Duties
At the entry level of this position, you will:
- Serve as a data scientist responsible for the analysis of data to support program design and implementation.
- Analyze a variety of data sources to and makes recommendations for a variety of conventional problems or situations to support data analytics and communication products.
- Provide project management support to ensure products are accurate, timely, and distributed to appropriate partners.
When entering a Federal job at a grade level lower than the highest promotion potential level, you may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses. NOTE: Career ladder promotions are not automatic, and all eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met in order to progress to the next grade level.
One or more positions may be filled (in the organization advertised and/or in other organizations), if appropriate to the position.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen.
- You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
- Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.
- EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.
This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.
If you are selected, you may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.
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Qualifications
NOTE: You must meet qualification requirements, including any requirements described in the Education section, by the closing date of this announcement.
In addition to the basic entry education requirements, you must have specialized experience and/or directly related education as described below:
To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must have one of the following:
- 1 year of full-time* specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level defined as collecting or evaluating collected scientific data; researching data related anomalies to determine areas of improvement; and preparing data reports or presentations for senior management.
- 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree; or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; the education must be directly related and provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position
- equivalent combination of education and experience
NOTE: 1 year of full-time graduate education is the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study; if that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours is considered an academic year of graduate study.
To qualify for the GS-12 level, you must have 1 year of full-time* specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level defined as analyzing scientific or environmental data to identify or evaluate performance issues; modifying data program applications, models or other programing functions to optimize efficiency and performance; and collaborating with others to resolve conventional data related issues..
Your application package will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:
- Knowledge of scientific, mathematical and statistical principles to interpret data sets.
- Skill in data management practices during data lifecycle.
- Ability to assist in data program design.
- Knowledge of software development techniques and principles.
- Skill in interpreting analytical techniques to assess data quality.
- Ability to develop data program requirements.
- Skill in oral communication related to data management.
- Skill in written communication sufficient for preparing reports and briefings.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
*If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.
Education
Data Scientist: You must have a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science, or field directly related to the position; OR a combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours), as listed.
For information about accreditation requirements, visit EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.
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.
Join EPA in protecting human health and the environment and enjoy many work life quality options! Working for the EPA offers you a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. To learn more about us, visit Life and Careers at EPA.
EPA offers workplace flexibilities as described on the EPA Benefits page. These flexibilities are not guaranteed, and eligibility will be determined in accordance with position requirements, policy, and/or applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement after you are hired.
PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS (PSLF): As a federal employee, you may be eligible for student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The PSLF program forgives the remaining balance on federal Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for a qualifying employer, including EPA. Learn more: pslf.gov
This position has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be eligible for partial work-from-home flexibilities after meeting eligibility requirements, as allowable by agency policy and/or applicable collective bargaining agreement.
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 You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
This position is being filled through the Office of Personnel Management’s government-wide direct-hire authority. Under the provisions of the direct-hire authority, category rating, veterans’ preference, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply. All eligible applicants will be forwarded to the selecting official for further consideration, and you may be subject to assessments during the selection process (e.g., technical writing sample or other work sample, job knowledge test, case scenario analysis, scientific data assessment, structured interview, etc.). If you are selected, we will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the qualification requirements.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to Apply
You are strongly encouraged to read the entire announcement before you submit your application for this position.
To begin the application process, click the Apply button to the top right on this screen, follow the prompts to log-in/register, submit all required documents, and complete the assessment questionnaire. To be considered, you must submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the day the announcement closes.
All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJOBS document portfolio feature.
If you cannot apply online, you must contact the Human Resources Office listed below for assistance no later than two business days prior to the closing date of this announcement. You must provide complete application materials by the day the announcement closes.
For detailed instructions to assist you in ensuring your application package is received, go to EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
EPA welcomes applications from persons with disabilities. Through the reasonable accommodation process, we provide persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment that persons without disabilities enjoy. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done. An accommodation removes workplace barriers and enables an applicant with a disability to have an equal opportunity to participate in the application process, be considered for a position, and, if hired, perform the essential functions of their job.
The EPA National Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators will provide assistance to you, the Human Resources Office, and/or the hiring official as needed. For more information, refer to EPA’s Reasonable Accommodation website. Below is more detailed information about how to request a reasonable accommodation during the application, selection, and hiring process:
• If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process (submitting the application or completing the application process), contact the Human Resources Office listed below no later than two business days prior to the closing date of this announcement, and the Human Resources Office will work directly with you.
• If you are referred to the hiring official for consideration and need an accommodation during the selection process, including the interview, notify the person who contacted you from the hiring official’s office. If you do not hear back within three days about your reasonable accommodation request for the selection process, please notify EPA’s National Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators via email at disabilityaccommodations@epa.gov.
• If you are selected and need an accommodation during the hiring process up to orientation, notify the HR Specialist who made the job offer to you.
Please note: Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Next steps
You can track the progress of your application via your USAJOBS account by clicking the Track This Application link. Through your USAJOBS account, you will be notified of the status of your application at four touch-points (some of these notifications may be combined): (1) when your application is received; (2) when we conduct an eligibility and qualification review of your application package; (3) when applications are referred (or not) to the hiring manager; (4) when a selection is made (or not) for the position or the job is canceled. It is your responsibility to check your USAJOBS account for this application status information. In addition, you will be contacted if further evaluation or interviews are required. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the human resources office posting this announcement.
NOTE: We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses through reference and/or background check, and/or verification of your education. Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration.