DATA SCIENTIST

Full Job Description

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS BEING REPOSTING TO REOPEN THE FILING PERIOD, REVISE THE POSITION AND PROGRAM INFORMATION, SEPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION, AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

DEFINITION:

Under general supervision, develops and applies methods to identify, collect, process, organize, and analyze structured and unstructured data using statistical prediction, inference, and optimization; effectively communicates results to County, departmental, and divisional decision makers to support data-driven program design and management.

CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS:

This is the second working level in the professional data science/analysis series.

Positions allocable to this class work under the general direction of a Data Science Supervisor or supervisor or manager responsible for the data analytics, research, or statistical function of a department, independently performing duties of considerable difficulty to complete moderately complex projects or major aspects of large/complex projects that may be divisional, departmental, or Countywide in scope.

Incumbents deploy techniques such as data extraction, transformation, and loading; classical statistical analysis and machine learning, including predictive and prescriptive modeling and optimization; and data visualization, to generate critical information and knowledge and effectively communicate findings to technical and nontechnical stakeholders to support data-driven program design, management, and decision-making.

Incumbents work with data sets characterized by large volume, moderate complexity, and significant heterogeneity, integrating data from various sources, requiring direct collaboration with data engineers and other IT staff to design and provide feedback on data systems and processes necessary to support their work.

Data Scientist is distinguished from the Senior Data Scientist in that the latter applies subject-matter expertise to identify new and emerging business problems, whereas the Data Scientist works under general supervision to develop methods of interrogating data in order to solve previously identified business problems.

The Data Scientist is distinguished from the Predictive Data Analyst in that the latter applies well-established analytic principles, methods, and procedures within existing data systems and architectures to complete well-defined, routine to moderately difficult functions and projects, whereas Data Scientists may develop or assist in developing new analytic methods, functions, and data architectures as necessary to complete complex projects, including those involving unstructured data.

Positions in this class differ from those that plan, design, conduct and evaluate research projects involving complex experimental designs and data analysis, programming and processing of data, and preparing reports and recommendations based on research findings, in that these classes do not employ machine learning or big data as part of their analyses.

WHY WORK FOR US?

With more than 10 million residents, Los Angeles County is the most populous county in the nation!

As the largest employer in Southern California, over 116,000 employees in more than 38 Departments, we provide vital public services as diverse as law enforcement, property assessment, public health protection, water conservation, cultural activities and many more.

We are dedicated professionals committed to preserving the dignity and integrity of the workplace as well as protecting the rights of each employee.

The County has more than 2,300 different job descriptions, offering a lifetime of opportunities and careers! We offer one of the strongest public-sector benefits packages in the country.

Join us and discover a rich selection of health care options, robust retirement plans and the flexibility to work, relax, and rejuvenate to reach your fullest personal and professional potential.

Check out our outstanding benefits! https://hr.lacounty.gov/benefits/

Requirements

Collaborates with division, department, and countywide stakeholders to solicit, define, and manage data science projects from conception through implementation, including identifying and developing statements of business problems; conducting exploratory data analysis and data mining; developing model specification requirements; and conducting advanced statistical analyses.

Develops and presents visualizations of findings and recommendations that can be used to support business decisions and allocate resources.

Works with departmental stakeholders to document business requirements and helps frame business problems so that appropriate corresponding data science techniques can be identified and applied.

Collaborates with department subject matter experts to understand, identify, and select available and relevant sources of data for use cases, including internal, external, structured, and unstructured data sources.

Works with departmental Information Technology organization to support collection, integration, and retention requirements for large sets of structured and unstructured data from various sources and consults with data engineers and architects on the design and architecture of relevant data systems and processes.

Collaborates with other Data Scientists, Analysts, and IT staff to select, evaluate, improve, and document tools and systems in order to strengthen divisional and departmental analytic capacity.

Independently conducts advanced analytical studies for the resolution of business problems and transfigures data into critical information by selecting and deploying appropriate advanced statistical techniques such as machine learning, bivariate and multivariate analyses, predictive/prescriptive analytics, and optimization.

Uses statistical computer scripting, domain-specific, and programming languages and other software and tools to digest, manipulate, prepare, augment, evaluate, analyze, summarize, and visualize data.

Plans, designs, and manages experiments, consumer surveys, and other data collection projects to augment existing sources of data as necessary to solve business problems.

Reviews the work of Predictive Data Analysts and other lower-level analysts assigned to project for quality-control purposes.

Conveys findings and conclusions of work orally, in writing, visually, in presentations, and by developing interactive tools as appropriate to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, including technical and nontechnical staff, stakeholders, and members of the public.

Works with program staff to understand the implications of analyses and to ensure that findings are actionable and support data-driven program, policy, and operational decision-making.

Assists in implementing recommended business process changes in ways that both retain fidelity to best practices identified through the analysis and recognize the operational realities underlying existing business processes.

Works with functional teams to develop and implement products, services, and tools, such as dashboards and reports, emerging from the analysis.

Contributes to advanced analytic products (e.g., Recommender Engines, Auto Classification algorithms, Predictive Scoring, geo-spatial clustering, NLP classifier, etc.) and helps place them in production.

Recommends ongoing improvements to methods and algorithms that lead to findings, including new information.

Provides business metrics for departmental projects to show improvements both initially and over multiple iterations. Provides ongoing tracking and monitoring of performance of decision systems and statistical models and troubleshoots and implements enhancements and fixes to systems as needed.

