Clarification from the agency

This public notice is issued under Direct Hire Authority (DHA) to recruit talent to occupations for which there is a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need. This means that we can hire any qualified candidate from this notice. About this DHA notice: -Current civil service employees will receive new appointments if selected under this DHA. -For information on DHA, please visit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hire-authority/

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Data Software Engineering and Security

• Serves as an expert data engineer and consultant, managing and directing multiple highly complex and innovative data engineering and information security projects and initiatives.
• Leverages data, programming, data visualization, and advanced analytic tools, skills, and techniques to support accomplishment of the organizational mission and facilitate the program’s adoption of data-driven information security, cybersecurity, and risk management approaches.
• Utilizes integrated development environment software for data engineering and visualization (e.g., R Studio, Visual Studio Code, Tableau, MicroStrategy), general purpose programming languages for statistical and data analysis (e.g., R, Python, Java, Scala), data structures, algorithms, and SQL (e.g., SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Engineers data automations and processes (e.g., building, testing, and deploying code) using programming languages and other tools to minimize human error and improve data security, reliability, efficiency, and quality for program/customer agency missions, goals, and future planning.
• Uses relevant programming language(s) as well as its packages or libraries for various applications to organize, manipulate, reuse, and/or scale data and for associated secure engineering functions and processes used in program office data operations.

Customer Communications and Reporting

• Provides authoritative advice on data engineering and security methodologies, products and services, and related analyses in discussions with program office managers, supervisors, data consumers, and coworkers.
• Determines appropriate data tools or services with clients or customers to define project scopes, requirements, and deliverables.
• Implements and/or maintains data engineering quality assurance processes.

Data Security Support

• Supports emerging IT and information security initiatives including but not limited to DevSecOps (i.e., development, security, and operations), continuous integration and continuous delivery, and vulnerability management, ensuring new technologies are appropriately accounted for from a data engineering and security perspective.
• Provides technical expertise and advice on the restructuring and/or re-architecting of program data collection storage and approach to ensure maximum visibility into risk while minimizing data collection and storage engineering overhead.

Conditions of employment

• US Citizenship or National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)
• Meet all eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date.
• Register with Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

• the exact dates you held  each job (from month/year to month/year)
• number of hours per week you worked (if part time).    

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.

For a brief video on creating a Federal resume, click here. 

The GS-15 salary range starts at $143,736.00 per year.

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.  

To qualify, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to theGS-14 level or higher in the Federal service. 

Applicants applying for the GS 15 grade level must meet the following requirements: Have IT-related experience demonstrating EACH of the four competencies AND one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS 14 level in the Federal service as described below:

IT Specialist competency requirements: 

• Attention to Detail - This skill is generally demonstrated by assignments where the applicant keeps abreast of latest technology, information, research, etc., to maintain knowledge in field of expertise (for example, reads trade journals, participates in professional/technical associations, maintains credentials).
• Customer Service - This skill is generally demonstrated by assignments where the applicant promotes or develops and maintains good working relationships with key individuals or groups. 
• Oral Communication - This skill is generally demonstrated by assignments where the applicant serves on panels, committees, or task forces as a representative for the organization on technical or professional issues.
• Problem Solving -  This skill is generally demonstrated by assignments where the applicant monitors current trends or events (for example, technological, economic, political, social, educational, or employment trends or events) and applies the information as appropriate.

To qualify, you must have one (1) year of specialized experience. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Applying data engineering and information security principles, methods, standards, and practices to program operations;
• Utilizing various analytical and statistical software to prepare data for analysis and clean data to include from structured/semistructured/unstructured sources;
• Working with various stakeholders and clients to define and determine the appropriate data services or tools requirements for projects;
• Providing technical expertise on the restructuring and/or re-architecting of program data collection storage to assess potential threats, vulnerabilities, and risks; and
• Using software and programming languages (such as R, Python, SQL) and other tools to conduct operational data engineering functions.

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 against the basic qualifications. Qualified candidates will be considered in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire Guidelines. Applications will not be rated or ranked. Veterans’ Preference does not apply to the direct hire recruitment procedures.

You may not be considered for the position, if any part of the application is incomplete or missing the required supporting documentation. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or dismissing you if hired. 

ICTAP/CTAP Candidates: The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found “well-qualified" for this vacancy. In addition to meeting the basic qualifications stated in the qualification section of this announcement, well qualified is defined as: experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position, demonstrated by meeting at least 51% or more of the competencies/KSA’s listed below (i.e. 3 out of 5, or 4 out of 6, or 5 out of 8, etc.) 

1. Utilizing data engineering principles, concepts, methods, standards, and practices and related skills in applying them in their interrelationships with other specialized occupations (e.g., data management, systems analysis). 
2. Applying secure data engineering service and product quality improvement principles, strategies, processes, and practices to accurately represent partner agency requirements, present recommendations for adoption of new methodologies, and lead or coordinate implementation of secure data engineering service/product quality improvement activities.
3. Using data engineering techniques and requirements within federal and other government entities and current and emerging data engineering solutions (i.e., software, applications, algorithms, programs, and/or services) sufficient to work with partnering agencies and other stakeholders in quantitatively and/or qualitatively analyzing identity access management and related data.
4. Collaborating with key decision makers and other stakeholders for the purpose of planning, carrying out, and completing high-profile, critical, and/or intensive secure data engineering project work and activities.
5. Comprehensive knowledge and skill in identity security, vulnerability management, virtualization security, web application security, network architecture and segmentation, continuous integration/automation tools, and secure practices.
6. Utilizing IT security and integration of complex technical and non-technical research, policy information, and best practices needed to address high priority and sensitive issues and derive solutions impacting the security of information systems and related technology and the security of operational technology and critical infrastructure including one the following: user research, design, policies, and/or testing physical or digital information collection systems, information storage systems, access control systems, public key infrastructure, and federation with regards to trust framework solutions.