Data Scientist

This Data Scientist position is within the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the VAMC located in North Little Rock, AR. The position is responsible for providing technical expertise aggregating, collating, and analyzing data from databases including, but not limited to, the development, implementation and updating of data extraction queries, data mining and, developing strategies, action plans, data queries modification and maintenance, quality control and validation of collected data. EDUCATION: IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

NOTE: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ . If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/ . RESPONSIBILITIES: ** *THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

***NOTE: This is a TERM appointment (not-to-exceed one year based on project funding). Term appointments are non-status, nonpermanent appointments of limited duration (more than 1 year but not more than 4). Term employees are eligible to earn leave and generally have the same benefits as permanent employees including health and life insurance, within-grade increases and Federal Employees Retirement System and Thrift Savings Plan coverage. Term appointments may be extended without further competition (up to the 4 year maximum). The appointment to a Term position does not confer eligibility for promotion or reassignment to other positions or the ability to be non-competitively converted to permanent employment.

Major duties include but are not limited to the following:

Performs data acquisition, storage, retrieval, quality control, validation, and standardization activities to support research and analytical projects.

Conducts observational analyses using software and/or programming languages such as R, Python, Stata, SAS, or SQL to explore data, test hypotheses, predict outcomes, and inform decisions.

Uses appropriate analytic and statistical software to programmatically prepare data for analysis and clean imperfect data.

Collates and synthesizes analytical results to support informed, data-driven decision-making.

Articulates and presents findings through data visualizations, reports, presentations, and other analytical outputs to technical and non-technical audiences.

Collaborates with teammates, customers, and stakeholders in a reproducible and organized manner to support research and analytical objectives.

Constructs and supports data pipelines using tools and techniques to manage data at scale.

Assists in consolidating research findings and conclusions into completed products for review, publication, and oral presentation to internal and external stakeholders.

Provides analytical support for research, statistical analysis, and data science activities.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. QUALIFICATIONS: In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the Basic Requirement as well as the additional qualification requirements.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: You must possess a degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, data science or a 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 (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

~ OR ~

BASIC REQUIREMENT: You must possess a combination of education and experience with courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours) as listed above, plus additional education or appropriate experience. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, you must also meet one of the following additional requirements.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the Federal service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Data Scientist and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience includes collecting, organizing, analyzing, and validating data from multiple sources to support research, operational, or business objectives; applying statistical and analytical methods to identify trends, evaluate results, and support data-driven decision-making; preparing and maintaining datasets to ensure data quality, accuracy, and usability for analysis; developing reports, visualizations, and presentations to communicate analytical findings to technical and non-technical audiences; and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to support data management, standardization, and research or analytical objectives. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

~ OR ~

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree related to the position that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

~ OR ~

COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate-level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must have provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position (as described above). NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ . SALARY: QuantitativeValue EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Other