Operations Research Specialist

Duties

This series covers positions managing, supervising, leading, and/or performing administrative and management work.

• Vacancies filled under this public notice may have varying levels of promotion potential and supervisory level, if any.
• Positions may be filled as permanent, term, or temporary with a full-time or part-time work schedule.

As a Operations Research Specialist you will:

• Provide expert analysis and technically authoritative guidance to originate and perform mathematical, statistical, economic, and/or other analysis projects pertaining to the energy sector, an energy sub-sector, scientific research, and/or national security.
• Obtain, compile, organize, and select critical elements of real world systems for inclusion in models, and apply analytical techniques in innovative ways.
• Monitor and conduct studies important to agency decisionmakers.
• Innovatively analyze effects of different policies and policy options and advises high level managers of positive and negative effects of those different policies and policy options.
• Document study purposes, methods, assumptions, and conclusions, and brief study sponsors and high level officials on progress and conclusions of studies.
• Write or adapt computer programs for models being developed.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Subject to satisfactory security and suitability requirements.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• Positions may be filled as permanent, term, or temporary with a full-time or part-time work schedule. Pay will vary by geographic location.
• The vacancies filled through these appointments have varying levels of background investigative requirements, up to a Top Secret DOE "Q" clearance.
• These positions are to be filled under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA - P.L. 117-58).
• Positions may be covered by a bargaining unit. Bargaining unit will vary by departmental element, grade, and/or location.

Qualifications

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-13 : You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position includes:

• Evaluating the impact of new technologies, systems, innovations, and policies to generate ideas. recommending ways to enhance the effectiveness of operations research tools, techniques and scenarios used in current and future projects.; AND
• Developing and maintaining new baseline models and simulation techniques and scenarios for use in current and future studies; AND
• Developing parameters for optimum sample sizes and sources of data appropriate for studies.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-13 level.

OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-1515 series can be found at the following website: Operations Research Series, 1515 (opm.gov)

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

This public notice may be used to fill multiple positions as needed; therefore, applicants must meet the qualifications at the time the applications are reviewed.

Education

Basic Education Requirements:

All grades for the 1515 series have a positive education requirement that must be met.
Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.
Evaluation of Education:
The primary requirement of operations research work is competence in the rigorous methods of scientific inquiry and analysis rather than in the subject matter of the problem. Therefore, applicants should have sufficient knowledge of applied mathematics to understand and use the fundamental concepts and techniques of operations research methods of analysis. In addition, some positions may require knowledge of a specific subject area.

Courses acceptable for qualifying for operations research positions may have been taken in departments other than Operations Research, e.g., Engineering (usually Industrial Engineering), Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Management Science.

The following are illustrative of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queueing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite. Courses in theory of probability and statistics are highly desirable, but are not specified as minimum educational requirements because to do so would possibly exclude some applicants who would otherwise be well qualified.

Since this position does have a positive education requirement. You MUST provide documentation supporting any education claims in your application. This documentation can include unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned and final grade.

If selected, official transcripts may be requested.

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

If qualifying solely based on education, transcripts must be provided.

Additional information

The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
• Applications will expire 90 days after receipt.
• Status and Non-Status applicants from outside DOE selected under this authority are required to serve a mandatory one (1) year probationary period. A DOE career status employee selected for this position may be required to serve a new one (1) year probationary period, pursuant to 5 CFR 315.802.
• If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the OPM ICTAP/CTAP website for more information. In order to be considered under the ICTAP program, your application must score within the pre-established "well qualified" category as stated in the Qualifications section.
• This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.
• More than one selection may be made under this hiring authority.
• Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.
• Many positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
• Positions may be filled at varying levels of leadership, ie Team Lead, Manager, Supervisor.
• Supervisory positions may require a 1-year probationary period, if not yet completed.
• New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify
• Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the FedsHireVets website.
• All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register . If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government.
• EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/EEO_Policy_Statement
• Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Reasonable_Accommodation_Policy_Statement
• Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Veterans_Information
• Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/