Research Mathematical Statistician

Full Job Description

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making.

The position is located in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Survey Methods Research.

Basic Requirement Mathematical Statistician, 1529: 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 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 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.

Specialized Experience Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience to at least the next lower grade level, GS-14, in the federal service.

This specialized experience must have equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled.

Specialized experience is defined as meeting ALL of the following: Formulating and leading research or investigation projects in the areas of statistics, econometrics, computer science, or mathematics to develop or apply statistical, computational, or econometric methods; Contributing or building upon one or more statistical, econometric, mathematical, or computer science method(s) that are the focus for the research or investigation project; Co-authoring one or more working papers, published papers, or technical summaries of a research project; and Conducting one or more presentations at conferences or other public venues about a research project or projects Major Duties:

The mission of the Office of Survey Methods Research (OSMR) is to plan and direct a continuing program of research by evaluating statistical and behavioral science aspects of survey programs, suggesting improvements, and conducting statistical development studies with the aim of providing sound and effective survey techniques for BLS programs.

OSMR is comprised of the Mathematical Statistics Research Center (MSRC), the Behavioral Science Research Center (BSRC), and the Data Science Research Center (DSRC).

The mission of the MSRC is to improve the accuracy of survey data and published estimates, improve the efficiency of BLS data-collection and estimation methods, improve response rates, increase the ease of survey management, and provide general mathematical statistics research support to BLS.

A broader goal is to further the development of mathematical statistics theory and an understanding of the application of this theory to survey methodology. The primary responsibilities of the MSRC are

planning, developing, conducting, and evaluating research activities related to design and estimation methods for complex survey data,

planning, conducting and evaluating methods for disclosure limitation and other mathematical methods of risk management, and

responding to special requests for research support (for example, consultation or evaluation of current or proposed statistical methods) from BLS management.

Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: Serving as the Bureau's authoritative expert in one or more areas of mathematical statistics applicable to BLS programs, including being responsible for planning, initiating and directing a continuing research and evaluation program in these areas Preparing technical reports on mathematical statistical and statistical computing methods and procedures, all focused on improving the quality of published official statistics Providing technical mentorship in formulating and managing research projects throughout BLS and to members of the statistical community.

Mentoring focuses on supporting the learning of new statistical methods, structuring and managing multi-stakeholder research project teams, the development and delivery for presentation of results, and the documentation of findings in technical reports Representing the Bureau in statistical exchanges with researchers in academic, government, and other research institutions and participating in interagency committees such as OMB's Interagency Confidentiality and Data Access Group Providing consultations that assist the BLS program offices with understanding and revising statistical methods used to support the acquisition of sample respondents and the production of data products