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Interdisciplinary: Mathematical Statistician, Statistician Biology, Computer Scientist

Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As a Data Scientist you will bring a broad perspective to the analytical and computational aspects of veterinary disease diagnostics, therapeutics, surveillance, and management with a range of quantitative methods used for these purposes and in-depth expertise in one or more of them in order to provide expert guidance to many levels of the organization.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/03/2018 to 12/20/2018
Salary
$61,218 to - $113,428 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
Ames, IA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel for training and work assignments may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation may be authorized
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Drug test
No
Announcement number
24VS-APHIS-MA-2019-0123
Control number
518048900

Duties

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The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.

The duties may include, but are not limited to:

  • Design, development, and implementation of analytical processes which comprise an integral component of program activities
  • Provides guidance to internal and external scientists on the design of experimental and observational studies
  • Serves as a statistical consultant to reviewers, scientists, laboratory staff, and others
  • Designs analytical methods and develops software tools to implement them
  • Develops analytical models and data collection plans to evaluate the licensure of immunobiological products, deployment of diagnostic assays, and to support critical regulatory decisions concerning safety and efficacy
  • Reviews study protocols and reports supporting the licensure of veterinary biologics with regard to design, implementation, and analysis

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship is required
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Subject to satisfactory completion of one year probationary period.

Special Conditions:

  • Selection and retention in this position is contingent on a successfully adjudicated FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) and a background investigation
  • Successful completion of a 1 year probationary or trial period (if new hire to the Federal service)
  • This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the duty location of the position. Employee participation in telework is at the discretion of the supervisor 
  • Your work is performed in office and laboratory settings or meeting/conference facilities at desks or computer terminals.
  • Your duties may include travel to attend various meetings.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including the following specialized experience and/or education, as identified by grade level.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Mathematical Statistician (1529): A. 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 B. 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 A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Statistician (1530): A. Degree: that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing.

OR B. Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Computer Scientist (1550): Bachelor's degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL FOR ALL JOBS SERIES: In addition to the Basic Requirement, 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Mathematics, natural, or applied science.

FOR THE GS-11 LEVEL: If not qualified by education, applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-9 level) acquired through statistical or analytic work in scientific environments that includes
  • Contributing to the design of proposed scientific studies.
  • Analyzing study data, and summarizing study findings in narrative, graphical, and analytic form.

FOR THE GS-12 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-11 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: 
  • Collaborating with scientists to develop scientific study designs for specific scientific objectives.
  • Analyzing and presenting the findings of such studies, and working with scientists to properly interpret them.
(Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.)

FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:
  • Advising and collaborating with scientists to develop study designs for a broad range of objectives.
  • Developing statistical or analytical methods for analyzing and presenting the findings of such studies.
  • Working with scientists to interpret the findings of such studies in the appropriate scientific and regulatory contexts.
(Note: There is no education substitution for this grade level.)

TRANSCRIPTS are required if:

  • This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified.
  • You are qualifying for the position based on education.
  • You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education.
  • This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university.

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-11 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. To learn more about combining education and experience for this series, click the following: Combining Education and Experience for Professional and Scientific Positions 

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.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Additional information

  • This position is subject to unscheduled overnight details of undetermined lengths in the event of animal health emergencies or other conditions requiring immediate response, as required by the Agency. (Extensive periods of time may be designated for overnight details.)
  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible see http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc) should contact: USDAs TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
  • Salary Information: First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the lowest rate of the salary range for the grade selected.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures using category rating. The category rating procedure is used to rank and select eligible candidates. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of three categories:  Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified.  Within these categories, applicants eligible for veterans preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans.  Category placement will be determined on applicants' quality of experience and the extend they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies:

  • Knowledge of the principles and methods of statistics and data science
  • Skill in the application of statistics and data science to scientific studies
  • Knowledge of biological concepts and skill in their quantitative application
  • Skill in software development and software application and maintenance
  • Ability to provide consulting services for scientists
Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions.  Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.  Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to and including removal from the Federal Service.


To view the application form, visit: https://aphis.usda.ntis.gov/cp/?event=jobs.previewApplication&jobid=D696DD65-8FB8-41B9-A33A-A99D00FC82A1

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