Market Data Statistician

About the company

The Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) is seeking early career Statisticians with strong analytical skills and attention to detail. As a Statistician, you will be part of a team that manages and analyzes specialized, high-frequency market microstructure data to support the SEC's rulemaking and oversight mission. DERA emphasizes data and analysis quality, and monitoring advances in the tools available to analyze such data.

Your tasks

In this role as a Statistician, you will: Collect and prepare high-frequency market microstructure data for analysis (including quality assurance) and conduct statistical analysis on large panel datasets using programming languages such as Python, SAS, R, and SQL, including in cloud and big-data computing environments. Design, develop, maintain, and modify statistical models, metrics, and indicators of market quality and microstructure (e.g., spreads, effective spreads, and volatility) that support a variety of financial analysis areas. Automate data acquisition and processing and maintain well-documented, reproducible code using version control. Evaluate data, statistical methods, and applications, and coordinate with DERA financial economists and other Commission stakeholders to provide statistical advice and recommendations. Document analyses, technical notes, data sources, and programs; prepare training and reference materials; and present to colleagues and management, incorporating feedback into final products. Support analysis of new and emerging data sources and asset classes, including digital assets and tokenized securities. Participate in or lead independent applied research, including rapid-turnaround analyses supporting time-sensitive market events and Commission needs.

Requirements

BASIC REQUIREMENT A. Degree: degree that included 15 semester hours in statistics (or in mathematics and statistics, provided at least 6 semester hours were in statistics), and 9 additional semester hours in one or more of the following: physical or biological sciences, medicine, education, or engineering; or in the social sciences including demography, history, economics, social welfare, geography, international relations, social or cultural anthropology, health sociology, political science, public administration, psychology, etc. Credit toward meeting statistical course requirements should be given for courses in which 50 percent of the course content appears to be statistical methods, e.g., courses that included studies in research methods in psychology or economics such as tests and measurements or business cycles, or courses in methods of processing mass statistical data such as tabulating methods or electronic data processing. OR B. Combination of education and experience. Courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience should have included a full range of professional statistical work such as (a) sampling, (b) collecting, computing, and analyzing statistical data, and (c) applying statistical techniques such as measurement of central tendency, dispersion, skewness, sampling error, simple and multiple correlation, analysis of variance, and tests of significance.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement.

SK-11: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-9 level:

1. Evaluating economic data for trends, completeness, and accuracy; AND
2. Applying statistical methods and procedures to analyze quantitative data; AND
3. Interpreting statistical results to support studies, surveys, or program decisions.

OR Education: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, in a field directly related to the position.

ACCOMPLISHMENT RECORD COMPETENCIES: Your Accomplishment Record narratives should address the following competencies. See the How You Will Be Evaluated section below for more information:

• Competency 1: Statistical Expertise - Performs and interprets data analysis.
• Competency 2: Critical Thinking - Considers a variety of factors, general and subject matter-specific, when making decisions and determining next steps in a case.
• Competency 3: Technical Communication: Translates technical information into non-technical terms and accurately convey technical information to end users (e.g., staff, management) and outside parties, including the technical documentation of applications, systems, Standard Operating Procedures, etc.
• Competency 4: Workload Management - Effectively prioritizes workload in a way that accommodates unforeseen developments and achieves successful outcomes.

Education You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. If you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, you must submit a copy of your unofficial transcripts or equivalent by the closing date of the announcement. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Internal Applicants: OHR will verify education qualifications for internal applicants using documents in the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). If required transcripts or certificates are not present in your eOPF, you will be required to provide them to OHR. If selected, a start date will not be established until official transcripts are received.

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. For more information, click here. Applicants may also find the following helpful: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) is an association of 19 credential evaluation services with admission standards and an enforced code of good practice. Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE) is an association of 10 credential evaluation services with a board of advisors and an enforced code of ethics.

Other

Qualifications Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Please check the How You Will Be Evaluated and Required Documents sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review. Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.