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Data Scientist (Branch Chief)

Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Data Analytics and Innovation Staff

Summary

This position is located within the Office of Planning, Analysis, and Risk Management (OPARM). OPARM is the FSIS centralized analytics group and tasked with integrating and analyzing relational data. The program also provides data visualization and analytics services to support FSIS decision-making, policy development, risk management, and strategic planning.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/27/2026 to 03/12/2026
Salary
$126,797 to - $182,316 per year

Pay determined by location selected for.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Fort Collins, CO
Urbandale, IA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—As determined by the agency policy. FSIS does not currently have a telework policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
FSIS-26-MDH-12889949-DW
Control number
858837100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. Veterans' Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this vacancy

Duties

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  • Responsible for the overall direction and accomplishment of Branch analytical assignments and functions.
  • Develops, exhibits, and applies clear understanding of Branch analytical output and associated data.
  • Assign work to Branch members, ensures the development of project plans with necessary and realistic milestones and deliverables.
  • Assists in the development of performance standards and uses them to fairly evaluate the performance of subordinate employees.
  • Holds employees accountable for accurate and timely completion of tasks.
  • Identifies training needs, resolves complaints and grievances fairly at the lowest possible level.
  • Utilizes a variety of languages and tools (e.g., R, Python, SQL) to build data pipelines to pull together information from different source systems.
  • Coordinates with staff and members of other organizational areas to understand project requirements and facilitate improved customer service.
  • Collaborates with specialists in diverse fields to fulfill operational data and analytical needs.
  • Provides directions to subordinates on appropriate coding and statistical techniques to solve specific problems.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
  • Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
  • If you are selected, you may need to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) prior to being appointed to determine suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of an OGE-450 Financial Disclosure.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and education, as defined below.

For the GS-14 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-13 level) that demonstrates all of the following:

  • Using Python or R in support of data analytics projects.
  • Leading a team or cross-functional group to accomplish a significant project or initiative. This includes setting goals, coordinating tasks, evaluating work products, and providing technical advice and guidance on items such as analytical coding or methodologies, statistical analysis, or visualization development.
  • Developing oral and written presentations and communicating complex and technical analyses to inform, influence, and persuade a variety of audiences.
And at least 1 of the following 2:
  • Creating and maintaining automated data pipelines to support data ingestion, transformation, and delivery.
  • Creating and maintaining interactive dashboards or reports.
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 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

Statistics Series 1530
Basic Requirements:


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
Combination of education and experience
-- courses as shown in the paragraph 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.

Click here for more information on this series: OPM Statistics Series 1530

Computer Science Series
1550 Basic Requirements

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.

Click here for more information on this series: OPM Computer Science Series 1550

Data Science Series
1560 Basic Requirements

Degree
: Mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or field directly related to the position. The degree must be in a major field of study (at least at the baccalaureate level) that is appropriate for the position.
or

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours) as shown in the paragraph above, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

Click here for more information on this series: OPM Data Science Series 1560

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. 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: USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of their own. To see more information visit CHCO Council.

This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies should any occur in the announced duty location(s).

If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application, including the assessment questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet the qualification requirements and to determine if your resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Accountability
  • Analytical Programming
  • Data Management
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Manages Human Resources
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Problem Solving
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. 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 including removal from the Federal service.

When Food Safety and Inspection Service completes its hiring, the remaining list of qualified candidates may be shared with additional federal agencies. You will have an opportunity to opt-in if you would like your name, application material, and assessment results shared to be considered for employment with additional agencies. There is no guarantee of further consideration, and you can continue to explore other job opportunity announcements.

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