Quantitative Research Analyst

The Division of Investment Management (IM) works to support the SEC in its mission to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. IM regulates investment companies, variable insurance products, and federally registered investment advisers.

The Analytics Office is seeking to fill two Quantitative Research Analysts (Financial Engineers).

Responsibilities

• Supports the mission of the Division by providing rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis of the asset management industry, its investment products, and their potential market impacts.
• Works with SEC staff in building sophisticated models, determining proper empirical methodology, organizing data collection, writing unique programs, preparing written reports, and summarizing studies in formal and informal presentations.
• Provides senior level technical expertise for the design and conduct of comprehensive, complicated financial data studies, surveys, reviews, and research projects where the boundaries are extremely broad and difficult to determine in advance.
• Conducts research in new financial instruments and strategies, options, and derivatives which involves the application of financial engineering methodologies and employing financial theory and applied mathematics, computation and programming.
• Writes code, database queries, or otherwise implement analyses that apply financial, market, and/or regulatory data to empirically evaluate matters of regulatory policy and to identify, monitor, or evaluate risks.
• Participates in examinations of registered investment advisers, investment companies, and private fund managers. Conducts interviews for compliance, risk, investment and operations professionals, quantitative/modeling experts at the firms.
• Provides technical advice on designing requests to elicit information about registrants' products, strategies, and related risk management procedures and controls, to inform policy and complement the team's risk monitoring efforts.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Qualifications

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Time-in-grade for this announcement is one year at the GS/SK-12 level.

Time-in-grade for this announcement is one year at the GS/SK-13 level.

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. Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

Degree: Mathematics, statistics, economics, or other quantitative field of study. The degree must be in a major field of study (at least at the baccalaureate level) that is appropriate for the position. Or

Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major field of study as shown in item 1 above, plus additional education or appropriate experience.

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

SK-13: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-12 level.

Specialized experience includes all of the following:

Assisting with the analysis of asset management data, applying the theories, principles, and processes of quantitative research; assisting with the interpretation of financial and securities industry data; using models and other types of data analysis and statistical software applications; AND

Assisting with the development, maintenance and/or validation of models used for forecasting, valuation, liquidity, instrument strategy selection, portfolio construction, or risk management; AND

Using sophisticated models related to investment portfolios and/or the asset management industry.

SK-14: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the

GS/SK-13 level. Specialized experience includes all of the following:

Independently and with little supervision working with asset management data, applying the theories, principles, and processes of quantitative research; interpreting financial and securities industry data; using models and other types of data analysis and statistical software applications; AND

Independently and with little supervision developing, maintaining and/or validating models used for e.g., forecasting, valuation, liquidity, instrument strategy selection, portfolio construction, or risk management; AND

Independently and with little supervision, using sophisticated models related to investment portfolios and/or the asset management industry, such as VaR and stress testing models, hedging techniques, credit risk, counterparty risk, market risk, valuation and pricing, and model sensitivity and risk statistics.

Education

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 and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html