DATA AND AI ENGINEER/SCIENTIST

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing a DHA to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service., Serves as a Senior Data Engineer for the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) supporting its mission of accelerating digital modernization and deployment of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (Al/ML) to provide AFRICOM with decision advantage., * Serve as a subject matter expert for the digital transformation effort and facilitate the adoption of new technologies.

• Provide detailed technical documentation for other data professionals and contracted staff through digital capture (e.g. JIRA, Slack, or similar) to maintain data pipelines created in support of key Command processes.
• Utilizes Agile development principles to segment complex dataflows/processes into manageable tasks that incrementally deliver value for the stakeholders and enable collaborative execution.
• Design and implement systems to acquire and standardize data from diverse sources, such as databases, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and external feeds.
• Manage the creation and enforcement of governance policies and ontological standards to ensure data is properly classified, stored, and accessible to AI routines.
• Develop and implement algorithms to automate repetitive tasks, such as data validation, anomaly detection, security checks, workflow metrics, and pipeline monitoring.
• Design systems with encryption, secure authentication, and monitoring to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access or breaches., * This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Locality pay does not apply in the overseas area.
• If an employee brings a child to an overseas location and that child is entitled to attend a DoD school on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, the DoDEA and the Military Department responsible for providing related services will ensure that the child, if eligible for special education, receives a free appropriate public education, including related services pursuant to DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
• If an employee brings an infant or toddler (up to 3 years of age) to an overseas location, and that infant or toddler, but for the child's age, is entitled to attend the DoDEA on a space-required basis in accordance with DoDEA Regulation 1342.13, then the Military Department responsible for EIS will provide the infant or toddler with the required EIS in accordance with the eligibility criteria consistent with DoDI 1342.12 and DoDM 1342.12.
• Employees (and family members) who require medical or dental care in the overseas location will be responsible for obtaining and paying for such care. Access for civilian employees and their families to military medical and dental treatment facilities is on a space-available and reimbursable basis only.
• Medical and dental care may be provided by host nation providers. The availability and level of care at host nation medical and dental facilities will vary by location.
• Pay retention may be offered to selected applicants for positions at overseas locations. Pay retention will not be offered as an incentive for employees moving between overseas positions.
• Selectees may receive certain foreign area benefits such as: Living Quarters Allowance (LQA) or government quarters, home leave, etc. Selectees will have their eligibility for foreign area benefits determined at the time of hire in accordance with Department of State Standardized Regulation (DSSR) and DoDI 1400.25 volume 1250.
• For positions in a foreign country, that country's laws or international agreements may have a direct impact on the ability of an employee's same sex domestic partner or spouse to accompany the employee and receive certain benefits. If you believe you may be affected by these laws and agreements, you should familiarize yourself with relevant information and direct questions concerning a specific country (Foreign Duty Location) to the appropriate Army Human Resources point of contact prior to the acceptance of employment and your entrance on duty.
• This is a(n) 16 Engineers & Scientist Career Field position.
• Defense National Relocation Program will not be authorized.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution., Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.

If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet., * Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.

• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You MUST submit a copy of your transcript if you want to substitute your education for experience. If you claim qualifications based on education, and do not submit a transcript, your education will not be used in making a qualification determination and you may be found "not qualified." See: Transcripts and Licenses.
• License/Certification: If the position has a license/certification requirement, you MUST submit a copy of your current, active, valid, unrestricted license/certification. See: Transcripts and Licenses.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility., Work site options Telework eligible No Remote job No Relocation expenses reimbursed Yes-You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Applicants must comply with the Exceptional Family Member Program requirements as outlined in the DoD Instruction 1315.19.
• Must be able to satisfy the requirements of the 26JUL12 DODI 1400.25 V1230, DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Employment in Foreign Areas and Employee Return Rights. Visit https://www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• U.S. citizens overseas under ordinarily resident status are not eligible for appointment under the Status of Forces Agreement.
• Must obtain and maintain a no-fee passport and associated visa while assigned to a Federal civilian position in an area requiring a passport and associated visa, if authorized.
• This position requires the incumbent to be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Top-Secret security clearance with eligibility for access to Special Compartmentalized Information (SCI) for the duration of employment.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 15% of the time, to include the continent of Africa.
• Must be willing and able to obtain and maintain Country/Theater Clearance per the Foreign Clearance.
• Must be willing to obtain and maintain a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) certification.
• Must be able to meet Cyber Workforce codes 902 653 requirements in accordance with Defense Cyber Workforce (DCWF) position requirements., In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document., A.. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); OR (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure - Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses - Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program.
4. Related curriculum - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions.

Basic Requirement: For Computer Scientist Series 1550 Bachelor's degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

Basic Requirement: For Data Scientist Series 1560

• 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 A above, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes designing or implementing data to ontological standards in platforms such as Databricks, Palantir, or similar to enable the use of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) that facilitates data-driven analytics and decision-making across an organization.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12 or above).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone-no substitution of education for experience is permitted., FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications, Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education., Security clearance Sensitive Compartmented Information Position sensitivity and risk Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job. Background check type

• National security

Financial disclosure required No Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.

Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations.

Relocation/Recruitment/ Advanced Rate In-Hire/Advanced Leave Accrual incentive may be authorized if determined to be in the organization's interest.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered., $90,925 - $118,204 per year Pay scale & grade GS 13 Promotion potential None Learn more about pay scale and grade Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job. Work schedule Full-time Travel Required Occasional travel - This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 15% of the time, to include the continent of Africa. Appointment type Term - 2 years Occupations and job series

• 0854 Computer Engineering
• 1550 Computer Science
• 1560 Data Science Series