Data Scientist - AI Engineer

About the role

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT IS ONLY OPEN TO CURRENT UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL, UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE AND POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION EMPLOYEES.

OTHER APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

What you will do

• This announcement provides the opportunity for a reassignment/promotion to Data Scientist - AI Engineer position in the Research and Insights Solution Center located in Arlington, Virginia or Bethesda, MD.
• Bring your skills and voice to our team!
• The Research and Insights Solution Center (RISC) is the chief data and research component of the OIG, comprised of data scientists, data analysts, programmatic subject matter experts, geographic information system professionals, data engineers, research specialists, economists, and public policy analysts.
• Our analytics group offers the opportunity to drive value to the organization by designing and developing analytical solutions for auditors, investigators, and researchers.
• The RISC analytics group is currently seeking an experienced Data Scientist - AI Engineer who will be responsible for researching, assessing, evaluating, and realizing useful and valuable emerging technologies and techniques that can progress the analytic and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and offerings across OIG.
• This position will provide thought leadership for RISC, in enabling data science work that requires application of data mining techniques, model development, statistical analysis, predictive analytics, text analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies, to support OIG's oversight of USPS through audits, white papers, and investigations.
• Bring your skills and voice to our team!
• NOTE: This is a TERM appointment, with an initial term of two years, with the possibility of three additional extensions of up to one-year each.
• The position may be extended further without competition.
• Candidates will be evaluated on the skills that they possess that are directly related to the duties of the position and the experience, education and training that indicate the applicant's ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position.
• Only those candidates who meet all qualification and eligibility requirements and who submit the required information by 11:59 PM EST on 09/25/2026 will be considered.
• This position is being advertised at the Journey Band level, equivalent to a GS-9 - GS-12.
• The salary range for this position is $70,623.00 - $133,142.00.
• The salary figures include locality pay.
• Promotion potential to a GS-13 is at management's discretion.
• Please note that the duties and responsibilities associated with this position may vary based upon the agency's needs at the time of hire.
• The following description of major duties and responsibilities is only intended to give applicants a general overview of the expectations.
• The following description of major duties and responsibilities is only intended to give applicants a general overview of the expectations.
• Infrastructure Tooling & Engineering: Develops scalable infrastructure tooling and cloud-based engineering workflows to support the automated, reproducible deployment of analytics and artificial intelligence pipelines.
• Graph Architecture Integration: Designs, implements, and maintains the core graph database ecosystem, focusing on relationship mapping to uncover hidden networks and anomalies within complex datasets.
• Generative AI & LLM Customization: Directs the integration, prompt engineering, orchestration, and fine-tuning of commercial and open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) to optimize the extraction of structured data from unstructured formats.
• Model Validation & MLOps Monitoring: Builds shared validation tools and operational systems to track machine learning model performance, detect data drift, and address live deployment anomalies.
• Software Engineering Standards: Applies rigorous modern software engineering practices, including continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, to govern the end-to-end model lifecycle.
• Algorithmic Product Creation: Architects advanced analytics products and writes specialized software code to implement complex analytical frameworks targeted at priority organizational objectives.
• Testing, Safety, & Compliance: Executes comprehensive testing protocols for AI integrations to ensure full compliance with performance baselines, security controls, and federal alignment standards.
• Community Upskilling & Planning: Partners with internal leadership to perform training needs assessments and execute strategic workforce development plans that build code-driven analytics capabilities across the agency.
• Emergent Technology Prototyping: Researches the frontiers of data science, commercial APIs, and knowledge management to perform rapid prototyping and rigorous experimentation on novel technical workflows.
• Cross-Functional Synergy & Adoption: Facilitates collaborative project delivery across technical boundaries, coordinates with external providers, and creates accessible user documentation to accelerate system adoption.

Education

Education must be accredited by an institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation here: ***

Special Instructions for Candidates with Foreign Education: Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in U.S. education programs.

You must submit all necessary documents to a private U.S. credential evaluation service to interpret equivalency of your education against courses given in U.S. accredited colleges and universities.

For further information visit: ***

How you will be evaluated

The Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications required for this position.

