Operations Research Analyst

Summary

About the Position: This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for STEM Positions to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. This position will be filled on a permanent basis.

Duties

• As an Operations Research Analyst, you will:
• Lead, conduct, and communicate results of analytical studies that contribute to Command decision making and problem solving concerning current and future operations.
• Utilize highly technical and state-of-the-art operations research/system analysis tools.
• Implement operations research methodologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Command.
• Advise Command on principles and best practices in military operations and system compatibility.
• Develop and apply policies, practices, procedures, and methods for operational assessment.
• Develop, analyze, evaluate, and improve the effectiveness of work methods, processes, procedures, manpower utilization, data mapping, and management controls using mathematical, statistical, econometric, and other scientific methods and techniques.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirements: Degree: Bachelor's degree or higher 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. AND Experience Required: 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Specialized Experience: To qualify based on your work experience, your resume must clearly describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. Specialized experience is defined as experience that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled including: Conducting analytical studies to support management decision making; Applying operational research and system analysis principles and methods to daily work assignments; Evaluating information concerning organizational effectiveness and systems analysis; Preparing reports and analytical studies contributing to implementing and transitioning of a wide-range of military concepts and visions; Developing custom analysis tools in a variety of programming languages and applications (i.e. Microsoft Excel, Power BI, SQL, etc.). This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). OR Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you may qualify if your education meets the definitions below: Education Substitution for Specialized Experience for GS-12 (Research Position): Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position, such as operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Experience and Education Substitution for Specialized Experience for GS-12: If you have some, but not all, of the experience or education described above, you may still qualify by combining the amount of creditable experience and education that you possess. To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education in excess of 36 hours (total semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. (You must attach a copy of your transcripts).

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. In order to qualify for this position, based on your education, education substitution, or combination of education and experience, you must have either completed the education requirement, or will complete this requirement within thirty (30) days from the closing date of this announcement. If you will not complete this requirement within thirty (30) days of the closing date of this announcement, you will be rated as Not Qualified for this position. You must provide appropriate documentation to reflect when you will meet the education requirement. Appropriate documentation includes: (1) Resume indicating your projected completion/graduation date; OR (2) Transcripts indicating your projected completion/graduation date; OR (3) A letter signed by the institution's registrar indicating your projected completion/graduation date.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/08/2026 to receive consideration Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.