Industry Economist (Direct Hire)

Industry Economist (Direct Hire)

Department: Other Agencies and Independent Organizations

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $84601 - $156755 Per Year

Job Summary: This position serves as an Industry Economist in the Office of the General Counsel (OGC). OGC reviews, monitors and, if necessary, takes action to enjoin antitrust-exempt agreements filed by ocean common carriers and/or marine terminal operators. The Commission also identifies and takes necessary steps to address unfavorable shipping conditions caused by foreign governments or foreign carriers and monitors the rates and other activities of carriers owned or controlled by foreign governments.

Major Duties:

• The duties of an Industry Economist cover a range of economic analysis in the field of international transportation. The position involves frequent collaboration with attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel and requires contact with regulated entities and their representatives. The major duties of the position are: Apply economic and data science techniques, akin to antitrust merger review, in reviewing proposed or existing agreements between or among carriers and marine terminal operators to determine their competitive impact on the shipping market and to identify potential market distortions, including unreasonable increases in rates or unreasonable decreases in service. Prepare expert economic testimony for and participate in formal hearings before the Commission and, as appropriate, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Monitor activities in assigned trade areas to detect and refer for further action possible carrier involvement in prohibited acts, including carrier activity that might cause unfavorable conditions in US trade or constitute otherwise concerning actions under the applicable statutes. Meet with industry representatives to discuss the impact of agreements, methods, and practices of carriers and marine terminals subject to the Shipping Act. Build and maintain relational databases and runs queries using SQL to produce reports and analyses. Employs web scraping techniques to fetch data from websites and retrieves data from application programming interfaces (APIs) across the supply chain.

Qualifications: In addition to the above minimum requirements, you must meet the following: GS-11: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by conducting economic research to provide analysis of markets and competition, utilizing common programming languages to build datasets and automate data retrieval from public sources; and applying economic and quantitative analytical techniques to provide recommendations to senior staff OR You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or LL.M., if related OR You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education as described above for this grade level, that, when combined with education, equals 100% of the total requirement. (Please note that education beyond what is required for a master's degree, 36 semesters hours, leading to a Ph.D., may be used in this calculation). The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. GS-12: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as by performing duties such as applying economic and data science techniques and principles in reviewing the competitive impact of agreements, proposed mergers, or other activities subject to competition or antitrust scrutiny. GS-13: One or more years of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 federal grade level that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position. Specialized experience must have been demonstrated by performing duties such as assisting legal staff by providing expert testimony or analysis in litigation. This involves the development, analysis, and evaluation of economic evidence introduced or to be introduced in such a proceeding and the provision of assistance to senior personnel in their defense of conclusions and findings under cross-examination The experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector, or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. It is your responsibility to ensure your resume states complete information for each job entry. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/year (MM/YYYY), and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. If your resume does not provide enough information regarding your work history for us to make a creditable qualification determination, your application package may be rendered disqualified, and you will no longer be considered for this position. Free Response Essay Questions: Applicants are to required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). To reduce the burden on candidates, the responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

How to Apply: To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (EST) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon EST on the announcement's closing date. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To return to saved application at a later date, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Application Deadline: 2026-02-05