Duties
In-Office Requirement:
The U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General values collaboration, teamwork, and effective communication to foster our dynamic working and learning environment. The position adheres to our agency's telework policy to facilitate this and requires an in-office presence of at least two days per pay period. Remote work is not available for this role.
The Research and Insights Solution Center (RISC) is the chief data and research component of the OIG, comprised of data scientists, data analysts, programmatic subject matter experts, geographic information system professionals, data engineers, research specialists, economists, and public policy analysts. Our analytics group offers the opportunity to drive value to the organization by designing and developing analytical solutions for auditors, investigators, and researchers.
The RISC analytics group is currently seeking an experienced Data Engineer and Full Stack Developer who will provide expert-level advice around data engineering to build data pipelines using sound DevSecOps. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining data pipelines, web applications, and machine learning workflows.
The USPS OIG uses a Pay Banding system, which is equivalent to the Federal GS scale. Grade and salary determinations will be made based upon a candidate's education and professional experience.
This position is being advertised at the Journey Band level, equivalent to a GS-9 to GS-11. The salary range for this position is $68,405.00 - $107,590.00. The salary figures include locality pay. Promotion potential to a GS-13 equivalent is at management's discretion.
Please note that the duties and responsibilities associated with this position may vary based upon the agency's needs at the time of hire. The following description of major duties and responsibilities is only intended to give applicants a general overview of the expectations.
- Work with cross-functional teams to deploy scalable data solutions on cloud platforms such as Azure, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
- Design and implement data warehousing solutions that support analytics and data science initiatives, using advanced knowledge of database structures, data models, and performance optimization techniques.
- Develop and manage automated data pipelines to maintain data integrity, deploy machine learning models, and facilitate collaboration with data scientists and analysts.
- Use programming languages and tools like Python, Databricks, and Azure Data Lake to manipulate structured and unstructured data, creating efficient and scalable data pipelines.
- Integrate diverse data sources, including flat files, relational databases, SaaS applications, and web services using techniques such as JDBC/ODBC connections, REST APIs, and web scraping.
- Implement monitoring solutions, troubleshoot and resolve performance and production issues within data pipelines, leveraging findings to propose process improvements.
- Assess new data engineering tools and technologies, providing management with recommendations for enhancing data operations.
- Apply agile methodologies using tools like Azure DevOps and Git to streamline development processes.
- Design and develop responsive web applications using modern front-end frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue.js) as part of full-stack development initiatives.
- Oversee the software development lifecycle, ensuring automated testing and quality assurance for data and analytics products.
- Create and integrate RESTful APIs with back-end services to enhance system interoperability and data accessibility.
- Development automated solutions to improve operational efficiency and data governance.
- Provide strategic recommendations regarding data architecture and integration to meet evolving needs.
- Work closely with data owners to establish and enforce data quality and documentation standards.
- Collaborate with data analysts, data scientists, investigators, auditors, and researchers to address and fulfill the data requirements of the organization.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. citizen
- Must be able to pass a drug screening and medical assessment questionnaire.
- Must be able to pass a background investigation
- Must be able to obtain and maintain Moderate Background Investigation security clearance
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a government-issued credit card
- May be required to successfully complete a 12-month probationary period
Qualifications
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
You must meet ALL of the minimum qualifications listed below.
- Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university
- Must have specialized experience in building and maintaining data pipelines in cloud-based tools such as Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake, or similar platforms
- Must have specialized experience with Python or SQL
- Must have at least 1 year of specialized experience with containerization and building CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, Azure DevOps, or Jenkins
- Must have at least 1 year of specialized experience integrating REST and SOAP APIs to create and access data or to trigger procedures or commands
- Applicants must take a timed data science assessment test to demonstrate your knowledge of data science principles and methods. Please click on the assessment link below to take the data science assessment test. https://app.alooba.com/take-assessment/16vipfk
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS
- Knowledge of DevOps and Agile methodologies
- Advanced degree from an accredited college or university
- Professional Certification(s) in data engineering such as Azure Data Engineer Associate or AWS/Google Cloud equivalent
- Knowledge of integrating business intelligence tools (e.g., PowerBI) with cloud hosted data repositories (e.g., Azure Data Lakes)
- Knowledge of Microsoft Power Platform tools
- Proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Understanding of database systems, including SQL and NoSQL
- Familiarity with deploying applications and understanding hosting environments
EVALUATION FACTORS
You must have the experience, knowledge and skills as listed in EACH of the evaluation factors. Failure to demonstrate that you meet all of the evaluation factor requirements as listed below will result in a score of zero (0); an ineligible status, and you will not be referred for further consideration. Include your major accomplishments relevant to the position requirements in your resume.
- Skilled in exploratory data analysis, data quality management, onboarding and maintaining large datasets and data pipelines using cloud-based tools like Databricks and open-source programming languages.
- Demonstrated mastery of languages such as Python and SQL.
- Skilled in integrating REST and SOAP APIs to create and access data or to trigger procedures or commands.
- Skilled in containerization and building CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, Azure DevOps, Jenkins.
- Strong ability to provide presentations or briefings of technical information both orally and in writing to clearly communicate analytical products, arguments, conclusions, and recommendations to executives, peers, and other stakeholders.
- Ability to set goals, priorities, and complete high-quality work in a timely, efficient, and professional manner applying project management practices such as agile and DevOps.
You will no longer be considered for this position if you receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor.
Failure to demonstrate that you meet all evaluation factor requirements will result in a score of zero (0). Upon receipt of a zero score, you will be deemed "not minimally qualified," and you will not be referred for further consideration.
Candidates will be evaluated on the skills that they possess that are directly related to the duties of the position and the experience, education and training that indicate the applicant's ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position. Only those candidates who meet all qualification and eligibility requirements and who submit the required information by 11:59 PM EST on 11/07/2024 will be considered.
Education
Education must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation here: www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred. Special Instructions for Candidates with Foreign Education: Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in U.S. education programs. You must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. credential evaluation service to interpret equivalency of your education against courses given in U.S. accredited colleges and universities. For further information visit: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date, 11/07/2024, to receive consideration.
- To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents.
- You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account. You will be taken to an online application. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
- You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement.
- To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- You are strongly urged to read and print the entire vacancy announcement.
Next steps
Once the Occupational Questionnaire has been received you will receive an acknowledgement e-mail that your submission was successful. After a review of your application package has been completed, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the Selecting Official.