Operations Research Analyst (Recent Graduate)

Summary

This position is part of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office. The Recent Graduates Program is a dynamic, one-year developmental program that promotes careers in the Federal Government to recent graduates. Participants in the Program receive training and professional development and are assigned a mentor. Recent Graduates who successfully complete Program requirements may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the civil service.

Duties

The Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office's (HGEO's) Office of Petroleum Reserves advances the President's goal of filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its maximum capacity and maintaining drawdown readiness throughout management of the SPR program. The Office also manages the Northeast Home Heating Reserve and environmental remediation of the Naval Petroleum Reserve. Its key objectives are to: Maintain Operational Readiness to drawdown crude oil within 13 days of Presidential direction. Establish and execute an integrated strategy to fill the SPR to capacity. Efficiently maintain SPR infrastructure for reliability, safety, and flexibility. This position is offered through the Recent Graduates Program and has a target grade of GS-13. Because you are entering at a developmental grade level (GS-11), this role is designed to support your professional growth. You will receive structured training, mentorship, and hands-on experience to help you progressively build your skills and successfully complete the full GS-11 duties outlined below. As a GS-11 Operations Research Analyst, you will: Analyze petroleum market data: Gather and monitor domestic and international data on production, trade, storage, and pricing. Build and apply analytical models: Learn and use operations research techniques, such as regression analysis, to evaluate energy sector trends. Develop spreadsheets and tools: Use Microsoft Excel to merge different datasets and create charts, graphs, and tables for stakeholders. Perform data quality checks: Review research data for errors, gaps, or inconsistencies to ensure the accuracy of analytical tools. Draft reports and presentations: Write clear market summaries, briefs, and slides that translate technical findings for decision-makers. Coordinate on team projects: Work with multidisciplinary teams to plan research assignments, track project deadlines, and share findings.

Qualifications

You must meet the eligibility and qualifications by the closing date of this announcement. This series does have education requirements which are listed in the Education Section. To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduate program you must be a: Recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, technical degree, or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program that awards a recognized postsecondary credential (such as a Registered Apprenticeship Program or Job Corps). -OR- Students who have graduated by the closing date of this announcement will meet the education requirements and will have graduated with a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, technical degree, or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program. A student may not be appointed to a position until they have graduated. -OR- Preference eligible veterans who have been precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their two-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years after degree or certificate completion. You MUST submit a copy of the DD214 showing the duration and dates of service that precluded you from applying due to the military service obligation. For the GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-11 includes: Synthesize data from multiple different sources using spreadsheet software (such as Microsoft Excel) to create functional databases, charts, graphs, or tables.; AND Write briefs, research papers, or presentations to explain data findings and market developments to teammates, management, or stakeholders.; AND Track and analyze how supply, demand, pricing, or shipping impacts a market (such as energy, commodities, finance, or business). OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-11 BASED ON EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-11 BASED ON COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours), may be combined to be considered for qualifying education. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS: DOE has the option to non-competitively convert a Recent Graduate to a permanent or term position upon successful completion of program requirements. This is not automatic, nor guaranteed. Conversion is at the discretion of the hiring manager and employing office. To be eligible to be converted to a permanent or term position you must: Be a US Citizen or National Be recommended for conversion by your manager or supervisor. Complete all training and development requirements within the 1-year appointment period. Successful completion of 1 year of continuous service. Demonstrate successful job performance of at least a "Fully Successful" or equivalent on performance appraisal. Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted (which may include a positive education requirement). Operations Research Series 1515 A Recent Graduate may be converted to the highest General Schedule (GS) grade level qualified for at time of conversion. Recent Graduates converted to a term position in the competitive service may subsequently be non-competitively converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition. WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PATHWAYS PROGRAM? For additional information regarding the Pathways Program, please refer to the following website: USAJOBS Help Center | Students & recent graduates

Evaluations

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job and depending on your score from the USA Hire assessment you will be placed into one of two pre-defined quality categories. These categories are "Highly Qualified" and "Qualified". If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible' or 'not qualified'. Your application will be assessed based on your responses to an online assessment (USA Hire) that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. Reasonable Accommodation Requests: Applicants with a disability (physical or mental) covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended), who anticipate difficulty with the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, should request a reasonable accommodation during their online application. All requests for accommodation, including necessary supporting documentation, must be received before you start the assessments. Each accommodation request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will receive an email invitation to take the assessments once your request has been reviewed. If this invitation arrives after the announcement closes, you have 48 hours from receipt of the link to complete all assessments. For detailed information on the accommodation process, please review the 'Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments' document. here. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Application of Veterans' Preference: Veteran's preference is applicable and preference eligibles must be considered before non-veteran applicants.. To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click here https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13007450

How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Read all instructions before you begin. Click "Apply Online." Complete the application and attach all required documents. Submit by 11:59 PM ET on the 08/04/2026. Resume Tips: Max 2 pages and 5MB file size. PDF is recommended to preserve formatting; we also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, ODT, or Word (DOC/DOCX). No PDF portfolios. Use clear fonts like Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noto Sans. Set 0.5-inch margins. Use 14-point font for titles, 10-point for main text. Managing Your Application: Update: Edit your application in USAJOBS before the closing date. Status: Log into USAJOBS to view your application status. Learn more here: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Support: USAJOBS Help: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ for login.gov or USAJOBS assistance. Application Issues: If you have difficulty applying online, contact the Agency Contact listed in this announcement during business hours. Take screenshots of any system errors. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; 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://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Other information We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE. For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.opm.gov/telework/ EEO Policy: www.energy.gov/justice/eeo-complaint-process Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement. Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://www.energy.gov/hc/articles/reasonable-accommodation-and-personal-assistance-service-procedure Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ Relocation expenses/incentives will not be available. Recruitment incentives will not be available. Student Loan Repayment will not be available. Advance in Hire (Superior Qualifications) may be available. Creditable Service may be available. Positions may be covered by a bargaining unit. Bargaining unit will vary by departmental element, grade, and/or location. This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Salary will be determined based on the duty location after selection. Telework availability will be based upon the mission requirements and supervisory determination. Management has the prerogative to select at any grade level. The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.