Research Data Scientist

• Processing raw microbiome sequencing data using established bioinformatics pipelines
• Performing sequence quality control taxonomic and functional profiling and preparation of analysis-ready feature tables
• Conducting routine statistical summaries including diversity calculations simple comparisons between groups and preliminary visualizations to support downstream modeling performed by senior team members
• Assisting with transferring merging and validating microbiome outputs within the secure VA computing environment ensuring consistency with clinical datasets prepared by the statistics team
• Working closely with the Senior Statistician to troubleshoot data issues adjust preprocessing steps as needed and produce preliminary figures and descriptive results for internal discussions
• Contributing to the preparation of study reports abstracts and manuscript supplements by generating tables and visual materials
• Supporting ongoing project needs by implementing minor analytical tasks updating pipelines as new samples or methods become available
• Coordinating with investigators to ensure that microbiome data products align with project requirements

Work Schedule: Full time; Monday - Friday; 8:00am- 4:30pm (Without compensation)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public determining if your employment advances the public interest we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement:

Education: 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 above plus additional education or appropriate experience.

AND

Basic Qualifications:

This Without Compensation position is equivalent to the GS-11.

Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to performing statistical analysis for clinicians; developing statistical tools for Shared Resources developing and maintaining data pipelines for microbiome data analysis and visualization using Python and R. 3 collaborating with researchers to do statistical analyses for various studies facilitating downstream statistical analysis providing technical support for research projects by performing sequencing data preprocessing quality control and feature extraction.

OR

Education: A Masters or equivalent graduate degree

OR

Combination: Experience and education that equals 100% when the percentage of experience and education are combined

AND

Selective Placement Factor: Experience analyzing large-scale microbiome datasets using bioinformatics tools (QIIME 2 MetaPhlAn 4) to generate insights into population health

Note: OPM defines a selective factor as A competency/KSAs or special qualification without which a candidate could not perform the duties of a position in a satisfactory manner. Selective factors are applied in addition to minimum qualifications. Applicants who do not meet a selective factor are ineligible for further consideration.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit full performance level of this vacancy is 00.

Physical Requirements: The work is predominantly sedentary. Typically the employee sits comfortably to do the work. However there will be some walking standing bending and carrying of items of moderate weight such as large binders banker style file boxes meeting materials papers books or small parts. Hand and eye coordination for delicate testing procedures may be the only special physical demand required to perform the work.