Supervisory IT Specialist

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; Fort Collins (CO); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Agriculture in Fort Collins, CO, seeks a senior AI policy leader within the OCIO AIIC to guide enterprise AI policy, governance, and security across FSIS and other units.

You will direct full lifecycle AI projects, mentor GS-13/14 staff, and establish measurable standards, while upholding federal requirements and risk management.

Qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship or U.S. National
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt
• Background investigation and/or fingerprint check
• Successful completion of a one-year probationary period
• Subject to one-year supervisory/managerial probationary period and required training
• Direct Deposit required for federal payments under Public Law 104-134
• E-Verify employment verification required
• Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) may be required to determine suitability

Responsibilities

• Develops and issues enterprise-wide AI policies and guidance aligned with federal requirements.
• Plans, directs, and oversees full lifecycle delivery of AI capabilities (requirement development, implementation, deployment, maintenance).
• Screens, assigns tasks, and conducts performance reviews for GS-13 and GS-14 technical staff.
• Leads teams in designing, training, testing, and deploying machine learning and generative AI models with measurable standards.
• Oversees AI solution engineering across enterprise systems for performance, integration, and reusability.
• Implements safeguards for AI ethical compliance including rules-based policy codification, ontology development, and risk controls.
• Produces risk-assessment reports and conducts drift analyses for model performance and limitations.

Job description

Creditable Service for Annual Leave Accrual and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program are available. The position is in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Center (AIIC). The AIIC provides policy and guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its subsets to ensure the organization uses AI safely, securely, and responsibly, in line with federal policy.

Duties

• Develops and issues enterprise-wide AI technical policies and guidance that align FSIS AI activities with federal requirements, as measured by completion of formal policy documents and annual compliance reviews.
• Plans, directs, and oversees the full lifecycle delivery of AI capabilities—including requirement development, implementation, deployment, and maintenance—as demonstrated by published AI product roadmaps and periodic status reports.
• Supervises and evaluates the work of GS-13 and GS-14 technical staff by assigning tasks, establishing priorities, conducting performance reviews, and documenting development plans in accordance with FSIS HR policies.
• Leads teams in designing, training, testing, and deploying machine learning and generative AI models by establishing measurable development standards and verifying outputs against accuracy, performance, and security benchmarks.
• Conducts technical oversight of AI solution engineering by enforcing standardized frameworks and verifying integration, performance, and reusability metrics across enterprise systems.
• Implements and monitors safeguards for AI ethical compliance, including rules-based policy codification, ontology development, and risk-boundary controls, validated through audit findings and documented decision-flow reviews.
• Manages AI model performance by conducting periodic drift analyses, validating foundational and large language models through independent review workflows, and producing risk-assessment reports that identify limitations or control gaps.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served. Refer to the Next Steps section for more information.
• Subject to one year supervisory/managerial probationary period unless prior service is creditable. New USDA supervisors must successfully complete all components of the required training program before the end of their probationary period.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
• If you are selected, you may need to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) prior to being appointed to determine suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.