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Data Scientist - Data Engineer (Direct Hire)

Social Security Administration
RISK & QUALITY / PIRFP

Summary

STEM position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Many" do not apply.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/23/2026 to 04/03/2026
Salary
$143,913 - $187,093 per year

Salary is for HQ Woodlawn, MD location. See the "Additional information" section for specific salaries for each location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Birmingham, AL
Los Angeles, CA
Oakland, CA
San Diego, CA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Flex-time available
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
SSA-12907750-26-DHA-RQ
Control number
860995900

Duties

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  • This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
  • Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
  • Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources. These will be added to the pool created by this announcement.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
  • Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion or national origin.

Qualifications

Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information.

Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at the GS-13 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience required is:
(1) Writing, optimizing, and troubleshooting complex SQL queries for data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL); AND
(2) Developing Python scripts for feature engineering, data processing, and workflow orchestration; AND
(3) Implementing data validation, cleansing, and quality checks throughout the pipeline; AND
(4) Optimizing code developed by Data Scientists for computing speed and code uniformity.

ALL of the specialized experience is REQUIRED and must be explicitly documented/described in your resume, or you will be disqualified from further consideration.

IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE REQUIREMENTS, APPLICANTS MUST ALSO MEET THE individual occupational requirement (IOR), which states that applicants must have ONE of the following:
  1. (a.) A degree in one of the following: 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. NOTE: Transcripts are required to substantiate claimed education.
  2. OR
  3. (b.) A combination of education and experience: have completed courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours): mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or field directly related to the position, plus additional education or appropriate experience.
Individual Occupational Requirements must be met, even if you currently hold, or have previously held, a position in this series in the federal government.

Education

You must provide proof that shows you meet the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) as described above by uploading transcripts that shows the degree or courses that satisfy this requirement by 11:59pm 04/03/2026. Failure to upload proper transcripts will cause you to be found ineligible. Transcripts can be unofficial (you or your school will need to provide official transcripts before your start date) but your transcripts MUST have an award, confer, or graduation date.

Providing Proof of Education

For information on providing proof of education, visit individual occupational requirement (IOR)

To satisfy the educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school you attended has determined to represent one year of study. If this information cannot be obtained from your school, we will consider 18 semester/27 quarter hours to be equal to one year of full-time study.

Additional information

To find out the salary range for your selected location, you can view the salary for each locality pay table here: General Schedule
Available locations:
Atlanta, GA
Birmingham, AL
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Oakland, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Queens, NY
San Diego, CA
Washington, District of Columbia
Woodlawn, MD

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant 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. See www.sss.gov.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period 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 agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency 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.

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.

Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. Information not specifically stated in your resume cannot be assumed. Information that is copied or restated language from the vacancy announcement or rating criteria will not be considered. If this occurs, you may be found ineligible.

Social Security Administration

Do you have a desire to:

  • help SSA manage its Social Security programs?
  • analyze and solve problems?
  • help SSA fight fraud and protect the integrity of the program?
  • work on a team to make a difference in people's lives and your own?
Join SSA, one of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government!

Agency contact information

Careers at SSA
Email
Careers@ssa.gov
Address
Risk and Quality
6401 Security Blvd
Baltimore, MD 21207
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Social Security Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.ssa.gov/careers

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