Series 1560

Data Science Series

Data scientists who use statistics, programming, and machine learning to find patterns in data and turn them into answers that support an agency's mission. Jobs usually require a degree or coursework in math, statistics, or computer science.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

1500 Mathematical Sciences Group · General Schedule

See open 1560 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 429
Open now: 21
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+13%)
Demand score: 82/100
Remote opportunity score: 71/100
Veteran opportunity score: 80/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-11 to GS-14

Most common promotion potential: GS-13

GS pay plan, used by 75% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$112,556 to $158,322 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 58%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 42%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 24%
Telework eligible (open now): 71%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Other Agencies and Independent Organizations (65)
Department of Defense (45)
Department of the Navy (44)
Department of Health and Human Services (35)
Department of Homeland Security (34)

Top states

District of Columbia (134)
Maryland (115)
Virginia (72)
Colorado (62)
Texas (54)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings are spread fairly evenly through the year, so there is no clear best month to look.

Typical postings for series 1560 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	About average
February	About average
March	About average
April	About average
May	About average
June	About average
July	About average
August	About average
September	About average
October	About average
November	9% below average
December	About average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 1560 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2022	194
FY 2023	526
FY 2024	612
FY 2025	227
FY 2026	377

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 1560 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	18
Jan 2026	14
Feb 2026	27
Mar 2026	34
Apr 2026	27
May 2026	37
Jun 2026	42
Jul 2026	52
Aug 2026	48
Sep 2026	55
Oct 2026	45
Nov 2026 (month to date)	30

1550 Computer Science 705 postings in 12 months
1515 Operations Research 615 postings in 12 months
1530 Statistics 194 postings in 12 months
1501 General Mathematics and Statistics 174 postings in 12 months
1520 Mathematics 160 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.