You will no longer be considered for this position if you: Receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor Fail to attach all required documentation Submit a resume that exceeds the two-page limit If your application materials indicate that you are not minimally-qualified for this position If you fail to qualify on the interview Only the top-rated candidates will be referred to a review official or the selecting official for further consideration.

Top-rated applicants may be required to participate in an interview. Your rating may be further adjusted or rated as ineligible by the review official or the selecting official based on your interview performance. Once all applicant scores are finalized, the selecting official will make a final decision.

NOTE: If you receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor or on the interview, you will be considered NOT MINIMALLY QUALIFIED for the position and rated ineligible. Applicants for this position may be interviewed one or more times as part of the hiring process.

During interviews, applicants may not use any AI tool or virtual assistant (such as ChatGPT) to help them answer questions, except for accessibility tools used as part of a reasonable accommodation. Applicants who fail to follow these rules will be disqualified from the hiring process.

Documents you must provide

• You must submit all required documents by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date of this announcement, Vacancy Announcement 13060716, by closing date 09/25/2026.
• RESUME - IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages.
• You will no longer be considered for this announcement if your resume exceeds the two-page limit.
• It is essential that your resume and supporting documentation provide sufficient information to substantiate your qualifications for the announced position (categorize as "Resume").
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
• Make sure your page margins are 0.5 inches.
• The recommended font styles are Sans-Serif, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noto Sans.
• Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume.
• Your resume must be 5MB or less.
• We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages.
• The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
• COMPLETE OCCUPATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE.
• Click the "Apply Online" button and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire.
• (Required: You must click on "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the Questionnaire to complete this process) 3.
• TRANSCRIPTS from an accredited college or university.
• The information presented in the transcript must be verifiable and should contain the name of the institution, applicant's name, list of completed courses, semester hours, GPA, date and type of Bachelor's Degree issued.
• Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.
• Attach document verifying that it has been deemed equivalent.
• For further information visit: ***
• (Required: Upload and save as "Transcript" document.) 4.
• PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL dated within the last 15 months.
• This is required from all applicants including Federal, USPS, OIG, and private sector employees.
• If a PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL is not available, you must submit a separate statement with the reason a performance appraisal is not available.
• (Required: Upload and save as "Performance Appraisal" document.) NOTE: An SF-50 IS NOT acceptable as a performance appraisal.
• You can access your Form 50 by logging into LiteBlue.usps.gov and accessing your eOPF.
• UPLOAD SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS which may include: Certificates or Licenses, if applicable.
• Upload and save as "Certificates or Licenses" document.

What to expect next

Once the Occupational Questionnaire has been received you will receive an acknowledgement e-mail that your submission was successful. After a review of your application package has been completed, you will be notified of your rating and/or referral to the Selecting Official.

Additional information

Pay is only part of the compensation you will earn working for the USPS OIG.

We offer a broad array of benefits programs: As a result of the passage of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 (PSRA), USPS employees (including USPS OIG) and retirees will transition from the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program to the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program effective January 1, 2025.

Detailed information about eligibility and enrollment will be provided upon hiring. For more information, visit the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program website at *** We offer Health, Dental, Vision, Life and Long-Term Care Insurances with Flexible Spending options as well.

For more information about these programs visit: *** Retirement and Thrift Savings. For more information about these programs see *** and tsp.gov/. Flexible Work Schedules.

USPS OIG offers a range of family-friendly flexibilities including flexible work schedules, telework and employee assistance programs. Leave and Holidays. In addition to eleven (11) paid holidays each year, you will earn thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave and thirteen (13) to twenty-six (26) paid vacation days each year depending on your years of service.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Status: Exempt (Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime pay; Exempt employees are not). This agency provides Reasonable Accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require accommodations for any part of the application and/or hiring process, please send an email to ***.

The decision on granting an accommodation request will be made on a case-by-case basis. For further information, please refer to our website at: *** The USPS OIG uses a Pay Banding system, which is equivalent to the Federal GS scale.

Grade and salary determinations will be made based upon a candidate's education and professional experience.