Duties

Please read this Direct Hire announcement in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration. You are applying to a resume database. Your resume and any documents submitted will be retained and may be used at any time during or after the open period of this Direct Hire announcement. U.S. Citizenship is REQUIRED.

As a DATA SCIENTIST, you will:

• Consult and collaborate with statistical, data science, artificial intelligence and public health professionals in the collection, linkage, processing, mining, coding, classification, and analysis of public health surveillance, research, and administrative health data.
• Utilize current data science methods and tools to plan and conduct research using public health data systems, including survey data, health care facility data, syndromic surveillance data, electronic records, vital records, and non-traditional data sources such as social media and unstructured web-based data.
• Develop, implement, and monitor advanced analytic, computation, and predictive modeling tools for CDC programs.
• Perform a variety of scientific activities and analyses related to advanced computation, statistical and machine learning technologies and algorithms, artificial intelligence, or data mining in various program areas.
• Prepare comprehensive reports that include discussion of substantive issues related to data science methodology for public health surveillance and related applications, assessment of the adequacy and quality of data used in the analyses, and explanation of the methods, results, and relevance to the health issue under study.
• Apply the theoretical foundations of data science and computer system architecture adapted to complex information management in support of the CDC's mission.

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.
• This is an open continuous vacancy announcement. Certificates will be issued during the job opening of this vacancy when notification to fill a vacancy is received from the Hiring Manager.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• Travel, transportation, and moving expenses will be paid: May be authorized.
• Promotion Potential: Please be advised there is no promotion potential for these positions, any position filled with this announcement will be filled at the single grade level requested.
• This position can be filled at any grade level.
• This position may be subject to a Collective Bargaining Agreement.
• This position may require a Drug Test and subject to Random Drug Testing.
• This position may be subject to a Background/Security Investigation.
• Recruitment, Relocation or Retention Incentive may be authorized.
• Annual Leave for non-federal service may be authorized.
• Supervisory position: No
• Public Trust/Moderate Background Investigation (5): May be required.
• Research position: No

Qualifications

Continuation of Requirements:

• This position may be subject to a OGE Financial Disclosure CDC Financial Disclosure-The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspires public confidence in its trust responsibilities and mission by maintaining high ethical principles. This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest and your prospective position with the agency. This Information will be required annually.
• 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.
• 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.

Basic Qualifications:

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

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major field of study (30 semester hours) as shown in paragraph 1 above, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

Minimum Qualifications GS-11:
To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level, which must include the following experience: utilizing principles, concepts, and theories of data science, operation research methodology, analysis, and evaluation.

OR
Have completed 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a PhD. degree OR possess a PhD or equivalent doctoral degree in a field that is directly related to the duties of this position.

OR

Have a combination of specialized experience and graduate level education that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

Minimum Qualifications GS-12:
To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level, which must include the following experience:developing mathematical, and/or statistical models for evaluation, identification, collection, and analysis of all data used to support assigned public health projects or program(s).

Minimum Qualifications GS-13:
To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level, which must include the following experience: performing scientific activities related to data modeling, forecasting, and/or statistical analyses for public health projects or program(s).

Minimum Qualifications GS-14:
To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level, which must include the following experience: performing scientific activities related to modeling, computational and/or statistical analyses for public health projects or program(s).

Minimum Qualifications GS-15:
To qualify at the GS-15 grade level, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level, which must include the following experience: providing leadership expertise in automating and leveraging tools and services to enable effective implementation of analytics, data science, visualization, and generation of insights for public health decision-making.

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.

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

Positions may be available in multiple locations across the United States, or eligible for telework and remote work opportunities, based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Workplace Flexibilities Policy.

The salary listed is Rest of U.S. (RUS). Locality pay will be adjusted to reflect location negotiated after selection. If selected, you will be required to sign a Workplace Flexibilities Agreement. Find more information on locality and pay scales .

Vacancies will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this announcement. All applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements will be forwarded to the selecting official for consideration. Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the direct-hire authority.

For more information on OPM's authorization of Direct Hire Authority, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hire-authority/

This position has been designated as remote and may be eligible for inclusion in the Bargaining Unit.The name of the union, Local and BU Codes will be provided upon selection.

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

The utilization of shared certificates within multiple Centers of the Center of 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.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx .

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

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