Data Scientist/Cloud Engineer

Position Overview

Our client is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Data Scientist to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Cloud Program Office Initiative The successful candidate will be responsible for conducting assessments, analyzing data, implementing cloud/AI/ML capabilities, and ensuring the security and operational efficiency of the cloud platform. This role involves close collaboration with NOAA stakeholders to prioritize efforts, determine necessary resources, and deliver high-value cloud services aligned with NOAA Fisheries' mission.

Work Location: REMOTE

Job Responsibilities and/or Success Factors

• Capture cloud and data-specific needs and challenges by engaging with key stakeholders to understand their requirements and pain points.
  
• Evaluate direct support capabilities and high-impact cloud services that can drive significant value for the organization.
  
• Develop robust service delivery models for efficient and effective delivery of cloud services and AI/ML capabilities.
  
• Refine decision-making processes to drive clear and efficient decision-making within the CPO.
  
• Ensure Fisheries assumes all inherent governmental responsibilities, including developing requirements for future procurements and approving technologies for its service catalog.
  
• Assist in the implementation and management of a centralized management platform to provide visibility and control over the cloud environment.
  
• Ensure the use of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to automate resource deployment and employ workload orchestration tools.
  
• Support the migration, configuration, and deployment of virtual networks according to design specifications.
  
• Ensure proper integration of network connections, firewalls, and load balancers provided by the government.
  
• Assist in the development of cloud-based AI capabilities and Machine Learning models.
  
• Ensure the integration of diverse data types (images, documents, video, audio) to support AI development.
  
• Ensure continuous compliance with security controls and organizational policies.
  
• Oversee the transition to higher-value cloud services to optimize cost and performance.
  
• Assist with the configuration and maintenance of automated monitoring and alert tools.
  
• Ensure effective monitoring of data ingestion pipelines, staging, and production environments.
  
• Define and conduct evaluations against established KPIs.
  
• Implement agile best practices to support design, development, testing, and deployment.
  
• Establish and support documentation standards and version control.
  
• Maintain a knowledge repository inclusive of SOPs, reporting, architecture diagrams, configuration guidelines, and network settings.
  
• Assist in the development and transition of AI Proof-of-Concepts to production environments.
  
• Develop comprehensive documentation, knowledge transfers, and training.
  
• Support vulnerability management, protective monitoring, incident management, and configuration and change management.
  
• Implement continuous monitoring to detect and track vulnerabilities.
  
• Establish and implement data governance processes and policies for data lifecycle management.
  
• Establish standards and best practices for data integration and interoperability.
  
• Utilize generative AI technologies to facilitate data integration across schemas and taxonomies.
  
• Assist in the development of a cloud rationalization framework to guide the evaluation and prioritization of cloud assets.
  
• Develop detailed designs for landing zones based on approved managed services.
  
• Oversee the deployment and validation of proof-of-concept to the configured landing zone.
  
• Develop comprehensive documentation for cloud landing zones.
  

Education and Minimum Qualifications

• Must have an active Public Trust clearance or the ability to obtain one.
  
• Bachelor's degree in business Analysis, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
  
• Proven experience in business analysis and cloud engineering. Preferably also AI/ML development, and cloud operations.
  
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms such as Google Cloud, AWS, or Azure.
  
• Familiarity with usage of cloud APIs, such as gcloud (Google Cloud)
  
• Strong understanding of security controls and compliance requirements.
  
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
  
• Ability to document technical processes clearly and concisely.
  
• Experience working with government agencies or in a regulated environment