAllen Convention Center, 800 Convention Center Blvd. in McAllen, Texas. It runs Nov. 17-19, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, CST, and hiring managers will be on site and conducting interviews during the event.

At the fair you can meet hiring managers and subject matter experts, submit applications in person and interview onsite, as listed on the APHIS hiring fair page. Offers are not promised for every role. APHIS lists on-the-spot job offers for select positions, and USDA said job offers may be made during the event, according to the News4SA report.

There is no sign-up step, because you don’t need to register for the fair, and attendees should bring a two-page resume.

This hiring event gives people who may never have considered working in government an opportunity to join a mission worthy of the challenging work, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Dudley Hoskins said, according to the USDA press release.

How Do You Apply on USAJOBS Before the Event?

Applying early can save you a wait. The APHIS plan was that all job openings will be posted online at USAJOBS the week before the hiring fair, and you can apply online ahead of time to have an interview scheduled in advance or be able to go right into interviews at the onsite event.

The search link USDA gave filters APHIS openings in Edinburg, Texas on USAJOBS. APHIS encourages applicants to create or update a USAJOBS profile before applying.

On the earlier Edinburg posting, the resume cannot exceed two pages, a federal resume rule to plan around, and only one resume is reviewed. That posting also warned applicants that your answers to the vacancy specific questions must be supported by the work experience in your resume, so a yes on a skills question needs a matching line on the page.

On the same posting, experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, so religious, community and other volunteer work can count, since the posting gave credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

What Did an Earlier Edinburg Listing Ask For?

An Insect Production Worker posting for Edinburg, TX opened on 07/10/2026 and closed on 10/09/2026, so it is not one of the new openings. It was a WG 4 role, and its listed duties included work where the worker cleans the chambers and the surrounding of the dispersal facility. The details below come from that earlier posting, not from the new production plant listings.

That posting offered 35 vacancies, with hourly pay of $23.56 - $27.53. It was a full-time, permanent role on the USAJOBS posting, and this position does not have an education qualification requirement.

The work is hands-on. The role performs routine, repetitive assignments involved in insect mass production, packaging, storing, sterilization, and delivering of insects, and its listed duties may include work where the worker prepares and weighs out different rearing media and diet ingredients and assembles and disassembles production chambers.

The conditions of employment on that USAJOBS posting are worth reading before you apply.

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• The job is subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check, and new staff must successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
• Protective clothing and eye protection are mandatory for some tasks, and a medical evaluation and clearance by a Federal Occupational Health doctor is required before mandatory fit-testing for wearing protective masks.

What Benefits Come With These Federal Jobs?

Pay is only part of the package. Federal employees can also receive healthcare insurance, including dental and vision, and retirement benefits.

Federal health options include the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. Federal employees can also choose health, dental, vision, and life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and long-term care insurance plans.

For trades and laboring roles, weigh the health and retirement cover as part of the offer, not just the salary, and compare government job benefits with the private sector before you decide.

What Will the Facility Do, and When Does It Open?

At the plant, NWS flies are raised and sterilized using irradiation before being released in targeted areas, and because female screwworm flies mate only once, mating with sterile males results in eggs that do not hatch.

It will be the first U.S.-based sterile fly production facility. It is anticipated to begin producing 100 million sterile flies per week in 2027 and approximately 300 million sterile flies per week once it is operating at full capacity.

The timing has more than one milestone, so read the dates side by side. Building work will be completed at the Texas facility in April 2027, and APHIS is preparing to open the facility in spring 2027. At the April groundbreaking, USDA gave a target of initial operational capability targeted for November 2027, reaching production of 100 million sterile flies per week. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing engineering, design, construction management, and contract oversight for the project. The construction contract went to M. A. Mortenson Co., a construction and development firm based in Minnesota, under a $610 million construction contract issued through the Army Corps.

Whether you are beginning your career or bringing years of experience, APHIS offers meaningful work that has a direct impact on the health, safety, and economic well-being of our Nation, according to the APHIS Moore Air Base hiring page.

Why Is USDA Building This Plant in South Texas?

The current US outbreak began in June after the parasite was detected in a calf in Zavala County, and Texas has had at least 69 confirmed cases so far this year, with cases also found in parts of Arizona and New Mexico.

Fertile screwworms infest living tissue of warm-blooded animals and pose a threat to livestock and wildlife, but they are not a food safety concern because they do not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other food sources. Before the current outbreak, a March Texas Farm Bureau article gave estimates that a return of the screwworm to the US could cause $2.1 billion in losses to the Texas cattle industry and $9 billion to the state’s hunting and wildlife sector.

For now, USDA funds two sterile fly production facilities in North America, both outside the US. The facility in Panama is the backbone of current efforts, producing 100 million sterile flies per week, and the facility in Mexico opened in June 2026 and continues to ramp up production.

The Edinburg plan goes back to an August 2025 announcement of a $750 million facility in Edinburg that will produce about 300 million sterile screwworm flies per week. The same August 2025 announcement covered an $8.5 million screwworm dispersal facility then under construction at the same air base, designed to take larvae produced in Panama or Mexico, continue growing them, and distribute the hatched sterile flies to sites of infestation. USDA was also ramping up the hiring of mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, at the time.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

Our take is that this drive has the most room for people who work with their hands, since skilled trades, craft and laboring positions make up the biggest group in USDA's breakdown. A fair where hiring managers will be on site and conducting interviews gives you a chance to meet the people who decide, rather than waiting on an online queue.

• Apply on USAJOBS before the fair. Use the APHIS Edinburg search on USAJOBS to have an interview scheduled in advance.
• Bring a tight resume. Keep it to the length set out above, and every skill you claim in the questions needs a line that backs it up.
• Read the pay band, then the posting. The bands above cover whole job groups, so check the grade and range on the listing you pick.
• Plan for the checks. Read the conditions of employment on your posting, like the ones listed on the earlier Insect Production Worker posting.

Brush up on common interview questions by job title before the fair, since you may interview the same day you apply.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: A hiring fair where offers are possible for select roles rewards the people who show up ready. Apply online first and bring the resume that matches your answers.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs is USDA hiring for in Edinburg, Texas?

A: USDA is hiring for 228 positions at the New World Screwworm (NWS) Sterile Fly Production Facility in Edinburg, Texas, and the majority of jobs are skilled trades, craft, and laboring positions, as well as biological sciences and laboratory support positions.

Q: When and where is the USDA hiring event in McAllen?

A: The event is at the Embassy Suites by Hilton McAllen Convention Center on Nov. 17-19, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, CST, and you don’t need to register.

Q: Do I need a degree for the USDA screwworm facility jobs?

A: USDA has not published education rules for the new roles as a group. An earlier Edinburg Insect Production Worker posting, which is not one of the new openings, stated that this position does not have an education qualification requirement.

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