Data Scientist; Bioinformatics

Data Scientist (Bioinformatics), IS- 1560- 11

Final date to receive applications: 12 October 2026

Department: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Compensation: $85,447 - $91,145 / year

OPEN DATE: September 11, 2026

CLOSING DATE: October 12, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary for 2 years

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY

LOCATION:

Washington, DC, National Museum of Natural History

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-Sensitive - Low risk

Who May Apply: Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions? Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side.

Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

This position is located in Washington, DC, within the Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), under the Office of the Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian Institution (SI).

STRI provides a global platform for research on tropical forests and marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and human well-being.

The ForestGEO program is a global network of scientists and forest research sites dedicated to advancing the long-term study of the world's forests.

The GEO-TREES initiative builds on this network to improve the accuracy and verification of global forest carbon estimates through collaboration among forest research sites worldwide. The Data Scientist supports the Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) and GEO-TREES programs as a liaison between site-based data collection and the development of analytical data products.

• Performs data-management, computational, and bioinformatics assignments supporting research in tropical biology, ecology, and forestry.
• Develops, implements, modifies, and maintains data-processing pipelines used to process plot-based tree inventory and related ecological data and to derive estimates such as forest woody biomass density.
• Evaluates the performance of existing data-processing pipelines and recommends modifications or improvements based on data characteristics, analytical requirements, user needs, and experience working with ForestGEO and GEO-TREES site teams.
• Develops and modifies computational procedures for analysis of ForestGEO and GEO-TREES scientific data using established data-science principles, methods, and practices.
• Processes, validates,…