Duties

As a Computer Scientist (Informatics) you will:

• Plan and carry out public health informatics assignments for complete projects that entail a variety of complicating and interacting factors, relationships with other specializations, and consideration of the complete development cycle.
• Identify the scope and extent of investigation, analysis and design required by others, and defines the specific requirements and design criteria for guidance of such research and development efforts.
• Apply foundations and concepts of computer science to address complex public health informatics data or management needs, necessitating the need for computer technologies, products, and prototype systems (e.g., macro- and microprogramming, survey collection systems, search systems, distributed computing, server clustering, disk farms, virtual private networks, virtual organizations, data visualization, human computer interface) to overcome critical business obstacles.
• Conduct computer analysis and in-depth investigations to identify the most feasible approaches to complex hardware/software/networking system design and development problems.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• US Citizenship is required.
• Background Investigation is required.
• E-Verify: If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-Verify" System. Federal law requires DHS to use the E-Verify System to verify employment eligibility of all new hires, and as a condition of continued employment obligates the new hire to take affirmative steps to resolve any discrepancies identified by the system. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is an E-Verify Participant.
• Direct Deposit: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Travel, transportation, and moving expenses will be paid: No
• Bargaining Unit Position: Yes
• Drug Screening Required: No
• Student loan repayment incentive may be authorized: No
• Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized.
• Promotion potential: Yes, If yes add: This position has promotion potential to GS-13. Promotion to the next grade level is at management's discretion and is based on your meeting qualifications and time-in-grade requirements, demonstrated ability to perform the higher level duties, the continuing need for the higher level duties, and administrative approval. Promotion to the next grade level is not guaranteed and no promise of promotion is implied.
• Supervisory position: Yes/No, If yes add: Since this is a supervisory position, candidates must also have demonstrated or shown the potential to develop the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities. A supervisory probationary period may be required. Applicants should describe any previous experience or responsibilities which could be used in relation to the supervisory requirements of this position.
• Supervisory position: No
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Public Trust/Moderate Background Investigation (5) is required.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:

Applicant must possess a bachelor's degree in computer science or a 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.

AND

Minimum Qualifications GS-12:
Applicants must have one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 level of difficulty and responsibility in the Federal service as defined in the next paragraph.

Specialized experience is experience at or equivalent to which is directly related to the position which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to include experience assisting in the design of the execution of software testing and implementation plans and conducting post-implementation evaluations of systems using commercial off the shelf software and applications such as programming with Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and Python for data processing and analysis and data management and application development with Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server.

Minimum Qualifications for GS-13:
Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service as defined in the next paragraph.

Specialized experience is experience which is directly related to the position which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of the position to include experience defining problems, designing solutions, and testing software for a major segment of an organization wide system using commercial off the shelf software and applications such as programming with SAS and Python for data processing and analysis; data management and application development with Microsoft SQL Server; Web development with .NET; and data reporting and visualization with Power Business Intelligence (BI).

Documenting Experience: In accordance with Office of Personnel Management policy, federal employees are assumed to have gained experience by performing duties and responsibilities appropriate for their official series and grade level as described in their position description. Experience that would not normally be part of the employee's position is creditable, however, when documented by satisfactory evidence, such as a signed memorandum from the employee's supervisor or an SF-50 or SF-52 documenting an official detail or other official assignment. The documentation must indicate whether the duties were performed full time or, if part time, the percentage of times the other duties were performed. It is expected that this documentation is included in the employee's official personnel record. In order to receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your official position, you must provide a copy of the appropriate documentation of such experience as indicated above.

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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. Current or Former Political Appointees: Submit SF-50.

Requirements Continued:
In accordance with Executive Order 12564 of September 14, 1986, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is A Drug-Free Federal Workplace. The Federal government, as the largest employer in the Nation, can and should show the way towards achieving drug-free workplaces through programs designed to offer drug users a helping hand, and at the same time demonstrating to drug users and potential drug users that drugs will not be tolerated in the Federal workplace. The use of illegal drugs, on or off duty, by Federal employees is inconsistent not only with the law-abiding behavior expected of all citizens, but also with the special trust placed in such employees as servants of the public. Applicants tentatively selected for this position may be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and be subject to reasonable suspicion and post-accident drug testing upon hiring. If required to submit to urinalysis, the appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative applicant drug test result. In order to demonstrate commitment to the HHS goal of a drug-free workplace and to set an example for other Federal employees, employees not in a testing designated position may volunteer for unannounced random testing by notifying their Drug-free Federal Workplace Program Point of Contact upon hiring.

Education

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the education requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:
https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications .

Additional information

Additional Information:This position is eligible for inclusion in the Bargaining Unit.If the duty station is finalized in Hyattsville, MD, employees in this position will be represented by the NTEU, Local 287, (BU Code - 3591).

To Remain An Active Duty USPHS Commissioned Corps Officer

• Join more than 6,500 highly qualified public health professionals as part of the U.S. Public Health Service. Overseen by the Surgeon General, you will be part of an elite and diverse team of professionals essential to public health leadership and exemplary clinical service
• PHS Officers interested in performing the duties of this position with the Commissioned Corps, you are welcome to apply and receive a courtesy referral. Note that a courtesy referral is not a competitive civil service process and does not provide civil service status for the selected employee. Click Here for the comparison chart of Commissioned Corps ranks to civil service, which advises you on potential billet rankings.

Additional selections may be made within the same geographical location CDC-wide.

The utilization of shared certificates within multiple Centers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used from this vacancy announcement for specialties to include but not limited to: Applied Epidemiology, Behavioral Epidemiology, Chronic Diseases, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Emerging Infectious Diseases, Environmental Health, HIV/AIDS, Immunization, Infectious Diseases (e.g. Viral, Parasitic, etc.), Influenza, Malaria, Non-communicable Diseases, Outbreak Investigations, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), Surveillance, Tropical Medicine, Tuberculosis (TB), Viral Hepatitis, and/or Zoonotic Diseases.

Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans

Males born after December 31, 1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov .)

For information on "People with Disabilities" please see http://opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp
and https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/disability-employment/getting-a-job/sampleschedaletters.pdf .