Industry Economist

In collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, the incumbent specifies and implements strategies and processes for the collection, validation, compilation, and analysis of economic and industry data to enhance understanding of competition and pricing in telecommunications markets, broadband deployment, spectrum allocation, and the technological development of communications services.

The incumbent also interacts directly with entities submitting information to the agency to understand data generating processes and validate submitted information.

With limited guidance from senior economists, the incumbent conducts economic research and quantitative analyses related to telecommunications markets, broadband deployment, spectrum policy, and communications competition for presentation to audiences with varying levels of expertise.

The incumbent drafts and presents clear, objective literature reviews, summaries of economic research, and other analytical memoranda that support economic studies.

The incumbent collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to assist in the creation of unified and comprehensive economic and statistical deliverables by contributing tabulations, visualizations, and drafting written analyses.

With limited guidance from senior economists, the incumbent supports the evaluation of the economic impacts and implications of proposed Commission rules and policies.

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Current Federal employees asking to be considered under Merit Promotion procedures must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Qualification Criteria Step 1.

All candidates must first meet the educational qualification requirements.

Educational requirements are as follows: Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus OR combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics plus appropriate experience or additional education. Step 2.

For candidates who meet the educational qualification requirements, their resumes will be sent forward to the subject matter experts for further review. Resumes will be reviewed to determine if candidates meet the required qualification criteria and the required competencies for each grade.

GS-7 Qualification Criteria: EDUCATION: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement OR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as experience: 1.

Analyzing problems to identify significant factors through the application of appropriate econometric or statistical methods; identifying, collecting and validating relevant data; and interpreting competing solutions. 2. Reviewing and interpreting academic economic research for audiences with varying levels of experience. 3.

Conducting exploratory data analysis and providing interpretation, including preparing visualizations, for use in decision memoranda, orders, research papers, or similar documents OR a combination of both education and experience.

GS-7 Competencies: Ability to compile, clean, and verify economic data from primary and secondary sources, following exact specifications and regulations; Working familiarity with statistical or similar analytical software tools (e.g., Python, R, SAS, Power BI, Stata) needed to execute basic exploratory data analysis including organizing and summarizing data and generating meaningful visualizations, ideally for audiences with varying levels of expertise; Ability to leverage foundational knowledge of economic principles and concepts to assist in preparing and editing clearly written research summaries; reviews of academic economic research, regulatory filings, and industry publications; and other analyses that support economic studies; and Ability to collaborate with others and work with a multidisciplinary team to produce unified and comprehensive analyses.

GS-9 Qualification Criteria: EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree OR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience: 1. Analyzing problems to identify significant factors through the application of appropriate econometric or statistical methods; identifying, collecting and validating relevant data; and interpreting competing solutions. 2.

Reviewing and interpreting academic economic research for audiences with varying levels of experience. 3. Conducting exploratory data analysis and providing interpretation, including preparing visualizations, for use in decision memoranda, orders, research papers, or similar documents. 4.

Drafting publicly facing technical writings such as articles, reports, and documentation OR a combination of both education and experience.

GS-9 Competencies: Ability to compile, clean, and verify economic data from primary and secondary sources, following exact specifications and regulations; Demonstrated skill with statistical or similar analytical software tools (e.g., Python, R, SAS, Power BI, Stata) needed to execute intermediate exploratory data analysis including organizing and summarizing data and generating meaningful visualizations, ideally for audiences with varying levels of expertise; Ability to leverage foundational knowledge of economic principles and concepts to assist in preparing and editing clearly written research summaries; reviews of academic economic research, regulatory filings, and industry publications; and other analyses that support economic studies; Ability to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to produce unified and comprehensive analyses; and Demonstrated ability to think critically about the totality of the economic impacts of policy changes, legislation, and other events.

GS-11 Qualification Criteria: EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience: 1. Analyzing problems to identify significant factors through the application of appropriate econometric or statistical methods; identifying, collecting and validating relevant data; and interpreting competing solutions. 2.

Reviewing and interpreting academic economic research for audiences with varying levels of experience. 3. Conducting exploratory data analysis and providing interpretation, including preparing visualizations, for use in decision memoranda, orders, research papers, or similar documents. 4.

Contributing to publicly facing technical writings such as articles, reports and documentation. 5. Evaluating and tracking regulatory policy implications through industry data OR a combination of both education and experience.

GS-11 Competencies: Ability to compile, clean, and verify economic data from primary and secondary sources, following exact specifications and regulations; Demonstrated skill with statistical or similar analytical software tools (e.g., Python, R, SAS, Power BI, Stata) needed to execute intermediate exploratory data analysis including organizing and summarizing data and generating meaningful visualizations, ideally for audiences with varying levels of expertise; Ability to leverage foundational knowledge of economic principles and concepts to assist in preparing and editing clearly written research summaries; reviews of academic economic research, regulatory filings, and industry publications; and other analyses that support economic studies; Ability to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to produce unified and comprehensive analyses; Demonstrated ability to think critically about the totality of the economic impacts of policy changes, legislation, and other events; and Ability to conduct economic research and quantitative analysis.

Step 3. Subject matter experts will conduct a scored, competency based resume review. Candidates must receive a score of 90 or above in order to move forward to the next stage of the hiring process, the scored structured interview. Step 4.

For candidates who receive an initial score of 90 or above on the scored, competency based resume review, a scored structured interview will be conducted by the subject matter experts. For candidates who receive a score of 90 or above on the scored structured interview will be referred to the selecting official for hiring consideration.