Research Health Science Specialist

Full Job Description

Please note: There is no pay associated with this position. This position serves as Without Compensation Research Health Science Specialist within the Office of Research and Development (ORD).

The VA Research Program strives to promote Veteran-centered care to improve patient experiences and outcomes across VA healthcare and community settings, and to advance value-driven care by providing Veterans the highest quality care at the lowest financial burden.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/28/2026.

Selective Placement Factor: This position includes a skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to -and essential for- satisfactory performance of the job.

Selective Placement Factors are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for a position. Applicants who do not meet it are ineligible for further consideration.

Evidence of the Selective Placement Factor must be reflected in your resume.

The Selective Placement Factor for this position is: Must have knowledge and expertise in Machine Learning (ML), Computational Psychiatry, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance cutting-edge research and clinical applications.

Experience: You must possess general experience in any type of work that demonstrates (1) providing operational support and coordination for the implementation of medical research and quality improvement projects (2) administering, collecting, and documenting medical research data for analysis; (3) managing research project questions and issues independently.

AND Education: Bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree: major study in an academic field related to the medical field, health sciences or allied sciences appropriate to the work of the position.

This degree must be from an educational program from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education(external link) at the time the degree was obtained Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.

Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is predominantly sedentary. Typically, the employee sits comfortably to do the work.

However, there will be some walking, standing, bending and carrying of items of moderate weight such as large binders, banker style file boxes, meeting materials, papers, books or small parts.

Hand and eye coordination for delicate testing procedures may be the only special physical demand required to perform the work. Major Duties:

The initial application review cut-off for this job announcement is 50 applications. The first 50 applications received will be considered first.

Applications received after the initial cut-off number (50 applications) may not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management.

Major Duties: Incumbent reviews and analyzes medical research data specific to de-identified MRI data necessary in order to accomplish specific projects or tasks.

Presents findings, outlining specific results, anticipated ramifications, correlating factors, and appropriate recommendations.

Reviews data with appropriate staff elements to improve/enhance reliability and/or determine potential policy revisions or reviews. Writes and codes analysis script for study data.

Work Schedule: Full-time (Without Compensation)