Data Scientist

This position is located at the VHA National Center for Organization Development: VHA NCOD;
Organizational Code: 106C. This position is assigned to the Research Business Line within VHA NCOD. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/15/2026.

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You must first meet Basic Education Requirements for this position as described below. Transcripts are REQUIRED.

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.

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

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must have specialized experience or directly related education as described below.

• Leads and conducts complex organizational, health-science, and data-science research using advanced statistical, psychometric, predictive, machine-learning, and artificial-intelligence methods to evaluate workplace dynamics, customer feedback, program performance, and organizational outcomes.
• Designs, develops, and implements data acquisition, management, standardization, quality-control, benchmarking, and reporting processes for large and complex datasets, including procedures for data storage, retrieval, classification, coding, security, privacy, and dissemination.
• Uses the statistical program R and R markdown to create automated analytical workflows, dashboards, interactive reports, visualizations, and user-focused applications that transform organizational and survey data into actionable information for VA leaders, program offices, and other stakeholders.
• Provides expert scientific, methodological, and technical consultation on research design, survey development, program evaluation, organizational assessment, strategic communication, statistical modeling, and the interpretation of quantitative and qualitative findings.
• Applies advanced programming, data mining, predictive analytics, machine learning, natural language processing, and emerging technologies to identify trends, generate projections, evaluate program effectiveness, and develop data-driven organizational solutions and recommendations.
• Advises senior leadership, mentors or guides junior staff, coordinates with multidisciplinary stakeholders, and communicates research findings through briefings, reports, publications, presentations, and professional meetings at the local, national, and international levels.

These will be assessed through a work sample.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri Corps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).…