Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Operations Research Analyst

Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Planning, Analysis, and Requirements Evaluation Directorate (PARE)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Operations Support, Planning, Analysis, and Requirements Evaluation Directorate (PARE), CBP STAT located in Washington, D.C.

  • This announcement has been amended on 8/12/2025 to extend the closing date to 8/19/2025

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/06/2025 to 08/19/2025
Salary
$120,579 to - $185,234 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13 - 14
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
PARE-IMP-12773441-KMW
Control number
842505700

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

Current U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees who are currently working in a permanent competitive service position; Career Transition Assistance Plan CBP employees.

Duties

Help

Joining Customs & Border Protection will allow you to use your expertise in operations research to advise management on a wide range of program activities which will impact the agency. Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions by identifying potentially conflicting organizational requirements.

This position starts at a salary of $120,579.00 (GS-13, Step 1) to $185,234.00 (GS-14, Step 10) with promotion potential to $185,234.00 (GS-14 Step 10).

In this Operations Research Analyst position, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals by collecting and analyzing data from various, disparate systems. Typical work assignments include:

  • Leading projects and consulting on and managing multiple analytics, modeling and/or simulation projects for numerous program offices
  • Providing counsel to leadership on the potential for analytics to improve mission outcomes.
  • Serving as a senior analyst in developing innovative approaches for identifying potential analytics solutions.
  • Performs quantitative and qualitative analysis, data quality assurance, developing graphics and reports based on the analysis and interpretation of data and delivers analytical capabilities to operational offices

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
  • Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
  • As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
  • DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.
  • Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

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.

You qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above and possess the experience or substitution of education, if applicable, as described below:

Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Serving as a project manager and coordinating group efforts for cross component analytics projects.
  • Establishing quantitative relationships between investments/costs and performance outputs.
  • Evaluating all data and integrates results into comprehensive recommendations and reports.
  • Developing and implementing new analytics procedures, techniques, and theories to resolve novel or obscure problems.
Experience: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Developing statistical analysis and descriptive analytic products to support decision-making for senior leadership.
  • Communicating analytical findings to senior management and non-technical stakeholders, through reports, presentations and data visualizations.
  • Applying research/statistical/mathematical methodologies and techniques to identify issues, identify corrective courses of action, and implement solutions
  • Formulating proposals for projects and justifying and presenting such proposals
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.

You must:
  • Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
  • Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 08/19/2025.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:
  • Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
  • A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
  • Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
  • Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one-year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Security Clearance: You may be required to obtain a Secret or higher level clearance for this position.

Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12773441

We will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education, and training will be rated using an assessment questionnaire.

This self-assessment will be used to assess the following competencies or KSAs:

  • Problem Solving
  • Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
  • Written Communication
  • Data Analysis
If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview. As a part of the interview process, additional selection criteria may be administered by the hiring manager. Preview the job questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12773441

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible.View information about CTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.