Data Scientist (Direct Hire)

The US Railroad Retirement Board is seeking a Data Scientist for an onsite role in Birmingham, Alabama. This position focuses on designing, developing, and deploying advanced analytics and AI-enabled solutions to support the agency’s mission, with the incumbent serving as the technical authority on data science methods across the organization. The role offers a salary range of USD 90,925 to 118,204 per year and involves close collaboration with IT teams to ensure data quality and governance.

Responsibilities

• Act as the agency’s technical authority on data science methodologies and advanced analytics.
• Design and implement data quality frameworks, validation protocols, and governance standards for enterprise datasets.
• Analyze complex datasets to uncover trends, anomalies, and strategically significant patterns.
• Develop and deploy automated anomaly detection systems to flag data irregularities that may indicate fraud, processing errors, or operational inefficiencies.
• Serve as the agency’s subject matter expert on data science, providing technical guidance to IT staff, data teams, and business stakeholders.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitability for Federal employment determined by a background investigation.
• Must successfully complete a probationary period.
• Complete the initial online assessment and USA Hire Assessment, if required.
• May be required to work outside normal duty hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, due to operational needs.
• Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, Data Science, or a closely related field; the degree must be in a major appropriate for the position.
• Combination of education and experience: coursework equivalent to a major field (30 semester hours) plus additional education or relevant experience.
• Transcripts are required to verify educational qualifications; failure to submit transcripts will result in an ineligible rating.
• Minimum Qualifications for GS-13: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service.
• Experience designing, developing, testing, validating, and deploying machine learning models, algorithms, and predictive analytics solutions.
• Experience designing and implementing data quality frameworks, validation protocols, and governance standards.
• Experience building automated anomaly detection systems to identify data irregularities.
• Foreign education: if using education completed abroad, have credentials evaluated for equivalence to U.S. education or full credit awarded by a U.S. accredited institution; education must be credited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
• All materials must be submitted by the closing date; an official transcript will be required if selected.

This job is open to

• The public: U.S. Citizens, Nationals, or those who owe allegiance to the United States.
• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL): Federal employees whose position was eliminated and who are eligible for priority over other applicants.