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Systems Engineer

Department of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection
Office of Acquisition
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, Systems Engineering Division, located in Washington, DC.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
02/25/2026 to 03/16/2026
Salary
$121,785 - $187,093 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13 - 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
OA-IMP-12885889-JPH
Control number
857707700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees who are currently working in a permanent competitive service position; Career Transition Assistance Plan CBP employees.

Duties

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Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to utilize your expertise in engineering to oversee various engineering projects, initiatives, and policies that support the entire Acquisition workforce. This position starts at a salary of $121,785.00 (GS-13, Step 1) to $187,093.00 (GS-14, Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions .

In this Systems Engineering position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals involved in performing analysis and evaluation of System Engineering activities; supporting the preparation and presentation of authoritative advice and recommendations; and formulating and exploring new theories as well as developing, advising, testing new approaches, providing expertise, and writing policy.

Typical Work assignments include:

  • Providing Systems Engineering oversight of CBP Programs to ensure their technical aspects are viable and completed in accordance with DHS and CBP policies and procedures. This includes working across DHS, CBP and applicable components to establish and/or strengthen the application of Systems Engineering in CBP Acquisition Programs across the Systems Engineering Life Cycle.
  • Providing support and guidance to officials, program managers, and the acquisition workforce on the implementation, management, and operation of the systems engineering (SE) process within the Component-with particular emphasis on Research and Development (R&D), System Engineering Life Cycle (requirements, design, interoperability, Test and Evaluation (T&E), Risk Management, Configuration Management etc.), and lifecycle logistics processes.
  • Utilizing SE industry and government best practices including Modeling and Simulation, Model Based Systems Engineering, and Systems Architecture to provide support to acquisition programs. This work involves overseeing, analyzing, and reporting on the plans, monitoring, management, and conduct of SE work for the acquisition of prototype, new, fielded, or modified systems-including information technology (IT) systems.
  • Overseeing the creation, analysis, assessment, and evaluation of SE plans, reports, and other related program documentation; developing and recommending changes, as appropriate, to existing Component SE policies, procedures and guidelines, and preparing policies and directives relating to SE matters for signature by Component leadership.
  • Providing analysis and assessment of the performance and trends in individual programs, as well as across the Component's portfolio, supporting the Office of Acquisition, and may act as liaison to other offices within CBP, DHS, other Government entities, and/or industry.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
  • Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
  • All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
  • You may be required to pass a background investigation
  • CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures.
  • As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
  • DHS uses E-Verify, an internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify including your rights and responsibilities.
  • Financial Disclosure: Financial Disclosure is required.
  • Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

3.Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

You qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement listed above and possess one year of specialized experience, as described below.

Specialized Experience:

GS-13:
You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

  • Utilizing directives and guidebooks to run Analysis of Alternatives or Program Implementation Reviews.
  • Interpreting and implementing Systems Engineering Policies and Processes.
  • Developing and providing systems engineering artifacts, reviews, and assessments.
  • Conducting analysis to support evidence-based decisions by program offices responsible for acquisitions.
  • Executing Systems Engineering activities (engineering technical reviews, tailoring plans, design reviews, functional breakdowns, etc.) under supervision of the lead systems engineer or branch chief.

GS-14: You qualify for the GS-14 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:
  • Developing directives, policies, and guidebooks for the execution of acquisition lifecycle activities.
  • Reviewing and developing Systems Engineering Policies and Processes.
  • Receiving and providing feedback on systems engineering artifacts, reviews, and assessments.
  • Developing analysis to support evidence-based decisions by program offices responsible for acquisitions.
  • Executing Systems Engineering activities (tailoring plans, design reviews, functional breakdowns, etc.) with minimal supervision.
NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.


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.

You must:
  • Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and
  • Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 03/16/2026.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers


CONTINUED IN "ADDITIONAL INFORMATION" SECTION

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Promotion Potential: Positions with known promotion potential do not guarantee promotion, nor is the promise of promotion implied.

Telework: No - exemptions related to telework may be available in very limited cases

Security Clearance: This position requires a Top Secret Security Clearance.

DHS Certification: This is a DHS acquisition certification-covered position. DHS Level II certification in Systems Engineering or Test and Evaluation is required within 18 months of placement. A secondary certification in Program Management, Systems Engineering, Test and Evaluation, or Life Cycle Logistics is highly desired.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.


???????CONTINUED FROM "QUALIFICATIONS" SECTION

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

  • Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
  • A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
  • Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
  • Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government
Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.


Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will only be considered for the Eligibilities for which they claim in the job questionnaire AND must provide the supporting documentation. Applicants will not be considered for Eligibilities for which they did not claim, regardless of the documentation submitted with the application. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12885889

Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed to ensure you meet the minimum qualification(s). Your resume must support that you meet both specialized experience requirements described in the qualifications section and are proficient in the skills/competencies. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education, and training will be rated using a Structured Resume Review process.
Your final rating will be based on a Structured Resume Review conducted by Subject Matter Experts (SME). This Structured Resume Review requires that candidates resume must demonstrate the competencies noted below:

  • Written Communication
  • General Engineering
  • Project Management
  • Self-Management
  • Technical Competence
Failure to demonstrate sufficient detail in the body of your resume may impact your final rating. Please note you are not required to provide specific narrative responses to the skills and competencies described in this section. If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP eligible. View information about CTAP eligibilityon OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement. ???????To be considered well qualified under CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position.

Customs and Border Protection

Customs & Border Protection (CBP): Securing America's Borders
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; join DHS.

Discover a challenging and rewarding career with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the sole organization responsible for securing the nation's borders. At CBP, we:

  • Secure and enforce trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws
  • Screen passengers, vehicles, and shipments entering our country
  • Seize illegal narcotics, vehicles, and agricultural products and prohibited goods.
  • Prevent unauthorized entry into the country
  • Rescue individuals who fall into dangerous conditions traversing our border
Find us on X at @CBP and @CBPJobs
Find us on LinkedIn at U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CBP employees demonstrate the highest level of commitment to protect and serve the United States of America and to exemplify the CBP Core Values of Vigilance, Service to Country and Integrity. Learn more about CBP's mission, core values and careers at https://www.cbp.gov/about

Agency contact information

CBP Hiring Center
Phone
952-857-2932
Email
CBPhiring-applicantinquiry@cbp.dhs.gov
Address
Office of Acquisition
Please read entire announcement
Please apply online
Washington, DC 20229
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Customs and Border Protection, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

http://www.cbp.gov

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