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Mathematical Statistician - Direct Hire

Department of Transportation
Department of Transportation - Agency Wide
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is a federal Cabinet department of the U.S. government concerned with transportation. The principal responsibility of this position is participation in the development and application of statistical methodology for DOT studies, analysis, statistics and data programs. The assignments require careful planning, efficient coordination of effort among DOT staff, the application of mature practical and scientific judgment, and a high degree of originality.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
12/15/2020 to 12/14/2021
Salary
$64,009 to - $118,603 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Location Negotiable After Selection, United States
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Some travel may be required for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13 - Career ladder promotion potential varies by agency and position
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DOT-2021-0154
Control number
586996200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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As a Mathematical Statistician, you will:

  • Work with economists, transportation specialists, analysts, and other statisticians in conducting analysis in transportation and in broad social, economic, safety, environmental, technological, or national security areas related to transportation.
  • Participate in developing statistical methodologies for projects that meets OMB and international standards.
  • Participate in agency programs for mathematical statistical review and analysis of transportation data, products, and information.
  • Conduct comprehensive quality assessments of statistical information products within the DOT.
  • Participate in review of the sources of data and reliability of the statistics proposed by the agency to generate outputs and outcomes as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and review information on the sources and reliability of other data collected by the DOT.
  • Participate in establishing project goals, statistical standards, data quality measurement guidelines, and procedures for maintaining the highest information quality possible for DOT.
  • Provide technical support for examination, evaluation, and improvement in data quality from surveys, administrative records, metadata, auxiliary data and other data sources.

The ideal candidate for this position is a highly motivated, skilled professional who can work collaboratively with all levels of project staff, key internal and external stakeholders, and others to explore innovative methods of data collection related to transportation statistics. The Mathematical Statistician is responsible for the design and operation of the statistical research. The ideal candidate is familiar with a full range of mathematical statistical data, especially transportation related data. The ability to work cooperatively and communicate well is also critical to this position.

* PLEASE NOTE: This announcement establishes an open continuous (12 month) vacancy announcement.  Given our continuing need for top professionals in this field, we will review applications on an as needed basis.  We will give equal consideration to all applications we receive.  Duty locations will vary.  The difference in salary is determined by the locality pay in each location.  Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/pdf/2020/GS.pdf

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves some travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, AND (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification.  The selecting official will review your application for (3) the specialized experience requirements for the grade. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process: 

(1) All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a mathematical statistician position:

A. Successful completion of a degree that included 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours were in mathematics and 6 semester hours were in statistics;

OR

B. Combination of education and experience -- at least 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, including at least 12 hours in mathematics and 6 hours in statistics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluation of Education: Courses acceptable toward meeting the mathematics course requirement of paragraphs A or B above must have included at least four of the following: differential calculus, integral calculus, advanced calculus, theory of equations, vector analysis, advanced algebra, linear algebra, mathematical logic, differential equations, or any other advanced course in mathematics for which one of these was a prerequisite. Courses in mathematical statistics or probability theory with a prerequisite of elementary calculus or more advanced courses will be accepted toward meeting the mathematics requirements, with the provision that the same course cannot be counted toward both the mathematics and the statistics requirement.

Evaluation of Experience: The experience offered in combination with educational courses to meet the requirements in paragraph B above should include evidence of statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying known statistical techniques to data such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

Without other indications of statistical experience, work required in the processing of numerical or quantified information by other than statistical methods is not considered appropriate qualifying experience. Examples of such nonqualifying work include statistical clerical work; statistical drafting; calculation of totals, averages, percentages, or other arithmetic summations; preparation of simple tables or charts; or verification of data by simple comparison or proofreading.

For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-1529: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1500/mathematical-statistics-series-1529/

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes.

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date.  Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

(3) Specialized Experience:

To determine if you are eligible for the grade, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume. 

For the GS-11:

On Experience, at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience conducting transportation studies and developing mathematical methods and techniques;
  • Experience developing mathematical/statistical techniques, approaches and methodologies to analyze transportation and commodity markets; and
  • Experience reviewing data operations to assure compliance with specifications, agreements and laws in the use of transportation supply and demand data collection programs.

On Education, you must have:

  • 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education* leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

You can also qualify based on a combination of graduate education and experience.

For the GS-12:

On Experience, at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience applying advanced statistical techniques to experimental or survey design, data analysis, sampling, forecasting, quality control, and operations research;
  • Experience developing and/or presenting professional papers or reports on statistical studies or surveys;
  • Experience conducting complex statistical analyses and serving as a technical advisor on various statistical analyses;
  • Experience planning and executing a variety of projects and developing recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment;
  • Experience developing listing and mapping applications, and developing collection methodology; and/or experience writing procedures for automated or computer-assisted statistical operations.  

You cannot qualify on education at this level, you must have experience.

For the GS-13:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-12 grade levelwhich included: (in addition to what is listed for the GS-12 above)

  • Experience designing complex statistical analyses;
  • Experience planning and executing a variety of complex projects and developing recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment;
  • Experience auditing procedures for automated or computer-assisted statistical operations. 

You cannot substitute education at this level, you must have experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

1.  Mathematical Reasoning - Solves practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical and statistical techniques.

2.  Statistical Theory and Models – Applies mathematical statistical theory, measures and models for developing and implementing projects.

3.  Data Fluency - Analyzes and evaluates the quality, accuracy and validity of data.

For all types of consideration, 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; religious; 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

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Education Requirements.

Additional information

Multiple selections will be made from this vacancy.

PLEASE NOTE:  If you are hired for this position; you will not receive additional consideration from this announcement.

COVID VACCINATION: As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee’s duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject only to exceptions as required by law.  If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before appointment or onboarding with the agency.  The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required exception from this requirement.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements. 

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.  Veteran's Preference does NOT apply.

All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.  All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.

Ultimately, the Automated Staffing Office is responsible for determining an applicant's eligibility. Please ensure that your resume provide enough detail to support your answers to the Vacancy Specific Questions.


To preview questions please click here.

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