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UX Practitioner - DHA

Social Security Administration
Chief Information Officer (CIO)

Summary

IT Specialist, UX Practitioner position(s) are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service. Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Many" do not apply.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/09/2026 to 09/04/2026
Salary
$102,415 to - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Woodlawn, MD
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy; employee is required to be onsite 75% of duty time
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Flextime and Alternate Work Schedules are available
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes
Announcement number
SSA-12903604-DHA-26-CIO
Control number
860168700

Duties

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  • This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
  • Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement. Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
  • Positions filled with applications from this pool will be placed into positions where artificial intelligence duties occupy the majority of the work performed.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
  • Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion or national origin.

Qualifications

Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information.

READ ALL SECTIONS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.

Applicants must qualify for the series and grade of the posted position. Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. Your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and proficiency of any required competencies to perform the specific position for which you are applying.

To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, the applicant must demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
  • Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; know about available products and services; and is committed to providing quality products and services.
  • Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
  • Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
For GS-12: Applicants for this GS-12 must also have 52 weeks of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 level or above, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled, that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such IT-related experience must include:
  • Designing responsive websites and applications (including prototyping and wireframing) using tools such as Figma, Axure, Adobe XD, Adobe Dreamweaver, JustInMind, Balsamiq, WebFlow, Pega, Sketch, and/or Invision
AND
  • Planning and conducting user interviews and/or usability testing and using the data collected to inform design.
AND
  • Knowledge and application of the User-Centered Design process.

For GS-13: Applicants for this GS-13 must have 52 weeks of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 level or above, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled, that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such IT-related experience must include:
  • Experience leading teams to design responsive websites and web-based applications using tools such as Figma, Axure, Adobe XD, Adobe Dreamweaver, JustInMind, Balsamiq, WebFlow, Pega, Sketch, and/or Invision;
AND
  • Experience leading teams to planning and conduct user interviews and/or usability testing, and use the data collected to inform design;
AND
  • Knowledge and application of the User-Centered Design process.

PLEASE NOTE: Specialized Experience is REQUIRED and must be explicitly documented/described in your resume or you will be disqualified from further consideration.

Qualification standards and additional information for this position can be found here: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

See announcement cutoff dates below under How to Apply.

Are you ready to make a real impact at the Social Security Administration? Join our forward-thinking technology team as a UX Practitioner and help shape the future of digital services for more than 330 million Americans. We are looking for experienced User Experience practitioners to join our User Experience Group. We are a large, mature UX team that has served the public and agency employees for over 20 years. We utilize the User-Centered Design process to support the development of digital products that are used by millions of Americans and tools that are used by thousands of agency employees.

We value UX practitioners who are passionate about creating exceptional customer experiences. If you thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment and love to conduct user research, prototyping, and usability testing, our User Experience Group, this is the place for you.

If you're ready to take your career to the next level-whether you're a proven leader or an ambitious learner-apply today and help us build the future of digital government services!

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement. This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office.

Some positions are bargaining unit positions represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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.

The evaluation you receive is based on your responses to the online assessment questions completed during the application process.

Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. Information not specifically stated in your resume cannot be assumed.

Information copied or restated from the vacancy announcement or rating criteria will not be considered. If this occurs, you may be found ineligible.

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