Operations Research Analyst

United States Department Of Defense; Dahlgren (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The United States Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency, in the Dahlgren/Fort Belvoir area, seeks a principal cost estimating expert to provide authoritative guidance and develop cost estimates to support program decisions.

You will collect data, build models, present findings to leadership, and contribute to resource allocation and contract planning in a senior NH-04 level position.

Qualifications

• Develop and deliver credible, accurate cost estimates and analyses to drive decision-making and planning.
• Create and maintain cost models and tools for rapid internal/external use.
• Collect, validate, and store data to enable future cost estimating work.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and present cost estimates and analyses to customers and stakeholders.
• Support decision-making for program planning, resource allocation, and contracts.

Skills

Cost estimation

Cost analysis

Data management

Data collection

Regression analysis

Education

Operations research degree

Calculus coursework

Tools

Cost estimating tools

Job description

This position is part of the Department of War (DoW), Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The incumbent will be responsible for: Serve as the principal cost estimating expert for the program/team, providing authoritative guidance and analysis to program/organization leadership.

The advertised salary for Fort Belvoir and Dahlgren, VA does not include the current rate of tax-free Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), which is 33.94%.

You may qualify at the NH-04 Broadband Level, if you fulfill the following qualifications:

• Develop, document, and deliver credible, accurate, comprehensive cost estimates and cost analysis to drive decision-making, program planning, resource allocation, and acquisition/contract efforts.
• Develop and maintain responsive cost estimating and analysis tools and models to quickly deliver cost estimating and analysis products to internal and external customers.
• Collect, validate, clean, and store data to establish secure databases to enable future use of such data in cost estimating and analysis.
• Conduct cost research, evaluate complex data, identify trends, and apply quantitative methods-such as linear and non-linear regression-to develop cost estimating relationships (CERs) and generate data-driven results.
• Prepare and present cost estimates and/or cost analysis, including results and recommendations, to customers and stakeholders to support decision-making.

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.

In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 1515, series as listed 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.

Evaluation of Education:

The primary requirement of operations research work is competence in the rigorous methods of scientific inquiry and analysis rather than in the subject matter of the problem. Therefore, applicants should have sufficient knowledge of applied mathematics to understand and use the fundamental concepts and techniques of operations research methods of analysis. In addition, some positions may require knowledge of a specific subject area.

Courses acceptable for qualifying for operations research positions may have been taken in departments other than Operations Research, e.g., Engineering (usually Industrial Engineering), Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Management Science.

The following are illustrative of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queuing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite. Courses in theory of probability and statistics are highly desirable, but are not specified as minimum educational requirements because to do so would possibly exclude some applicants who would otherwise be well qualified.

NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.