Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from current or former federal employees serving under a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service, ICTAP/CTAP, persons eligible under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), and Schedule A (Persons with Disabilities).

• Applying specialized knowledge and expertise to formulate new ideas and evaluating potential uses of new state-of-the-art technical surveillance equipment in law enforcement environment. Participating with special agents utilizing technical surveillance techniques to gather evidence in support of criminal investigations and other enforcement operations.
• Maintaining knowledge of laws of arrest, search and seizure, regulations, restrictions, and policies that govern the collection of evidence using technical surveillance equipment.
• Performs preventative and corrective maintenance to keep equipment and systems in reliable conditions; installing equipment in accordance with plans, specifications, and detailed instructions, and reinstalling repaired or modified systems.
• Repair systems and equipment to include detecting and diagnosing malfunctions, tearing down equipment, repairing or replacing parts or components, or aligning, calibrating and testing the modified or repaired equipment.
• Fabricates electronic equipment in accordance with plans, specifications, and instructions, including constructing, assembling, arranging, mounting, or wiring electronic parts and components and making measurements to diagnose malfunctions to ensure equipment operates within prescribed standards.
• Through the use of scientific and technological advances, develops and designs modifications, expansions, and improvements to electronic/technical surveillance equipment based upon the law enforcement mission.
• Develops and implements technical training for tactical operations officers, other technical surveillance specialists, special agents, and other law enforcement agencies on the application, operation, and use of technical surveillance equipment.
• Establishing and maintaining liaison with Special agents, State, local, and other federal technical employees, and Assistant United States Attorney.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progresses.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Suitable for Federal employment determined by background investigation.
• Must be registered or exempt from the Selective Service. See www.sss.gov
• May be required to serve a one year probationary period.

The time-in-grade requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.  The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

MOBILITY PLAN:  New employees hired pursuant to this vacancy announcement must sign a mobility agreement.  The purpose of ATF’s mobility policy is to enhance career development and progression, and achieve mission and business effectiveness.  To accomplish these objectives, the mobility plan will facilitate the movement of employees through special short-term assignments or permanent reassignments throughout the Bureau. Applicants who decline to sign a mobility agreement, as required, will be removed from the hiring process.

Qualifications

To qualify for the Technical Surveillance Specialist, at the GS-12 Grade candidates must also have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-11.

Specialized experience is demonstrated experience, which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Experience must be in the normal line of progression or must be related to the work of the position advertised and must be reflected in resume. Specialized experience for the position is defined as performing technical electronics program support duties such as: acquiring, assembling, modifying, testing and preparing technical surveillance equipment for installation; accompanying and assisting Special Agents or other law enforcement personnel in making entries on to a suspect's property to install, adjust, repair, or recover surveillance devices, testifying on behalf of the government in criminal prosecutions as a result of the technical surveillance equipment support provided during investigations and evaluating and recommending potential uses of new state-of-the-art technical surveillance equipment to management.

Please do not cut and paste  the position description, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

The GS-12 salary range starts at $84,231.00.   If you are a new federal (civil service) employee, your starting salary will be set at the Step 1 for this position and the grade level for which you are selected.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). The ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your ICTAP eligibility; 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement; and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria.  You must provide proof of eligibility with your application to receive selection priority. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation personnel action form. Additional information about ICTAP eligibility is at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

The Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provides eligible surplus and displaced competitive service employees in the Department of Justice with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. If your Department of Justice component has notified you in writing that you are a surplus or displaced employee eligible for CTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority if: 1) this vacancy is within your CTAP eligibility, 2) you apply under the instructions in this announcement, and 3) you are found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well qualified, you must satisfy all qualification requirements for the vacant position and score 85 or better on established ranking criteria.  You must provide a copy of your written notification of CTAP eligibility with your application. Additional information about CTAP eligibility is at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/.

Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): (for Merit Promotion announcements) VEOA allows eligible veterans to apply and compete for positions announced under merit promotion procedures when the hiring agency is recruiting from outside its own workforce. To be eligible for a Veteran Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA) appointment, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed three (3) or more years of continuous active military service. If you are applying for a Merit Promotion announcement and wish to be considered under the VEOA, you must submit a copy of the Member Copy 4 of your DD-214, in addition to any other required documents listed on this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are basically qualified for this job, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses on the online assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

The assessment questionnaire is designed to measure your ability in the following competencies:

• Knowledge of electronic theory, circuits, components, and material properties (excluding computers).
• Knowledge of surveillance and counter-surveillance techniques, policies, and laws, including overt and covert methods and electronic, optical, and video surveillance methods and tools.
• Troubleshoots, diagnoses, analyzes, and identifies system malfunctions to determine the source and cause of the problem.
• Ability to use new knowledge and skills that are acquired through formal training, feedback, extensive on-the-job experience and other self-learning opportunities to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
• Knowledge of the architecture, typology and maintenance of software, hardware, and networks, including LANS, WANS, and telecommunications systems, their components and associated protocols and standards, and how they operate and integrate with one another and with associated controlling software.
• Knowledge of Federal, State, and local laws and regulations for rules of evidence.
• Knowledge of methods for researching and analyzing external products to determine their potential for meeting organizational standards and business needs.