U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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Information Technology Positions at FDA

Description of Position

Computer specialist jobs at FDA include positions involving responsibility for designing, implementing, maintaining, or modifying systems for solving problems or accomplishing work processes by the use of digital computers.

Computer specialists are concerned with functions that:

  • identification of the nature and scope of subject-matter processes to be automated, and organization of such work processes into data systems for subsequent processing by computers
  • selection designation of specific kinds of computers and related peripheral devices to be used
  • organization of plans and programs specifying the nature and sequence of actions to be accomplished by the computer itself
  • performance of specialized activities associated with development and design of data processing systems
  • performance of specialized activities associated
  • hardware/software architecture design
  • a variety of duties to support web-based systems

Grade (Salary) Levels

The federal General Schedule (GS) grade levels at which these positions are most commonly filled are GS-11 through 13 at the headquarters level.

For a list of GS-grade salaries, see http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/B5A.htm.

Qualifications

  • Candidates must have had at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the federal service.
  • Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent degree may qualify the applicant for the GS-11 level
  • Graduate education can help meet qualifications for the position if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position.
  • Education and experience may be combined for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Geographic Locations

FDA computer specialists are located in headquarters (suburban Washington, D.C.) and in FDA facilities throughout the country.

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