Job Description

Data Scientist, IS-1560-12

Application Deadline: 1 June 2026

Department: National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Front Royal, VA

Reporting To: Supervisory Ecologist

Compensation: $102,415 - $133,142 / year

OPEN DATE: May 18, 2026CLOSING DATE: June 1, 2026
POSITION TYPE: Trust FundAPPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Not to Exceed one (1) year (may be extended based on funds availability)SCHEDULE: Full Time DUTY LOCATION: Front Royal, VA
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Who May Apply:
Open to all Qualified Applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?
Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program and may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care). Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated as low risk.
• Complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

INTRODUCTIONThe Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo. This position is located in the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI), Front Royal, VA. NZCBI plays a leading role in the Smithsonian's global efforts to save wildlife species from extinction and train future generations of conservationists.


We are seeking a motivated Data Scientist to join our interdisciplinary research team focused on advancing conservation and ecological understanding through innovative data analysis. The successful candidate will work at the interface of ecology, statistics, and data science with large ecological datasets—including wildlife monitoring (e.g., animal movements, camera trapping, acoustics, eDNA), remote sensing, and field survey data—to support research, management, and decision-making in conservation and natural resource management. The incumbent will perform analytical and evaluative work associated with research activities involving the ecological study of organisms and the environment, summarizing findings for scientific and lay audiences. The incumbent must have demonstrated expertise in computer programming (e.g., R, Python) and fluency in managing large, complex datasets. The incumbent supervises interns, students, and collaborates with other ecologists, conservation practitioners, and data scientists to develop analytical tools, integrate diverse datasets, and generate actionable insights for biodiversity conservation. The position provides opportunities for independent research, collaborative grant development, and peer-review publication, and will contribute to strengthening quantitative capacity across the Institute.

LOCATION
Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serves as a recognized subject matter resource for data science, operations research, master data management and data analytics or visualization whose output improves Unit's results, research and data operations;
• Contributes to Unit data rules and approaches and advises others on appropriate data elements/sets to use for analyses;
• Coordinates the management and flow of data throughout its lifecycle. Organizes, stores and analyzes strategic, operational and production data. Designs, develops and maintains data clearinghouses. Improves user access to data;
• Uses data management tools and knowledge of best practices to control the storage, retrieval, security and integrity of Unit data;
• Uses web design languages (e.g., R, Python) to create web visualizations for user/data interfaces. Manages data sharing policy and agreements;
• Serves as a mentor to staff to manage projects and provide direction and support;
• Uses programing languages to implement analytical approaches (i.e., comparative, trend, diagnostic, root cause, predictive) and analyze data sets consisting of qualitative, quantitative, structured and unstructured data types to deliver key performance information used to inform decisions, actions and communications.
• Creates and oversees the application of a diverse set of models, tools and decision science techniques to develop and enhance program operation analytic capabilities;
• Evaluates alternative courses of action and makes recommendations based on sound scientific theory;
• Participates in discovery processes with internal and external teams and stakeholder to identify requirement, expected outcomes for new or existing initiatives and measurement of success. Works alongside other staff, such as program managers, scientists, data analysts, technicians and Unit staff to recommend technical and analytical solutions that meet requirements for data output;
• Identifies data that are available and relevant, including internal and external data sources, leveraging new data collection processes and performing all phases of the systems development life cycle required;
• Designs, develops and implements features that enable data access, transformation and publication. Provides strategic and technical guidance and hands-on support in the transfer and transformation of any required data. Identifies, adapts and manages changes to products or programs in response to evolving user needs;
• Reviews and evaluates concept papers and proposals for specific data analysis efforts associated with current or proposed research and evaluation sponsored by the Unit. The review process entails an analysis of statistical and substantive aspects of the problem to be addressed, the costs proposed, qualifications of the applicant to conduct proposed study, the implication and policy relevant of the data to be acquired and analyzed and the feasibility of the tasks proposed by applicants. This review may include a detailed set of recommended changes in proposal methodology or project scope. Review also incorporates consultation with persons having technical expertise in various areas of statistical methods and/or practical field experience;
• Accomplishes professional development and maintains technical proficiency through professional interaction with technical and professional societies, associations, academia, symposia, contractors and research and development organizations. Participates in formal training programs. Keeps current on emerging analytical techniques and research methods through independent study and reading/reviewing technical journals and current literature;
• Manages and supports relevant unit or project specific data infrastructure;
• Adapts quantitative methods and techniques, such as mathematical, statistical, artificial intelligence (e.g. machine learning, large language modes), to solve problems and/or forecast outcomes;
• Applies a variety of data analytic tools and techniques to produce findings and insights from structured or unstructured data;
• Consults with stakeholders to determine appropriate products or services and define project scope, requirements and deliverables;
• Designs and develops presentations and visual reports of advanced statistical analysis and data analytics tailored to specific audiences and stakeholders. Develops data visualizations, including interactive dashboards, charts, tables and graphs using custom visualizations, code and/or off-the shelf products;
• Models, complex business needs using data to discover insights through statistical, algorithmic, mining and visualization techniques;
• Performs data cleaning and preparation activities (e.g., examines descriptive statistics, identifies and addresses outliers, errors and missing values) to ensure data accuracy and validity;
• Performs advanced exploratory data analysis (e.g., principal component analysis, cluster analysis) to find insights and trends;
• Writes code that can be used by others to create models, dashboards and user apps;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet the basic education requirement for their discipline: Data Scientist, IS-12 AND the experience listed below. Please note: It is the applicant’s responsibility to show how you satisfy the course requirements for the position. If you do not provide information that clearly shows how your completed college course work meets all of the requirements, you will be rated ineligible. Your rating will be based solely on the information you submit with your application. No attempts will be made to verify with you, or the school you attended, whether or not your course work meets all of the requirements. YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS.
Basic Degree Requirements:

A. 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
B. 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.
-AND-
Experience: You qualify for this position if you have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the grade IS-11 or GS-11 level in the Federal Service.

For this position, SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as working knowledge of the principles of ecology and conservation of wildlife through coursework in ecology, wildlife management, statistical analyses, or a related field. The role requires self-direction and motivation, combined with flexibility and entrepreneurial thinking. The incumbent/position should possess the following knowledge and qualifications including:

• Experience utilizing high-performance computing clusters or cloud computing environments, including job scheduling, parallel processing, or workflow management;
• Demonstrated proficiency in programming languages such as R or Python;
• Familiarity with Bayesian modeling, hierarchical models, or spatiotemporal statistical methods;
• Experience working with analyzing large complex datasets;
• Demonstrated excellence in written communication, especially as it relates to grant writing;
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex analytical results to diverse audiences.

Applicants who wish to qualify based on education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.
HOW TO APPLY:CV/Resume must include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.
CV/Resume must include the month and year of all degrees earned; professional and relevant volunteer experience; peer-reviewed publications; competitive funding received; any honors or awards received; memberships in professional societies; presentations given at national/international meetings; and names, addresses, and phone numbers of four persons familiar with your contributions and recognition. Earned academic degrees must be verified with copies of official university transcripts that clearly state the classes taken, degree awarded, the major, and date of conferral.
CV/Resume must clearly identify how you fulfill the SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE to be considered.
Failure to provide this information and documents will result in your application receiving no further consideration.
A cover letter can be included with the application materials to summarize the applicant’s training, experience, and interest in the position.
Any false statement in your application may result in your application being rejected and may also result in termination after employment begins.

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."
What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.
Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact biagasl@si.edu. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: www.si.edu/oeema