Accesses ongoing training and professional development to maintain familiarity with current industry and academic research to apply the latest and most useful statistical learning techniques to help extract pattern and trends from data.

Qualifications

SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:
Option I: Two (2) years of experience applying machine learning, predictive analytics, data management, or hypothesis-driven data analysis to produce actionable recommendations to support data-driven program, policy, and operational decision-making at a level equivalent to the Los Angeles County class of Predictive Data Analyst. * -OR-

Option II: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college in a field of applied research such as Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Psychology, or Public Health that included 12 semester or 18 quarter units of coursework in data science, predictive analytics, quantitative research methods, or statistical analysis -AND- Four (4) years of experience applying machine learning, predictive analytics, data management, or hypothesis-driven data analysis to produce actionable recommendations to support data-driven program, policy, and operational decision-making. A Master’s or Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in a field of applied research such Data Science, Machine Learning, Mathematics, Statistics, Business Analytics, Psychology, or Public Health may substitute for up to two (2) years of experience.

*Experience at the level of Predictive Data Analyst is defined as using machine learning techniques to analyze complex data sets and find statistically significant, meaningful predictive patterns, relevant to program goals, that human intelligence could not identify on its own.

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize alternative method of transportation when needed to carryout job-related essential functions.

PHYSICAL CLASS:
Physical Class II – Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10 pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation maybe involved.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS INFORMATION:

In order to receive credit for the coursework, include a legible copy of official diploma, official transcripts, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution within seven (7) days of the end of the filing period.

Please submit documentation to Exams@dmh.lacounty.gov and be sure to reference your full name and examination title on the subject line of your email. We do not accept password-protected documents.

Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or send to the exam analyst.

The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English; if it is in a foreign language, it must be translated and evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standard.

For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS:
Additional experience beyond the Requirements to Qualify.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT
This examination will consist of an evaluation of experience based on application information, desirable qualifications, and supplemental questionnaire information at the time of filing weighted 100%.

Applicants are required to meet the requirements and achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the examination in order to be placed on the Eligible Register

ELIGIBILITY AND VACANCY INFORMATION
Candidates who passed the assessment are placed on eligible register in the order of their score group for a period of 12 months. We will use this list to fill vacancies as they occur.

Applications will be processed on an as-received basis and promulgated to the eligible register accordingly.

Retake: No person may compete for this examination more than once in a twelve (12) month period.

Notice of non-acceptance and final results will be sent via email.

SPECIAL INFORMATION
Past and present mental health clients, parents, and family members are encouraged to apply.

AVAILABLE SHIFT
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION Applicants are required to complete and submit an online Los Angeles County Employment Application AND Supplemental Questionnaire in order to be considered for this examination.

Paper applications, resumes, or any unsolicited documents will not be accepted in lieu of completing the online application and Supplemental Questionnaire.

We must receive your application before 5:00 pm, PT, on the last day of filing.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING ONLINE
Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" tab for this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.

The acceptance of your application will depend on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Selection Requirements. Your online application must show education and work experience information necessary to evaluate your qualifications.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the deadline as you may be required to verify your email address. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account.

We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made.

Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment.

Copying verbiage from the Requirements or class specification as your work experience will not be sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements.

Doing so may result in incomplete application and may lead to disqualification.

We will send notifications to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address.

If you choose to unsubscribe or opt out from receiving our emails, it is possible to view notices by logging into governmentjobs.com and checking the profile inbox.

It is every applicant's responsibility to take steps to view correspondence, and we will not consider claims of missing notices to be a valid reason for re-scheduling an exam part.

Register the below domains as approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk mail.

Please add exams@dmh.lacounty.gov, dmhselections@dmh.lacounty.gov, dmhrecruitment@dmh.lacounty.gov as well as noreply@governmentjobs.com, and info@governmentjob.com

New email addresses need to be verified. This only needs to be done once per email address and can be done at any time by logging in to govermentjobs.com and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of the online application and to prevent incorrectly entered email addresses.

Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number, so include yours when applying.

For those who do not have access to a computer or the internet, we provide access to complete an application at public libraries throughout the county.

IMPORTANT NOTES
• Please note that ALL information included in the application materials is subject to VERIFICATION at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made.
• FALSIFICATION of any information may result in DISQUALIFICATION or RESCISSION OF APPOINTMENT.
• Utilizing VERBIAGE from Class Specification and/or Minimum Requirements serving as your description of duties WILL NOT be sufficient to meet the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and you may be DISQUALIFIED.

Plan to submit your online application well in advance before the deadline as you may be required to verify your email address.

This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on govermmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty,gov you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts.

This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.

ANTI-RACISM, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION (ARDI)

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States.

The Department of Mental Health is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst race.

We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application process. Please contact us to request accommodation.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
Please include your Social Security Number for record control purposes. Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number.

COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS AT LIBRARIESFor candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.

NO SHARING USER ID AND PASSWORDAll applicants must file their applications online using their own user ID and password.

Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

DEPARTMENT CONTACT
Department Contact Name: Celia Yeung, Exam Analyst
Department Contact Phone: (323) 705-4249 or (213) 972-7034
Department Contact Email: exams@dmh.lacounty.gov

ADA Coordinator Phone (323) 705-4249
Teletype Phone 800-735-2922
California Relay Services Phone 800-735-2922