This position is located in GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, & Analytics (STAA) Team, Innovation Lab. The STAA is devoted to enhancing & expanding its support to Congress in conducting technology assessments, oversight of federal science and technology programs, & development of innovative analytical techniques in carrying out audits and evaluations. The Innovation Lab aims to meet Congress's growing need to understand the science and technology of the future. To learn more visit: STAA
Summary
This position is located in GAO's Science, Technology Assessment, & Analytics (STAA) Team, Innovation Lab. The STAA is devoted to enhancing & expanding its support to Congress in conducting technology assessments, oversight of federal science and technology programs, & development of innovative analytical techniques in carrying out audits and evaluations. The Innovation Lab aims to meet Congress's growing need to understand the science and technology of the future. To learn more visit: STAA
**THIS ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN AMENDED TO EXTEND THE CLOSING DATE**
This position is being advertised under a Direct Hiring Authority.
This is an entry-level, developmental position. You will participate in a Professional Development Program (PDP) that includes a combination of on-the-job and classroom training, and exposure to diverse projects within your assigned team.
The STAA, Innovation Lab is seeking an experienced professional to serve as a Data Scientist to perform the following:
Works on data science projects in support of GAO's mission.
Applies theoretical knowledge to solve data science problems. If emerging technologies or new data science skills are needed, employee learns and implements them through training courses or on-the-job training.
Uses data science techniques such as Machine Learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), mathematics, statistics, algorithm development, geospatial analysis, graph-based network modeling, and data visualization to produce cohesive solutions.
Identifies disparate impacts, model biases, and performance issues for models created by the Lab.
Uses common data science tools such as scripted languages; Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and analytics platforms; data visualization tools; and automation tools.
Develops well-documented and repeatable data extraction programs.
Participates in agile team culture of the Innovation Lab.
Identifies deficiencies in problem statements, proposed approaches, and/or data access issues for Innovation Lab projects.
Supports Assistant Director and fellow Innovation Lab colleagues in project management and acquisition project management.
Contributes to problem definition, review, revision, and execution of Innovation Lab projects.
Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable. (www.sss.gov)
Completion of a financial disclosure statement is required.
Completion of a probationary period is required.
Must meet/maintain background and suitability requirements for employment. You may be required to obtain and maintain a security clearance depending on the engagements, projects, and initiatives you are assigned to.
Qualifications
In addition to the education requirement, you must have 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower band or level equivalent to the GS-5 in the Federal Service, or comparable private/public sector experience which has equipped you with the skills and knowledge required to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience for this position is defined as:
Applying data science techniques using data science tools in academic or professional settings.
Applying at least three of the following in academic or professional settings:
Machine Learning (ML), including supervised, unsupervised, and adversarial;
Natural language processing (NLP), including sentiment classification and topic modeling;
Artificial Intelligence, including deep learning and robotics process automation (RPA);
Extraction and processing methods for structured and unstructured data, including assessing data quality, imputation, applying governance, development of well-documented, flexible, repeatable, and scalable ETL routines across diverse data processing systems and data warehouses/lakes; and
Visualization, including descriptive charts and maps, geospatial analyses, and graph-based network modeling.
Using at least two data science tools or languages in an academic or professional setting. Examples include:
R, SAS, or STATA
Python and Jupyter
Tableau, Neo4J, or GIS
Matlab, Maple, Mathematica
SQL with relational databases
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.
You must meet all the requirements before the announcements closes.
Education
This is an interdisciplinary, professional position which may be filled as an Engineer or Mathematical Statistician.
This position has a positive education requirement. To qualify you must meet the requirements for either occupational series listed below.
General Engineering Series, 0801
You must meet one of the following:
Degree -- Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. You are eligible only for positions that are closely related to the specialty field of your registration.
Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements Degree. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in Degree.
Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, AND at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
Mathematical Statistics Series, 1529
You must meet one of the following:
Degree -- that included 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were in mathematics and 6 semester hours were in statistics; OR
Combination of education and experience -- at least 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as shown in Degree, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Documentation to verify your education MUST be submitted with your application in order to be considered.
Additional information
This is a bargaining unit position.
Based on the staffing needs, additional selections may be made through this vacancy announcement.
Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid for by the GAO.
You will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. At the time of appointment, the selectee will be required to update the OF-306.
