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. Responsibilities 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. Requirements 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. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. POSITION SENSITIVITY AND RISK: Varies by position and will be based on the position to which appointed. SECURITY CLEARANCE: Varies by position. If applicable, you must be able to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance of the position to which appointed. PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: Travel will vary by position. If the position requires travel, a government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. REMOTE WORK: This position may be eligible for remote work, which does not require reporting to the agency worksite location on a regular basis. If selected for a remote work location, you will be required to sign a remote work agreement detailing agency remote work policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position. TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: If selected for a non-remote position, you may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position. Qualifications To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet the additional grade level requirements. (1) All applicants must meet the basic requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a position under series 1529: 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. (3) Specialized Experience: To further determine eligibility, 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 these grade levels in your resume. For the GS-14: You qualify for this grade level if you have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-13 grade level, which included: Experience applying advanced statistical techniques to experimental or survey design, data analysis, sampling, forecasting, quality control, and operations research; developing and/or presenting professional papers or reports on statistical studies or surveys; designing and conducting complex statistical analyses; serve as a technical expert on various statistical analyses and methods; plan and execute a variety of complex projects and develop recommendations requiring technical and administrative judgment; experience with a Systems Development Lifecycle; developing listing and mapping applications, and developing collection methodology; and/or experience writing, auditing, and identifying new procedures for automated or computer-assisted statistical survey operations. Although you must meet the mandatory education requirement for the series, you cannot qualify for GS-12 and above grades based solely on education, you must meet the specialized experience for the grade, which is cited above. 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: Mathematical Reasoning - Solves practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical and statistical techniques. Statistical Theory and Models – Applies mathematical statistical theory, measures and models for developing and implementing projects; Data Fluency - Analyzes and evaluates the quality, accuracy and validity of data 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. Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Individual Occupational Requirements. Additional Information This announcement establishes an open continuous period for this series/grade. We will perform interim reviews of all applications as positions become vacant. You must meet all eligible requirements at the time of consideration. At the discretion of the hiring agency, a position may be approved for Remote Work. This is a work arrangement in which an employee, under a written remote work agreement, is scheduled to perform their work at an alternative worksite and is not expected to perform work at an agency worksite on a regular and recurring basis. A remote worker’s official worksite may be within or outside the local commuting area of an agency worksite. Please note that consideration varies by DOT agency and this option is not guaranteed. Duty locations will vary. The difference in the 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/ This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. If you are hired for this position; you will not receive additional consideration from this announcement. Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will referred to the hiring manager. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation