Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

IT Specialist

Environmental Protection Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This announcement has been amended to extend the open period from 08/30/2021 to 09/13/2021.

This position is in the Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Scientific Computing and Data Curation Division, Data Management and Mining Branch.

The location will be determined after a selection has been made for this position; if selected, you must work at one of the locations stated in this announcement.

About ORD.

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/30/2021 to 09/13/2021
Salary
$77,488 to - $124,539 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Duluth, MN
Durham, NC
Cincinnati, OH
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Announcement number
RTP-ORD-DE-2021-0050
Control number
612550300

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

Help

You will:

  • Process structured and unstructured data in literature by applying informatics and software analysis;
  • Design, prototype, and evaluate computational and statistical algorithms to extract and analyze biomedical literature data;
  • Research, customize, and prototype software and database resources for biomedical data processing.

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.

You will spend less than 25% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

One or more positions may be filled.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
  • You may be required to travel less than 25% of each month.
  • Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.

This position is designated as High 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.

Qualifications

In addition to the basic requirements, you must meet the following requirements:

To qualify for the GS-12 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-11 level defined as experience with at least two of the following: designing computational and/or statistical algorithms to extract literature data; assisting in the development of data processing software; identifying, retrieving and/or extracting literature data in order to organize, manipulate, visualize, and/or summarize data.

To qualify for the GS-13 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-12 level defined as designing computational and/or statistical algorithms to extract literature data; assisting in the development of data processing software; identifying, retrieving and/or extracting literature data in order to organize, manipulate, visualize, and/or summarize data.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:  1) Knowledge of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques; 2) Skill in utilizing machine-learning technologies; 3) Skill in utilizing computational tools (R , Python, Perl, SAS); 4) Skill in keyword optimization; 5) Skill in data analysis; 6) Skill in software engineering; 7) Skill in text mining.

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

To qualify for this position, you must have either:

A bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems, or networks, OR

IT-related experience demonstrating each of these four competencies:

1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail;

2) Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services;

3) Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately;

4) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations;

For information about accreditation requirements, visit EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Additional information

Salary will be based on the grade level for which you are selected and the duty location.

Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed above.

EPA participates in E-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Are you a Displaced Federal Employee? If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance.

This position has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager. Telework is available based on agency policy and/or applicable collective bargaining agreement which may not allow for full-time telework. NOTE: The agency is currently utilizing maximum telework flexibilities due to COVID. Once normal operations resume, you will be required to report to the location stated in this announcement.

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position. You are being evaluated under the category rating method which means, if you are determined to be qualified, you will be placed into the ‘Best Qualified’, ‘Well Qualified’, or ‘Qualified’ category. NOTE:  Preference eligible veterans must be selected, or decline further consideration, before applicants who are ineligible for veterans’ preference can be selected (to learn more, visit Veterans' Preference).

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements. If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.


To preview questions please click here.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.