You will be subject to a determination of suitability for Federal employment.
GAO provides reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. To request accommodation, please email ReasonableAccommodation@gao.gov.
GAO's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity for all regardless of race, religion, color, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
GAO is part of the Legislative Branch of the Federal government. As such, all positions are in the excepted service. Initial appointments, permanent or indefinite, to the GAO require completion of a probationary period.
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.
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.
The position(s) advertised in this announcement are covered by a direct hire authority. Traditional rating and ranking of applicants, including category rating, does not apply to this vacancy. Your qualifications will be initially evaluated against the basic qualifications only. Qualified applicants will be referred for consideration in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire guidelines. Veterans' Preference does not apply to positions covered by a direct hire authority.
Please make sure that your responses to the assessment questions are supported in your resume and follow all instructions carefully. If you provide incomplete answers, fail to provide a narrative response to any assessment question(s) that requires further explanation, or if your response to an assessment question is "see resume" or like answer, you may be determined ineligible.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's):
Professional knowledge of and skill in applying data science techniques.
Professional knowledge of and skill in applying principles, theories, concepts, and methodology sufficient to research, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and perform difficult, unprecedented assignments.
Ability to apply theoretical methods to solve data science problems.
Knowledge of cloud-based Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) capabilities.
Knowledge of data quality considerations, duplicates, missing data, keying errors, bias, imputation, and data governance.
Knowledge of model development, optimization, testing, and deployment.
Ability to organize, prepare, and present information in a concise and balanced manner.
Ability to communicate well both in writing and orally, including preparing reports, participating in meetings, and to making presentations.
Ability to collaborate and work effectively to complete projects in a group setting.
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.
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.
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete application package which includes:
RESUME:You are encouraged to use the USAJOBS resume builder to create your resume. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. In addition to describing duties performed, you must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.
SF-50: Current and former federal employees eligible for reinstatement should submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) that indicates your position information (i.e. title, series, grade).
TRANSCRIPTS: If you are using your education to qualify (even partially), you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Foreign Education: If you are submitting a transcript from a non-US educational institution, applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. For additional information, please visit: Foreign Education
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION/LICENSE: Proof of professional registration, licensure, or evidence of passing written test (if applicable).
If you fail to submit any of the documentation listed above your application will be considered incomplete, and will result in loss of consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your résumé (you are encouraged to create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder)and/or other supporting documentsto be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. 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 are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Ebonye Watson at watsone@gao.gov to obtain an alternative application.
Government Accountability Office
Human Capital Office
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20548
US
Next steps
After the closing date of this announcement, GAO's Human Capital Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications by reviewing your assessment questionnaire and resume to complete an analysis. Please be as complete and thorough as possible. If your application is rated "best-qualified," your name will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. At this point you may be contacted for an interview.
If you do not meet the key requirements, and/or basic qualifications or you fail to submit all required application materials, your application will not be considered.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete application package which includes:
RESUME:You are encouraged to use the USAJOBS resume builder to create your resume. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. In addition to describing duties performed, you must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Failure to provide this information may result in disqualification.
SF-50: Current and former federal employees eligible for reinstatement should submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) that indicates your position information (i.e. title, series, grade).
TRANSCRIPTS: If you are using your education to qualify (even partially), you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Foreign Education: If you are submitting a transcript from a non-US educational institution, applicants must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials, commonly called a credential evaluation service. For additional information, please visit: Foreign Education
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION/LICENSE: Proof of professional registration, licensure, or evidence of passing written test (if applicable).
If you fail to submit any of the documentation listed above your application will be considered incomplete, and will result in loss of consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your résumé (you are encouraged to create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder)and/or other supporting documentsto be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. 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 are unable to apply online, you must request an alternative application which is available from the Human Resources Office. Please contact Ebonye Watson at watsone@gao.gov to obtain an alternative application.
Government Accountability Office
Human Capital Office
441 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20548
US
Next steps
After the closing date of this announcement, GAO's Human Capital Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications by reviewing your assessment questionnaire and resume to complete an analysis. Please be as complete and thorough as possible. If your application is rated "best-qualified," your name will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. At this point you may be contacted for an interview.
If you do not meet the key requirements, and/or basic qualifications or you fail to submit all required application materials, your application will not be considered.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
