Summary

STEM position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Many" do not apply.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

Duties

This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources. These will be added to the pool created by this announcement.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

U.S. Citizenship required
Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
Relocation expenses will not be paid
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion or national origin.

Qualifications

Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information.

Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-13 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience required is:
(1) Writing, optimizing, and troubleshooting complex SQL queries for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL); AND
(2) Developing Python scripts for feature engineering, data processing, and workflow orchestration; AND
(3) Implementing data validation, cleansing, and quality checks throughout the pipeline; AND
(4) Optimizing code developed by Data Scientists for computing speed and code uniformity.

ALL of the specialized experience is REQUIRED and must be explicitly documented/described in your resume, or you will be disqualified from further consideration.

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS, APPLICANTS MUST ALSO MEET THE individual occupational requirement (IOR), which states that applicants must have ONE of the following:

(a.) A degree in one of the following: Mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or field directly related to the position. The degree must be in a major field of study (at least at the baccalaureate level) that is appropriate for the position. NOTE: Transcripts are required to substantiate claimed education.
OR
(b.) A combination of education and experience: have completed courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours): mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or field directly related to the position, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

Individual Occupational Requirements must be met, even if you currently hold, or have previously held, a position in this series in the federal government.

Education

You must provide proof that shows you meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) as described above by uploading transcripts that shows the degree or courses that satisfy this requirement by 11:59pm 04/03/2026. Failure to upload proper transcripts will cause you to be found ineligible. Transcripts can be unofficial (you or your school will need to provide official transcripts before your start date) but your transcripts MUST have an award, confer, or graduation date.

Providing Proof of Education
For information on providing proof of education, visit individual occupational requirement (IOR)

To satisfy the educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school you attended has determined to represent one year of study. If this information cannot be obtained from your school, we will consider 18 semester/27 quarter hours to be equal to one year of full-time study.

Additional information

To find out the salary range for your selected location, you can view the salary for each locality pay table here: General Schedule
Available locations:
Atlanta, GA
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Oakland, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Queens, NY
San Diego, CA
Washington, District of Columbia
Woodlawn, MD

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider
:- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. Information not specifically stated in your resume cannot be assumed. Information that is copied or restated language from the vacancy announcement or rating criteria will not be considered. If this occurs, you may be found ineligible.

Required Documents

You must submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.

To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:

Your resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed. - Per OPM's new resume guidance, resumes must be limited to 2 pages only. Additional documents such as the SSA-45 may be uploaded using the 'Other documents' option.
Transcripts, if applicable, that includes: your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion
Other documents supporting qualifications and/or preference, if applicable.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified. Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Candidates must also provide:

proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and
proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.

For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

Veteran's preference does not apply under this Direct Hire Authority for STEM positions.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.

You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account and select "Application Status". If your status has not been updated, then no changes have occurred since your referral. Please note that the selecting official may choose to interview all, some, or none of the referred candidates. You will be contacted directly if you are to be interviewed.

Additionally, you will receive notification via email to the email address in your USAJOBS profile when your status is updated, such as if another applicant was selected or the posting was cancelled. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an Additional Application Information page that provides information regarding the documentation you submitted and any correspondence we have sent related to this application. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

If you use assistive software or an adaptive device, or you are experiencing some other type of technical difficulty and/or otherwise require assistance with the application process, please contact Careers at SSA at Careers@ssa.gov or 000-000-0000.

Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities may use the listed email or 7-1-1 for TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services to call the listed phone number. Additional Telecommunications Relay Services options are available in each state: https://www.fcc.gov/general/trs-state-and-territories

Due to our security procedures, our office will not accept any applications submitted via email or standard mail. The email address is listed only for inquiries about the position or the How to Apply process.

Agency contact information

Careers at SSA

Email: Careers@ssa.gov

Address: Risk and Quality
6401 Security Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21207
US

Next steps

Once you have successfully submitted all of the required application materials and assessments, you can expect to receive at least two or more of the following email notifications concerning your application status: (1) Receipt of application; (2) Qualifications status and whether your application has been Referred/Not Referred to the selecting official; and (3) Selection status for the position.

Selection interviews may be conducted with one or more of the candidates, but there is no requirement that interviews be conducted. The hiring office will contact candidates directly for interviews. Interviews may be conducted via video conferencing software, if technically feasible. Applicants referred for consideration will receive a final disposition notice after selections have been made.

Additional locations

Denver, CO

Washington, DC

Atlanta, GA

Chicago, IL

Boston, MA

Woodlawn, MD

Detroit, MI

Kansas City, MO

New York, NY

Queens, NY

Philadelphia, PA

Dallas, TX

Data Scientist - Data Engineer (Direct Hire) Job