Application Development and Data Analysis Specialist

The EPA National Student Services Contract has an immediate opening for a full time Application Development and Data Analysis Specialist position with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country. The Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) conducts research to evaluate risks to human health and the environment due to exposure to environmental chemicals. This research includes developing comprehensive information systems containing chemical safety and exposure information for thousands of emerging chemicals and reducing barriers to making risk assessments for emerging materials from environmental and health studies. Within CCTE, the Chemical Characterization and Exposure Division (CCED) develops computational models and advances experimental chemistry approaches for the rapid characterization of the presence, chemical characteristics, environmental fate, and potential toxicity of contaminants. CCED also develops computation models for predicting exposure and internal dosage for chemicals based on extrapolation of minimal reference chemical data based on chemical modeling.

What the EPA project is about

As part of their mission, CCTE supports EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment by developing and applying methods to measure new chemicals using non-targeted analysis (NTA). Non-targeted analysis is a departure from traditional analytical approaches, due to its ability to measure chemicals without a priori selection of species of interest. Data processing of NTA data requires manipulation of high dimensionality datasets and reference to a wide range of reference information to confirm chemical identifications, and application of NTA measurements requires further usage of database information and model predictions to put measurements in context (e.g., presence, concentration, risk). A suite of tools known as EPA's Non-Targeted Analysis Web Application (hereafter referred to as the "NTA WebApp") has been developed for processing NTA data while pulling in chemical metadata (physical property, exposure, toxicity, e.g.) from multiple EPA databases to support research laboratories in monitoring new and emerging chemical contaminants.

As a team member, you will provide application development and data analysis support for the NTA WebApp. This includes computer programming (Python, web scripting languages, and/or R), numerical verification of code output, cloud-based database management, creation of modules for NTA experiments, model execution, Application Programming Interface (API) development/documentation, likelihood estimation and qualitative/quantitative data modeling. The team member will be a member of a multi-disciplinary research team and will support the development, maintenance, and analysis of NTA data, tools, web applications and supporting documentation.

How you will apply your skills

Data Development and Analysis responsibilities will include:

Development and debugging of modules for NTA data analysis
• Incorporation of databases into workflows via APIs
• Development of data analysis visualizations
• Evaluation and validation of models
• Support for ongoing studies utilizing the NTA WebApp
• Literature review.

Communication related responsibilities will include:

• Participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary research team
• Interacting with other members of the development team as well as EPA scientists
• Documenting code, methods and application development efforts
• Presenting work performed at a scientific conference as required.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

• Experience programming in Python, R, SQL or other scripting languages;
• Demonstrated education and/or experience with object-oriented programming techniques (e.g., familiarity with Python or R class objects);
• Experience working with informational databases (e.g., PubChem, ChemSpider, PubMed); and
• Strong written, oral, and electronic communication skills.

This position will involve work in an administrative setting and is not expected to involve exposure to hazardous elements.

Location: This job will be located EPA's facility in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Salary: Selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $32.01 for hours worked.

Hours: Full-time.

Travel: Occasional overnight travel may be required.

Expected start date: The position is full time and expected to begin December 2024. The selected applicant will become a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA.

For more information, contact EPANSSC@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Be at least 18 years of age and
• Have earned at least a master's degree in the fields of computer science, chemistry, environmental science, bio- or cheminformatics, or a related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.