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Supervisory General Engineer

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Secret Service
Office of Technical Operations

Summary

Joining the Secret Service, Office of Technical Operations will allow you to provide a technically secure environment at the White House, Vice Presidential Residence, and any locations where the President or Vice President may temporarily reside.

For definitions of terms found in this announcement, please click here.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/20/2026 to 02/24/2026
Salary
$169,279 to - $197,200 per year

Salary listed includes applicable locality pay.

Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary promotion - Not to exceed 1 year
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
15
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
TEC-JA-13363-26-SS
Control number
858384600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current career or career-conditional United States Secret Service employees in the competitive service and Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligibles.

Duties

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The selectee will serve as a Supervisory General Engineer in the Office of Technical Operations. Typical work assignments include:

  • Establishes program priorities, performance metrics, and investment strategies that shape agency-wide technical capabilities supporting mission-essential and nationally significant protective operations.
  • Serves as a principal engineering authority and senior technical advisor to USSS and DHS leadership, providing expert judgment on the feasibility, cost, and risk implications of national-level protective technology initiatives.
  • Maintains oversight of the lifecycle management of all technical systems under the branch's jurisdiction, including acquisition, configuration control, sustainment, and modernization.
  • Leads strategic workforce planning, recruitment, and succession management efforts to maintain a world-class cadre of engineers, scientists, and technical specialists supporting national protective missions.
  • Provides executive-level guidance on organizational change initiatives and directs process improvements that increase program efficiency and effectiveness.
Apply for this exciting opportunity to lead program and project planning, coordination, management, and quality assurance across diverse and interconnected technical domains. This Supervisory General Engineer position starts at a salary of $169,279.00, GS-15, step 1 with potential to $197,200.00 GS-15 step 10.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service
If selected for this position, you will be required to:
  • Obtain and maintain a top-secret Tier 5 clearance. For more information visit OPM Mythbuster Page.
  • Submit to random drug testing while you occupy the position.
  • Submit to a Full-Scope polygraph examination prior to your appointment.
  • May be subject to a one-year probationary period for supervisors/managers.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To be considered qualified for this position you must meet the following qualification requirements for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

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), 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 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).

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO MEET THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

You qualify for the GS-15 level (starting salary $143,913.00) if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level performing duties such as:

  • Recommending resolutions of engineering issues to attain organizational goals/objectives and technology development.
  • Reviewing and analyzing project schedules, technical and managerial reports, financial reports, and other pertinent data to determine status of programs.
  • Preparing detailed technical and operational specifications, prepares all justifications and evaluation criteria for procurement.
  • Supporting and executing specialized research and development efforts to develop new processes or techniques to enhance the ability to perform organizational missions.

Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to current competitive service employees applying for a Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. NOTE: All current or former Federal employees must provide a copy of their SF-50, "Notice of Personnel Action" that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure (1 or 2), and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). You may need to submit more than one SF-50 to comply.

The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

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.

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for a position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Additional information

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.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to HRsupport@usss.dhs.gov.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade and unit occur.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Position may be filled as a time-limited promotion not to exceed (NTE) 5 years by a current permanent United States Secret Service employee.

Time-limited promotions may be extended up to a maximum of five years.

Position may be made permanent without further competition.

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.

The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger).

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 rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the duties of the position. All answers provided in the online process must be substantiated by your resume.

Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume, starting at your work experience. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

  • Acquisition Strategy
  • General Engineering
  • Human Capital Management
  • Program Management
  • Technical Competence

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not CTAP eligible. View information about CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered eligible under CTAP, you must be deemed qualified based on the structured resume review, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement.

An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3).

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

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