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IT Specialist

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Wallops Island, Virginia
Closing date
Feb 4, 2023

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Duties

This is not a bargaining unit position.

Please read this public notice in its entirety before submitting your application.

Vacancies may not presently exist but may become available at any point during the opening period of this vacancy announcement. We will not review applicant resumes until there is a request to fill a vacancy.


You are applying to a public notice to fill current and future vacancies. Please note, that there may or may not be actual/projected vacancies when you submit your application. Your resume and supporting documentation will be retained with other applicants and reviewed as vacancies occur. You will not receive a notice regarding your application's status other than the initial acknowledgment until a request is received to fill a position.

This announcement will remain open until September 29, 2023. The initial cut-off date is January 20, 2023, OR the point at which the first 100 applications are received, whichever comes first. Applications submitted after January 20, 2023 may not receive consideration. In addition, due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration.

After the initial cut-off period, once additional requests to fill a vacancy are received, applications will be reviewed in increments of 100 applications in date order.

Note: Submitting multiple applications will change the order in which your application is reviewed.

We will refer qualified applicants to the selecting official for consideration. The organization's hiring needs will determine the referral of additional applicants. Applicants will be notified about their application's status if referred or if we fill all vacancies.

This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles:
  • OPM Cyber Code 651 - Enterprise Architect
  • OPM Cyber Code 804 - IT Investment/Portfolio Manager
For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways

Do you want an opportunity to improve the lives of millions of Veterans? Use your technical expertise to develop and deliver cutting-edge digital capabilities to Veterans and those who care for them!

We're looking for experts in data science, software engineering, product design, product management, and user experience (UX) who are passionate about using their skills to ensure Veterans and their families receive seamless care and services to join our team of technologists. Our technologists help develop cutting-edge technology, advocate for Veteran needs, and ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs can provide Veterans' home loans, G.I. Bill, healthcare, and other services.

We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, minorities, people with disabilities, system-impacted people, Veterans, and people of all ages to apply.

About Our Technologist Teams

If selected, technologists will be appointed to serve in our Office of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or Software Product Management (SPM).

You can work from home anywhere in the United States, or at VA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

At OIT, you will be working on a wide variety of projects that are relevant to your specific area of expertise. Possible projects could include:
  • Working on small, cross-functional teams with healthcare, education, and financial analysts to perform technical investigative research for projects that affect millions of Veterans.
  • Analyzing computational models implemented by financial institutions that inform what benefits Veterans and their families are eligible for. Ex. Healthcare, home loan guarantees, and educational benefits
  • Researching how electronic healthcare data can be utilized to deliver better care and services to Veterans.
  • Anticipating risks and acting fast to support Veterans when IT systems fail.
  • Serve as a technical expert and strategic advisor to further the Bureau's investigative and policymaking goals.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available with supervisor approval
Duty Location Status: Will work remotely from home or at VA Headquarters in Washington, DC
Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist/PD 18493A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Recruitment Incentives Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Physical Demands: The work is largely sedentary. The incumbent must possess the flexibility and versatility of mind necessary to defend and negotiate matters involving significant controversial issues. May be required to work under stressful conditions, such as long hours, to complete sensitive and urgent work assignments.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job.
  • Selectees are subject to a background/suitability investigation.
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • Selectees may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • A complete application package, i.e., Resume, Transcripts, etc., as required by the job announcement.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
  • Participation in the Seasonal Influenza Prevention Program for VHA Health Care Personnel (HCP) is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs HCP.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • Pre-employment physical evaluation may be required.


Qualifications

What We're Looking For

We want people excited about building technology and embracing the VA's mission.

We are looking for skilled technologists with experience in any of the following areas:
    Data Science & Strategy: Examine large datasets using scripting languages or modern statistical analyses and computational languages (e.g., Python, R, SQL, Azure Synapse, Power BI, Databricks, Azure ML, Kubernetes, Oracle, Enterprise Data Lake, Azure Data Factory and hosting solutions on cloud environments to include AWS and Azure) to provide seamless care and services to Veterans and their caregivers. Use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies, logistic and linear regression models, or natural language processing (NLP) to detect, anticipate and prevent potential Veteran harm or inability to access VA benefits and services. Software Engineering: Design, create, and test systems to dig into how to best deliver IT products and services. Use front-end, back-end, and full-stack engineering to develop and support new technical strategies that could help effectively serve Veterans and VA employees. This could include API design and development, furthering open-source policies while prioritizing maintainability and software reusability in all product development. Programming languages, e.g., Python, SQL, R, Java, JS, Go, Scala, C, C++, Julia, or MatLab. Product Management: Coordinate across stakeholders and use agile or lean approaches to align cross-functional teams around a common vision or strategy and user needs. Monitor Veteran and market trends and develop environmental analyses. Use expertise to advance the use of emerging technologies within government. Design & UX: A user experience designer at Veteran's Affairs will have a direct impact on the VA's ability to provide its customers - Veterans of the US military and other members of the public that support those Veterans - with an exceptional customer experience, comparable with the experience they have with top tier commercial products and services. They may work on public-facing, clinical, or staff facing initiatives in various design practice areas. A user experience designer can advance through multiple levels in their design career at VA and have a significant impact on improving VA products, processes, and best practices.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy.

Experience - Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate.

For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below. The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. AND

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-14, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as applying enterprise architecture principles to lead and deliver IT digital services program activities in the private and/or federal sectors; using modern technology development and management approaches to deliver digital products to production.

Such experience is typically gained in the IT field or through the performance of work where the primary concern is IT.

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; religions; 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.

Per Office of Personnel Management General Schedule Qualification Policies , 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 when documented by satisfactory evidence (e.g., a memorandum from the manager, human resources director, or official documentation such as SF-52, SF-50 documenting an official detail/assignments, or other comparable documentation). The documentation must indicate whether the employee performed the duties full time or, if part-time, the percentage of times the employee performed the additional duties.

To receive credit for experience in your resume that is not within the official series and grade level of your position, you must provide official documentation of such experience as indicated above.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/alph-ndx.asp .

Education

There is no education substitute for the GS-15 level.

Additional information

* This is an announcement for a Term Appointment, initially not to exceed Two Years, which MAY be extended up to Four Years based on needs of the agency/management. *

Current Openings

New and emerging technologies are changing how preexisting products and services work or creating new ones. We need more technologists serving in the ranks of our technology teams. These positions are vital in helping us understand the constantly evolving needs of Veterans and their families.

Technologists will work alongside financial analysts, healthcare researchers, human resources experts, and more to provide quality IT products and services using various technical or design methods to inform how best to deliver care and benefits to Veterans. Technologists will support the cross-pollination of key ideas in emerging technology fields to ensure the federal government can keep pace with the private sector.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/ .

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

OPM General Schedule (GS) & Locality Pay Tables: The salary range listed reflects the GS base rate (not including locality). Upon selection, the salary will be adjusted to include locality. Please see OPM GS & Locality Pay Tables .

Superior Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting:
Agencies may set the rate of basic pay of a newly-appointed employee at a rate above the minimum rate of the appropriate General Schedule (GS) grade because of-
  • the superior qualifications of the candidate; or
  • a special need of the agency for the candidate's services.

  • An agency must approve each determination to use this authority before the employee enters on duty - the determination cannot be made retroactively - and is not guaranteed. OPM Superior Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting Authority Fact Sheet .

    Recruitment Incentives: An agency may pay a recruitment incentive to a newly-appointed employee if the agency has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive. OPM Recruitment Incentive Fact Sheet .

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