Clarification from the agency

MERIT PROMOTION (MP) VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT - Current Federal employees with competitive status; Former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility; CTAP/ICTAP eligibles; Veterans with VOW, VEOA, or 30% disability; Military Spouses, Peace Corps, and those eligible under an OPM interchange agreement.

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The AI Product Manager plays a critical role in modernizing CPSC’s analytical ecosystem, leveraging cloud-native platforms, and enabling data-driven decision-making to protect consumers from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer products. Because of the enterprise breadth of this position, daily contacts with a variety of CPSC offices occur. Most of the services administered by the COE directly support critical CPSC programs. The role also includes mentoring team members, managing vendor relationships, and driving adoption of AI tools to enhance data-driven decision-making across the agency.

The AI Product Manager:

• Leads the planning, execution, and delivery of complex technical initiatives that support the CPSC’s mission and enterprise modernization goals.
• Applies expert-level knowledge of project management, artificial intelligence and machine learning, systems analysis, IT architecture, data security, and project management to deliver secure, scalable, and mission-aligned technology solutions.
• Collaborates with stakeholders to define project scope, technical and functional requirements, and success criteria. 
• Conducts cost-benefit analyses, risk assessments, and compliance reviews to ensure alignment with federal laws, regulations, and CPSC policies.
• Develops and implements project plans, integrates cross-functional activities, and manages resources to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of IT solutions.
• Participates in interagency working groups, task forces, and strategic planning sessions to align IT initiatives with broader government priorities. Supports change management efforts by facilitating adoption of new systems, processes, and technologies across the organization.
• Leads adoption of AI/ML solutions per federal regulations, CPSC AI governance, and in coordination with the Office of Information Technology (EXIT).
• Establishes testing and validation plans and performs audits to monitor performance drift and stakeholder impacts.
• Coordinates bias/fairness assessments, model documentation, reproducibility, and human-in-the-loop evaluations.
• Reports findings and proposes solutions along with any remedial actions needed to supervisor and/or senior management officials within CPSC.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required.
• A background investigation is required.
• Must meet certification requirement.

Must be a U.S. Citizen.

This is a Public Trust Position. Employment in this position requires a background investigation. If you are selected and cannot meet the criteria requirement for the pre-employment waiver and/or a favorable suitability determination within a reasonable period of time due to disclosed or undisclosed background issues, the employment offer may be withdrawn.

If you are a male born after December 31, 1959 you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Please see http://www.sss.gov for more information.

Selectees will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to appointment and the appropriate background investigation forms to determine suitability for Federal employment.  False statements or responses on these forms can jeopardize your employment opportunity and subject you to disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.

The selectee will be required to complete a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the I-9 Form. We will compare information provided on the I-9 Form to records available from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  The system confirms employee’s identity and eligibility to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period (depending on your status) during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the CPSC;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the CPSC or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

In addition to the mandatory certification requirement, all applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.

Qualifying specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

1) Leading and administering multiple information technology (IT) projects; 2) liaising between stakeholders internally and externally within the private and public sector; AND 3) leading and conducting analytical IT studies, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessments, and/or compliance reviews.

Evidence of the above specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held.  Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience or based on job titles alone.  If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

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.

Applicants must meet the qualifications for this position by the closing date of this announcement.

In addition to the above specialized experience, applicants must also meet the IT-Related proficiency level for all four of the competencies listed below:

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.

Evidence of the above specialized experience and IT-related proficiency must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held.  Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience

How you will be evaluated

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

After the vacancy closes, we will review your application package to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your responses to the assessment, resume and supporting documentation (such as proof of certification) will then be reviewed. The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited to an interview.

RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (i.e., 1 page that is double-sided or 2 pages that are one-sided each) showing all relevant experience.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a "well qualified" rating (Rating of at least 85 out of 100).

Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, salary, duties performed for each position, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level/pay band.