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Summary The Data Scientist, Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC) is organizationally part of the VA Central Office (VACO) Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP). This position is in direct communication with OMHSP, as well as the Director and Associate Directors of NEPEC. The primary purpose of the Data Scientist is to evaluate VA specialized mental health systems. Responsibilities Duties include but are not limited to: Conceptualize and conduct program evaluation projects involving large healthcare data sets using knowledge about multiple fields of research that bridge diverse disciplines. Conducting projects that require a versatile skill set within the realm of Data Analytics, Modeling, Optimization, Governance and Visualization while having the ability to utilize and apply statistical methods and techniques to enhance data analysis. Developing and maintaining electronic program monitoring tools for wide dissemination of data inside and outside VA, including to VA Central Office, Office of Informatics and Analytics, professional organizations, and the public. Use multiple software packages and operating system environments suitable for working with, manipulating, and analyzing large datasets. Create and maintain systems and databases designed to ensure that projects comply with administrative policies, procedures, and the data security guidelines and policies of the VA Office of Information Technology (OIT) Oversight and Compliance. Use of Structured Querying Language (SQL) Server Management Studio, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) to create and maintain reports that support NEPEC program evaluation projects. Provides NEPEC staff with technical training as deemed necessary by the Director, both orally and in writing. Participates in national initiatives involving data syndication and data interoperability and collaborates with internal and external subject matter and data experts in data innovation and migration projects. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8am-430pm Compressed/Flexible: Authorized Telework: Ad-Hoc is Authorized Remote: Not Authorized Virtual: Not Authorized. Position Description/PD#: Data Scientist/PD03739-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Notifications: This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. Selectee may be required to work at any VACT Healthcare System campus, as needed. May be required to attend conference at other facilities or other VA sites on occasion. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's. This position is in the Competitive Service. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/02/2026. 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. English Language Proficiency. In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), no person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. Individual Occupational Requirements: 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. (Transcript must be submitted). OR 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. AND Time-In-Grade Requirement: 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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. Note: 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Grade Requirements Specialized Experience GS-13: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conduct program evaluation projects involving large and complex healthcare data sets, Develop and maintain electronic program monitoring tools for wide dissemination of data, Expertise with natural language processing to analyze data and interpret results. Experience in writing SQL code to accurately identify a patient cohort of interest in a corporate data warehouse (CDW) and populate a table for this cohort with diverse data such as demographics, diagnoses, appointments, and organizational encounters. Selective Placement Factor: In addition to the qualifications listed above, applicants must have the selective placement factor listed below. Applicants must have comprehensive computer programming knowledge and skills requiring independently writing SQL code, Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) data extraction, and advanced data visualization software particularly Power BI. (Note: This experience must be reflective on your resume to receive credit). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical Thinking Customer Service Data Management Database Administration Database Management Systems Research 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Sedentary, some walking, sitting, standing and carrying of light items. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.