Information Technology Specialist

Summary

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in Office of Digital and Innovation (ODI), Office of the Deputy Secretary, Smithsonian Institution (SI). ODI works centrally and within SI units to unlock the full potential of our collections and resources, better understand and serve our audiences, and pioneer innovative approaches to accelerate and scale our impact.

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Duties

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This position decides on, leads and oversees SI's digital asset services function and provides enterprise leadership for the systems, platforms, services and operational capabilities that support the: capture, information management, preservation, integration, discovery, access and complete lifecycle management of digital assets and collections information.

In this position, you will:

• Apply software tools used by biodiversity genomics and informatics researchers in order to carry out software analysis, design, development, modification and implementation to develop, modify and enhance workflows for scientific researchers.
• Develop, implement and test algorithms and analytic techniques to create informatics tools (to process data for storage and retrieval) and enhance informatic workflows for biodiversity genomics research, informatics research and other biological and environmental scientific research.
• Perform collaborative research in the area of biodiversity genomics and machine learning. This involves the development and implementation of algorithms, and analysis, design, development, and implementation of new workflows that exploit the needed biodiversity genomics and machine learning toolset.
• Advise the data science research community, cochairs the artificial intelligence (AI) community of practice working group, builds a use-case inventory and writes AI policy for the Institution. Serves as a member of the AI Review Committee.
• Work closely with the IT professionals who manage, implement, test and debug the high-performance computing cluster (HPCC) and networking infrastructure, acting as translators and advocates for the research community to ensure the appropriate evolution of the technical infrastructure that underlies the research environment Smithsonian-wide.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Requires career/career-conditional status or eligibility.
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements, including one year time-in-grade at the next lower grade level for promotion candidates, must be met within 30 days of the job announcement closing date. See the 'Required Documents' section for additional information.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

GS-14 Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the Federal Service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as:

• Application of Software and Programming Tools, Data Analysis, Collaboration, Data Science, and IT Requirements.
• Gathering Developing computational workflows, analytical methods, software applications, or machine learning solutions for scientific research.
• Using programming languages, statistical packages, and scientific computing tools to analyze complex research data.
• Developing informatics tools or data-processing pipelines for data storage, retrieval, analysis, modeling, or visualization.
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary research teams to implement computational solutions and research technologies.
• Advising researchers on data science methods, AI applications, research computing resources, or high-performance computing environments.
• Translating scientific or technical requirements into computing infrastructure, software, or workflow solutions.

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). 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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

In addition to meeting the Specialized Experience for all positions individuals must have related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below:

Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

Customer Service: Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external business partners and customers (any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unity produces including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government). Provides information or assistance. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement. Effectively manages customer relationships.

Oral Communication: Makes clear and convincing oral presentations to individuals and groups. Listens effectively; clarifies information, as needed. Speaks and writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner that is appropriate to the audience. Facilitates an open exchange of ideas to ensure all group input is considered. Handles technical, sensitive, or controversial topics with agility involving executives/managers as appropriate.

Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems, weighs relevance and accuracy of information, generates and evaluates alternative solutions, and makes sound recommendations.

The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

Your resume must be no more than two (2) pages and should clearly demonstrate how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and specialized experience required for this position. Do not copy language directly from the vacancy announcement, as you will be deemed ineligible for consideration. Instead, provide detailed, descriptive information about your actual experience.

In an effort to streamline our hiring process, SI employees whose current position of record is in the same job series (2210) and who are in a Federal competitive service appointment as this advertised position, are not required to submit a transcript with your application package. However, if selected, you will be required to provide a copy of your transcript before your start date in the position.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).

Education

There are no education requirements or substitution for this position at the GS-14 grade level.

Additional information

This position is included in the bargaining unit.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position. However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

ATTENTION: Due to the large number of qualified applicants for positions of this type, this job announcement will close at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either: (A) The closing date listed above or (B) The date that 150 applications are received; whichever occurs first. We will not consider applications which are late due to the announcement closing date or once the above number of applications is reached.

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.

Help

The Smithsonian offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, vacation and sick leave, holidays, health/life insurance, accident insurance, and excellent retirement program options.

Please see Benefits at for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts -

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