Software Engineer and Data Automation Specialist

The Software Engineering and Data Automation Specialist will work within the Information Systems team of the Office of Administration and Technology to support the research and operational work of the United States Sentencing Commission. The incumbent will design, develop, integrate, and maintain applications, data-processing workflows, data warehouse solutions, and analytics systems, with an emphasis on document and data extraction, processing, transformation, validation, integration, and automation.

The position encompasses both modernization projects and ongoing support of existing systems. Assignments may include leading or supporting document extraction, data transformation, database integration, reporting, and application maintenance, with responsibilities varying according to project priorities, operational needs, and team expertise. The incumbent will collaborate with technical staff and subject-matter experts to develop shared knowledge of the Commission's data, business rules, and systems. The ideal candidate will be passionate about data and technology, possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and enjoy developing practical solutions to complex data and automation challenges.

The incumbent will:

• Analyze business and user requirements and design, develop, implement, and maintain software solutions supporting data collection, document processing, data integration, business intelligence, and analytics.
• Design and develop Python applications and automated pipelines to ingest and process PDFs, scanned documents, databases, and other structured and unstructured data sources.
• Develop and enhance OCR, text parsing, regular-expression, and document-layout techniques. Segment documents into meaningful sections or chunks while preserving context, document identifiers, and source locations needed for subsequent processing and review.
• Collaborate with subject-matter experts to define, document, implement, and test coding rules that transform extracted information into standardized data elements. Address exceptions, conflicting information, and ambiguous results through documented validation and review procedures.
• Develop and maintain SQL and Oracle PL/SQL solutions for data transformation, validation, reconciliation, loading, and integration with operational databases and data warehouses.
• Design and support end-to-end workflows for ingestion, extraction, transformation, validation, and database loading, including scheduling, monitoring, error handling, restart, and recovery.
• Evaluate and apply machine learning, natural-language processing, and locally hosted AI models where they improve document extraction, classification, search, or analysis. Compare results with established methods and approved reference data before production use.
• Develop and integrate secure applications for air-gapped and restricted-network environments, using approved tools, APIs, and locally hosted services as appropriate.
• Design, maintain, and enhance data models, ETL/ELT processes, and system interfaces as data sources, technologies, and business requirements evolve.
• Develop, enhance, maintain, and validate reports, dashboards, and data visualizations, ensuring the accuracy and usability of information provided to staff and other authorized users.
• Maintain and enhance existing applications, data warehouse processes, and analytics platforms, including configurations, integrations, upgrades, and performance tuning.
• Contribute to application and data architecture by designing secure, maintainable interfaces and processing components that integrate with enterprise systems and support future modernization.
• Implement automated testing, regression testing, data-quality checks, logging, and monitoring. Maintain traceability from source documents through extraction and transformation to database values, including applicable rule and model versions.
• Implement and maintain application security, authentication, authorization, and related controls; comply with applicable federal information security, privacy, data governance, and records-management requirements.
• Monitor production systems, investigate data discrepancies and processing failures, and resolve technical issues to maintain reliable operations.
• Maintain technical documentation, coding-rule specifications, test cases, and operating procedures. Participate in cross-training and knowledge transfer to support shared responsibility for Commission systems.
• Provide technical support, consultation, and training to technical staff and end users, and manage assigned projects and operational tasks to meet established requirements, quality standards, and deadlines.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Conditions of employment

MANDATORY QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have:

• An undergraduate degree from an accredited university or college in information technology or a related field of study.
• A minimum of three (3) years of application development experience to qualify for JS-12.
• At least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower level of the grade for which they are applying. For example, to qualify for the JS-13, one (1) year of specialized experience must have been at the GS-12 level or equivalent.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience:

• Software Development: Experience developing and maintaining production Python applications using modular design, source control, testing, documentation, and secure development practices.
• Data Processing and Transformation: Experience using relational databases to transform, validate, reconcile, and load data, and translating business requirements and documented coding rules into maintainable software.
• Document Processing: Experience extracting and processing information from PDFs, text documents, or scanned images using text parsing, regular expressions, OCR, or comparable techniques, with attention to document structure, context, and accuracy.
• Automation and Integration: Experience developing and supporting ETL/ELT or automated data-processing workflows and integrating applications, databases, APIs, or other enterprise systems.
• Production Reliability: Experience implementing logging, exception handling, automated testing, monitoring, and recovery procedures, and troubleshooting application, database, or data-quality issues.
• Collaboration and System Design: Experience analyzing user needs, designing maintainable technical solutions, documenting business logic and system behavior, and working with technical staff and subject-matter experts.

