Clarification from the agency

UNITED STATES CITIZENS MAY APPLY (no prior federal experience is required). This position will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority (DHA). Veteran's Preference does not apply to this announcement.

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This position is officially titled Supervisory Data Scientist (Artificial Intelligence). The working title is Supervisory AI/ML Engineer. The Supervisory AI/ML Engineer is directly responsible for the end-to-end data science lifecycle from problem framing and experiments design through data curation, model development, validation, and interpretability, producing statistically rigorous insights that help to shape agency policy and enforcement prioritization and improves detection accuracy.

Work reflects expertise in statistical learning, algorithmic innovation, and causal inference, applying advanced methods to varied structured/unstructured sources at scale. The incumbent leads a team that builds AI agents that operationalize safety analytics using tools such as Microsoft Copilot Studio, Python agents, and retrieval pipelines to accelerate triage and decision flow. Integrates agents with APIs, event streams, dashboards, and case management systems to reduce cycle time from signal to action and support proactive hazard detection. Serves as a technical expert on data science principles and concepts to construct data fusion products that merge data from multiple systems. Maintains state of the art knowledge of AI/ML development through close contact with industry and other federal activities; participates in AI/ML working groups, communities of practice, and CPSC or governmentwide forums.

The Supervisory AI/ML Engineer:

• Leads and defines the agency’s data science research agenda for hazard detection and product risk modeling; establishes methodological standards, reproducibility protocols, and peer review processes.
• Leads large-scale, analytically intensive data science program through advanced data science methodologies, statistical modeling, and applied ML. Helps to transform hazard detection processes by replacing manual systems with automated data-driven approaches capable of evaluating high-volume, high-velocity datasets.
• Leads the design and implementation of advanced technical solutions (e.g. supervised / unsupervised, Natural Language Processing (NLP), deep learning, agent native and opensource generative pretrained transformers (GPTs), and multiagent orchestration) to extract actionable insights, rigorously evaluate model performance, and enhance product safety decision making. The role emphasizes data quality, performance, and interoperability in modern cloud environments (Azure), enabling the Commission’s strategic acceleration toward a proactive product safety operating model.
• Ensures strong cross functional collaboration to advance organizational priorities and deliver the CPSC mission. 
• Leads data storytelling that transforms complex data and model outputs into clear narratives, decision briefs, and visual analytics (dashboards, reports) for technical and nontechnical audiences; and surfaces foresights by identifying leading indicators, signals, and trends; perform scenario analysis and “what-if” simulations to anticipate emerging hazards and shorten time to intervention.
• Communicates uncertainty, assumptions, and limitations to senior leaders and horizontal agency offices; connects insights to current internal and external policy, enforcement, and program impacts; and serves as a architect and implements end-to-end ML pipelines, including data ingestion, preprocessing, model training, evaluation, and deployment. Implements model monitoring (drift, data/feature quality, bias, and business KPIs), alerting, and automated rollback to keep systems safe and responsive. 
• Designs high quality data pipelines (ingest, transform, validate) across structured and unstructured sources; enforces data contracts, lineage, and documentation. Partners with analytics teams to make datasets discoverable and performant for iterative model development.
• Mentors and guides junior AI/ML engineers through structured coaching, technical reviews, and career development support. Provides hands-on supervision in designing ML pipelines, coding best practices, and responsible AI principles. Fosters a learning culture by organizing knowledge-sharing sessions, pair programming, and code walkthroughs. Sets clear expectations, provides actionable feedback, and ensures alignment with agency standards for quality, security, and compliance. Encourages innovation while maintaining rigor in documentation, reproducibility, and governance artifacts. Drives adoption and change management.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required.
• A background investigation is required.
• Must meet education requirements.

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 (supervisory) 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 education 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:  

GS-15: 1) Experience leading and overseeing enterprise scale AI/ML and advanced analytics programs; 2) directing the end to end data science lifecycle (data engineering, modeling, validation, deployment, monitoring); 3) modernizing cloud native analytical ecosystems; 4) applying AI/ML to detect risks, hazards, early indicators, signals, or emerging trends; and 5) with supervisory or senior technical leadership improving mission outcomes in complex public safety or operational environments.

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).

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.

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 resume and supporting documentation (such as transcripts - please review the education section) will then be reviewed by a Subject Matter Expert (SME). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. 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. Qualified candidates will be considered in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire Guidelines.

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).

Veterans' Preference does not apply to the direct hire recruitment procedures. Selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. You may not be considered for the position if any part of the application is incomplete. Your application may not receive appropriate consideration without the required supporting documentation.