Summary

The incumbent serves as a Data Scientist at the Food and Nutrition Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, supporting the agency's fraud analytics portfolio. The Data Scientist serves as a senior technical expert working on complex, data-driven objectives to analyze, evaluate fraud, waste, and abuse prevention initiatives.

Duties

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• The incumbent creates management tools and outcome-based measures aligned with USDA and FNA goals to improve program integrity, efficiency and delivery.
• Using advanced programming (Python, R), platforms (Palantir Foundry, Databricks), and visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI), the incumbent builds analytical models and algorithms to detect patterns and relationships in large, diverse datasets.
• The incumbent will support the development of data policies to improve program integrity, evaluating regulations and operations through advanced analysis of fraud patterns.
• The incumbent implements data quality standards and business rules, strengthens relationships with key stakeholders, and ensures data is central to strategic decisions across FNA and inter-agency efforts against fraud.
• The incumbent will support integrating governance and quality standards to enhance fraud detection, and they will enforce business rules for data maintenance and drive improvements in data integrity and consistency across all relevant systems.
• Lead or participate in cross-functional workgroups and represent the organization in meetings involving assigned areas of analytical expertise.

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
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary and a trial period. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution

Qualifications

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

In order to qualify for this position, you must possess both the Basic Requirements and Minimum Qualifications.

Basic Requirement:

1. 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

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

Minimum Qualifications:

To qualify for the GS-14 level, your resume must clearly demonstrate that you have one full year of specialized experience comparable in difficulty and responsibility to at least the GS-13 level in private and/or federal service. Example of qualifying experience include the following types of tasks performed on a regular and recurring basis:

• Leading the design or development of analytical models, algorithms, or outcome-based management tools to inform strategic decisions or evaluate policy effectiveness;
• Driving improvements to enterprise-level data management practices by developing data policies, integrating governance standards, or influencing strategic data-driven decisions; and
• Leading cross-functional workgroups or projects focused on solving complex data analysis challenges.

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

See the Qualifications section for education that may be qualifying for the specific series grade level.

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.

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.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.