Competencies:

• Attention to Detail - Performs work thoroughly and accurately, with careful attention to detail.
• Customer Service - Assesses customer needs, provides effective assistance, resolves issues, and delivers quality service.
• Decision Making - Makes sound, objective decisions and takes appropriate action to achieve organizational goals.
• Information Management - Identifies, gathers, organizes, and maintains information and information systems effectively.
• Interpersonal Skills - Builds effective working relationships and communicates with courtesy, tact, empathy, and professionalism.
• Oral Communication - Clearly communicates information, findings, recommendations, and viewpoints and effectively persuades others when appropriate.
• Problem Solving - Identifies problems, evaluates constraints, and develops practical solutions using available technology and resources.
• Teamwork - Promotes cooperation, trust, and team commitment while working effectively with others to achieve shared goals.
• Technical Competence - Applies job-related technical knowledge and experience to perform duties, evaluate technical information, and provide technical guidance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preference will be given to applicants with the following areas of experience:

• Oracle databases, SQL and PL/SQL development, data modeling, query optimization, and enterprise data integration.
• Advanced document processing, including OCR, layout analysis, context-preserving segmentation, and extraction from varied or complex document formats.
• Applied machine learning, natural-language processing, or LLM-based information extraction, including evaluation of accuracy, error analysis, and workflows for human review.
• Locally hosted AI models or application deployment in air-gapped, restricted-network, or other controlled environments.
• Data warehouses, business intelligence, analytics, and application support, including tools such as ODI, OAS/OBIEE, Oracle APEX, or comparable platforms.
• AI-enabled database and application capabilities, including vector search or integration of models through APIs, where relevant to document processing and data analysis.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

• The selected applicant must reside in or relocate to the Washington DC Metropolitan area.
• This position is in the excepted service and does not carry the tenure rights of positions in the competitive Civil Service.
• All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
• Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration for Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship or, for noncitizens, proof of authorization to work in the United States and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/non-citizensFor a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf.
• The Commission participates in E-Verify and will confirm your authorization to work in the United States.
• A background security investigation is required for all selectees. Appointment will be subject to a selectee's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements may be grounds for appropriate personnel action. A background security reinvestigation or supplemental investigation may be required at a later time.
• All new Commission employees must identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment, mandated by the Federal Compensation Act.

All new Commission employees, those converted from a temporary appointment to a permanent appointment, and all rehired former Commission employees are required to serve a one-year probationary period. The probationary period begins on the effective date of the employee's appointment, conversion, or rehire.

How you will be evaluated

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

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED

The Commission evaluates applicants through a structured interview, and practical assessments. Applicants may also be screened for some jobs through a narrative/application review, and/or a preliminary telephone interview. Applicants who do not address the qualification requirements (mandatory and preferred) in his or her application materials as stated in the vacancy announcement are automatically disqualified from consideration and must re-apply before the closing date to be considered for employment.

The Office of Human Resources:

• Reviews the applicant's application to ensure the proper materials are submitted.
• Ensures that the application addresses all the qualification requirements as stated in the vacancy announcement (mandatory and preferred).
• Determines whether the applicant meets the mandatory qualification requirements for the position and notifies the applicant about the status of their application.

Applicants who meet the mandatory qualification requirements will be considered, and their application materials will be forwarded to the screening panel for review.

• Resume (limited to 2 pages)
• Cover Letter
• Recent job performance evaluation (if available)

Next steps