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Banknote Designer (Apprentice)

Department of the Treasury
Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Summary

This position is located at Bureau of Engraving and Printing, within the Product Design Division. As a Banknote Designer (Apprentice), you will be responsible for learning how to develop banknote designs and other security documents/products. The apprenticeship is of seven years duration and consists of supervised training in the various craft skills. The successful completion of the apprenticeship training will validate the apprentice as a Journeyman Banknote Designer.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/20/2026 to 04/02/2026
Salary
$34.17 to - $81.01 per hour
Pay scale & grade
WE 1
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
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
2
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - 1501 Local 32 - International Plate Printers, Die Stampers & Engravers Union of North America
Announcement number
26-BEP-12906003-P
Control number
861575200

Duties

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The apprenticeship is of seven years duration and consists of supervised training in the various craft skills. The successful completion of the apprenticeship training will validate the apprentice as a Journeyman Banknote Designer. The apprentice is supervised by the Design Manager, with training guidance by Journeymen Banknote Designers, and progressively assumes advanced tasks with less supervision over the course of their Apprenticeship. Incumbent's work is closely inspected for quality and the Apprentice is expected to master all operations through experience and guidance.

As a Banknote Designer (Apprentice), you will:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of the overall printing processes and ability to leverage new processes and/or equipment to better facilitate a design.
  • Develop design files using a variety of software applications including but not limited to the following: One System, Adobe Illustrator®, and Adobe Photoshop®.
  • Build strong collaboration with the Office of Engraving to provide satisfactory continuous tone models (including but not limited to: portrait, ornament, title, vignette, guilloche models, et al) and output files that Engraving can use to create intaglio linework.
  • Collaborate with the Office of Engraving when developing offset linework for currency design and other security products that is satisfactory to both entities.
  • Develop an understanding of the limitations of manufacturing processes that may influence reproducibility, through working with Product Managers and manufacturing personnel and use this data to incorporate technical information to enhance the manufacturability of the product.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • A recruitment incentive will not be offered.
  • All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding.
  • Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • Undergo a tax compliance review.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
  • Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
  • Obtain and use a government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
  • Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment.
  • Pass a pre-employment physical examination.
  • Wear required safety clothing and/or equipment required by the position. This may include safety shoes, hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, masks, etc.
  • Shift Work: This facility operates on a 24 hour per day, three-shift basis. The day shift is the primary shift for this role, work during different shifts may be required on an ad-hoc basis to support testing or mission critical activities. The successful applicant must be available to work on all three shifts on a rotational basis.
  • Weekend work and overtime, if applicable, will be scheduled when needed based on production requirements as determined by Management.
Key Requirements:
  1. Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  2. Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

*** PLEASE READ CAREFULLY***

You must meet the screen-out element, Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision, normally addressed at the beginning of the online questions.

To meet the screen-out element, applicants must have:
I am able to create original non-digital designs, drawings, or artwork with minimal supervision.

In addition, you must also obtain an average score of two (2) for the following elements for this position as addressed through the online question in order to be considered minimally qualified. Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:

Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (screen-out)
Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic)
Knowledge of Materials
Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)

Rating: A Two-phase rating method will be used. Answers to the online application questions will constitute 25% of your overall rating. The remaining 75% will be determined by your artwork.

**You will need to submit a total of 6 pieces of artwork, 1 from each of the following categories: Do not submit more than 6 pieces of artwork.

  • Black/White Portrait
  • Black/White Landscape
  • Black/White Still Life
  • Color Still Life
  • Figures
  • Lettering

Please identify what method or medium you used to create each piece of art that is submitted in your portfolio. To meet file size limitations, applicants may send separate emails for each submittal.

Submit your artwork to banknotedesign@bep.gov in either a JPEG or PDF format.

**Do not submit artwork via USA Jobs. Only artwork submitted to banknotedesign@bep.gov will be considered.

Failure to submit artwork will disqualify applicants.

Your artwork will be evaluated by a Subject Matter Expert (SME)/Art panel in the following areas:

  • Layout
  • Rendering
  • 2D Perspective
  • Balance and Symmetry
  • Spatial Awareness

**Failure to meet the minimum art panel score of 50 out of 100 will remove you from consideration.**

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Physical Requirements:
The work is both sedentary and physically demanding. Moderate physical effort is required. The work requires standing, bending, lifting, and reaching.
AND
You must show in your experience in online application that you possess the knowledge, skill and abilities to perform the duties of the position.

  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • This is a bargaining unit position.
  • The facility typically shuts down annually between Christmas and New Year's Day. As such, all BEP employees must take leave for work days during the shutdown period.
  • Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
  • This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information about individual rights, Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov).
  • SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for disqualification in the hiring process. The background investigation process conducted by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is very thorough. Therefore, it is imperative that applicants exercise candor and honesty when answering background questionnaires, especially as it relates to arrest, employment, education, finances, illegal drug use, and/or other criminal history. Falsification discovered in security documents or during the background investigation process may result in an immediate negative suitability determination or immediate revocation of your interim clearance (if applicable).

When the Bureau of Engraving and Printing completes its hiring, the remaining list of qualified candidates may be shared with additional Treasury bureaus. You will have an opportunity to opt-in if you would like your name, application material, and assessment results shared to be considered for employment with additional Treasury bureaus. There is no guarantee of further consideration, and you can continue to explore other job opportunity announcements.

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 includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Be sure your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:
Ability To Do The Work Of The Position Without More Than Normal Supervision (screen-out)
Technical Practices (theoretical, precise, artistic)
Knowledge of Materials
Ability To Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (other than blueprints)

A subject matter expert may be used in the evaluation. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

A Two-phase rating method will be used. Answers to the online application questions will constitute 25% of your overall rating. The remaining 75% will be determined by your artwork.

*You will need to submit a total of 6 pieces of artwork, 1 from each of the following categories: Do not submit more than 6.
B/W=Black/White

  • B/W Portrait
  • B/W Landscape
  • B/W Still Life
  • Color Still Life
  • Figures
  • Lettering

Identify the method/medium used to create each piece of art submitted. To meet file size limitations, you may send separate emails for each submittal.

Submit artwork to banknotedesign@bep.gov in either JPEG or PDF format. Do NOT submit in USA Jobs.

Failure to submit artwork will disqualify applicants.

Artwork will be evaluated in the following areas:

  • Layout
  • Rendering
  • 2D Perspective
  • Balance and Symmetry
  • Spatial Awareness

*Failure to meet the minimum art panel score of 50 out of 100 will remove you from consideration.*

Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of below three quality level categories depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position.

Gold (highest category/score of 90 or better) - highly proficient with an overall comprehensive level of knowledge, skills, and abilities of the job.

Silver (middle category/score of 80-89) - Has a solid and comprehensive understanding. Can perform the required tasks efficiently and is proficient in applying the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the position.

Bronze (minimally qualified/score of 70-79) - an overall basic level of knowledge, skills and abilities of the job.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Qualified preference-eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest category.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If selected for an interview, candidates will be provided 1 hour for a light tonal drawing exercise and a 2D Design Layout activity. All required materials will be provided by the BEP.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)), you must score 85 or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

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