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Electronics Engineer

Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Summary

The FBI Laboratory Division Technical Exploitation Unit (TEXU) is responsible for the examination of unique electronic devices such as unmanned aerial systems that are recovered throughout the United States and globally. TEXU is seeking experienced Electronic Engineers who possess expertise in emerging electronic devices. This fast-paced job requires close attention to detail and adaptability while innovating solutions to technical limitations experienced during evidence examinations.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/18/2026 to 03/05/2026
Salary
$110,847 to - $144,102 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Huntsville, AL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
DESTIMP-12892174-26-VL
Control number
858105800

This job is open to

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The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Federal employees - Competitive service

Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.

Federal employees - Excepted service

Current federal employees whose agencies have their own hiring rules, pay scales and evaluation criteria.

Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Veterans

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Military spouses

Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

Individuals with disabilities

Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens.

Duties

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  • Serves as an Electronic Engineer Forensic Examiner and stays abreast of the latest research to determine best methods to examine evidence.
  • Provides forensic analysis of electronic evidence in cases involving multiple submissions where inter-comparison of evidence is necessary and providing reports and testimony.
  • Initiates and performs full range of technical procedures in a variety of settings, including examinations.
  • Prepares and furnishes authoritative oral and written reports to FBI field investigators, U.S. Attorneys, state and local police and prosecutors as well as others within the law enforcement community.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. citizen
  • Must be able to obtain a Top Secret-SCI clearance
  • Some travel may be required
  • Selectee will be required to complete form FD-887, Request for Access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)
  • Candidates must have a minimum of three years' experience with electronics, embedded systems, and/or RF analysis.
  • As a condition of employment, DNA samples are required from all FBI personnel who interact with evidence or federal DNA database samples in Laboratory Division (LD) space or whose work requires them to enter LD examination areas where evidence or DNA database samples are processed or examined as part of the quality control process to detect sample/evidence contamination, in accordance with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), 75 Federal Register (FR) 68932; 29 C.F.R. 1635.8(b)(6)
  • Must successfully complete up to a two-year training program necessary for qualification as an FBI Forensic Examiner (FE). Must sign a Forensic Examiner Training Continued Service Agreement (FETCSA) to remain an FE for two years after the completion of training, with the understanding that failure to complete training may lead to termination or change to a similar position at a lower grade. Failure to fulfill the FETCSA will require reimbursement for the prorated expense of their training, unless a waiver is granted. Applicant is required to serve a two-year probationary period as a FE, beginning when he/she enters on duty as a FE trainee.
  • Candidates who are hired for this position will not be eligible for promotion until they successfully complete their Forensic Examiner training.

Qualifications

GS-13: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of SE equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. SE is defined as follows:

  • Experience developing advanced test and evaluation protocols.
  • Experience in electronic device analysis and general knowledge of unmanned systems.
  • Experience communicating verbally and in writing to prepare reports, provide testimony, and provide expert technical guidance/recommendations to the law enforcement community.

Education

Positive Education Requirement

This position has a specific education requirement; all applicants must verify completion of this basic educational requirement by submitting a copy of their college transcripts by the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

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 material (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 are 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), 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) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by and 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.
  4. Related curriculum-- Successful completion of a curriculum lading 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).
Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements provided you can show foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

Additional information

To attract and retain highly qualified candidates, selectees may be eligible for a recruitment incentive of up to 20% or, for eligible current federal employees, a relocation incentive of up to 15%. Eligibility for a relocation incentive requires proof of a change in residence and an assignment at a worksite in a different geographic area greater than or equal to 50 miles from the prior worksite. Employees must sign a written service agreement completing a specified period of employment with the FBI at the new duty station. Recruitment and relocation incentives cannot be combined.

Key Words:

UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems)
Drone
UXS
Drone forensics
IOT
Internet of things
Reverse engineering
Circuit analysis
Simulations
Sensors and signal processing
Drone testing
Electronics troubleshooting
Hardware Debugging
Red team

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.

Your application will be evaluated using the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documents will be reviewed to verify that you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement and will be compared against your responses to the online assessment questionnaire. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are found minimally qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

The competencies will be used in a Structured Resume Review to objectively evaluate applicant resumes. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Your resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies.

Competencies:

  • Innovative Thinking
  • Problem Solving/ Judgment
  • Electronics Engineering
  • Research (Data)
  • Communication

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