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Criminal Investigator

Department of Health and Human Services
Food and Drug Administration
Office of Inspection and Investigations (OII), Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The position is located in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII), Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI). As FDA's criminal law enforcement and intelligence arm, OCI is responsible for protecting public health and furthering the FDA mission by investigating suspected criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and other related laws. Click here to learn more about FDA/OCI.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open date: 06/12/2026
Closed date: 06/13/2026
This job will close when we have received 300 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$43,106 - $68,549 per year

The salary listed in the vacancy announcement is at the base level. The geographic locality pay will be determined at the time of selection.

Pay scale & grade
GL 7 - 9
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
76% or greater - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
FDA-OII-26-MP-12972288-AH
Control number
872748000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This vacancy is open to status candidates (this includes current or former Federal employees with career or career-conditional tenure in the competitive service), Former Overseas Employees, CTAP, ICTAP, VEOA, VRA, 30% or More Disabled Veterans, Schedule A, Military Spouses, Peace Corps, Vista, Land Management, Interchange Agreement eligibles and PHS Commissioned Corps Officers are eligible to apply.

Duties

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  • Serves as a junior criminal investigator (Special Agent) under the direction of senior Criminal Investigators and/or Supervisory Criminal Investigators.
  • Prepares a variety of criminal investigative reports detailing the activity and results of the criminal investigation being conducted.
  • Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with both internal and external representatives.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Citizenship Requirement: You must be a U.S. Citizen to be considered for this advertisement unless explicitly stated otherwise.
  • Selective Service Registration: All applicants born male, on (or after) 12/31/1959, must be registered with the Selective Service System OR have an approved exemption. Visit www.SSS.gov for more info.
  • FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
  • Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
  • Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are applying as a current Federal employee, you must meet the time-in-grade requirements described in the Qualifications section, generally, 52-weeks of comparable experience at the next lowest grade.
  • You must meet ALL requirements by the closing date of this announcement to be considered. Only education, experience, and qualifications attained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements through the hiring process.
  • Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
  • Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
  • Additional selections may be made from this vacancy, within the same geographical area, by other organizational elements from within FDA, through shared corporate recruiting activities.
  • All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and be subject to random, reasonable suspicion, and post-accident drug testing upon hiring.
  • Appointment to the position will be contingent upon a negative applicant drug test result.
  • Must meet the criteria for use of a firearm in accordance with the Federal Arrest Authority.
  • Must meet the standard and training qualifications in strict compliance with Section 702(e)(5) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the Act) (21 U.S.C. 372 (e) (5)).
  • Must possess a valid motor vehicle operator's license at the time of appointment, must maintain license while employed in the position, and will be required to operate a motor vehicle.
  • Applicants for the Criminal Investigator position who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are not eligible for employment. You will be required to sign a Qualification Inquiry prior to confirmation of appointment.

Qualifications

The position of Criminal Investigator falls under the 1811 occupational series. To qualify for this position at grade GL-7/9, you must meet https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/pay/time-in-grade requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 06/25/2026.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

Medical Requirements: The duties of positions in this series require moderate to arduous physical exertion involving walking and standing, use of firearms, and exposure to inclement weather. Manual dexterity with comparatively free motion of finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, hip, and knee joints is required. Arms, hands, legs, and feet must be sufficiently intact and functioning in order that applicants may perform the duties satisfactorily. Sufficiently good vision in each eye, with or without correction, is required to perform the duties satisfactorily. Near vision, corrective lenses permitted, must be sufficient to read printed material the size of typewritten characters. Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz levels. Since the duties of these positions are exacting and responsible, and involve activities under trying conditions, applicants must possess emotional and mental stability. Any physical condition that would cause the applicant to be a hazard to himself/herself, or others is disqualifying.

AND

Minimum Qualifications:
Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. The specialized experience must demonstrate one year of full-time work experience , or the equivalent if part-time. Experience may have been obtained in either the federal service or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations.

For the GL-7: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service which includesparticipating in investigations involving alleged or suspected violations of law; reviewing materials to identify inconsistencies; collecting and analyzing data from a variety of public record/database sources; and preparing or contributing to written reports documenting findings, conclusions, and reccomendations for action. OR
Have one full year (18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours) of graduate level education that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR
Have a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) criteria. Must meet one of the following: (1) Class standing- in the upper third of the graduating class in the college or university. (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) - have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. 3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society - Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed below. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (You must submit a transcript at time of application submission. OR
Have a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above, that would equal 100% of the required experience/education combination for this position.

GL-09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level, in the Federal service, which includes: Participating in investigations involving alleged or suspected violations of law; applying law enforcement, protective, or investigative techniques in the performance of job duties; collecting and analyzing data from a variety of public record/database sources; preparing and contributing to written investigative reports. OR
Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related, if related to the position being filled;-OR-Combination of the required experience and education as described above that, when combined, equal 100% of the total requirement. Only graduate education in excess of 1 years (18 semester/27 quarter hours) may be used for this option. OR
Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related, if related to the position being filled. OR
Combination of the required experience and education as described above that, when combined, equal 100% of the total requirement. Only graduate education in excess of 1 years (18 semester/27 quarter hours) may be used for this option.

Additional Requirements
1. Basic Criminal Investigation Training: Selectee must successfully complete 13 weeks of intensive training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, GA and 4 weeks of specialized training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Charleston, SC. Failure to pass the training program may result in separation from the FDA/OCI.

2. Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP): The incumbent is subject to work unscheduled duty hours and must be available for unscheduled duty based upon the needs of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Therefore, the incumbent is eligible for Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) of an additional 25%, and is subject to the provisions of the LEAP Act of 1994.

3. Federal Law Enforcement Officer (FLEO): This position meets the eligibility criteria for law enforcement retirement under both the Civil Service Retirement Systems (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Employees covered by either retirement system that reach age 50 or over with at least twenty years of service as a law enforcement officer are qualified for law enforcement retirement. In addition, employees covered by FERS (all new hires in the federal government) at any age with at least twenty-five years of service as a law enforcement officer are qualified for law enforcement retirement. Finally, employees who reach age 57 with at least twenty years of service as a law enforcement officer are subject to mandatory retirement. This position is approved for Primary Law Enforcement coverage under 5 (USC) 8336 (c) or 5 USC 8412 (d).

4. Minimum Age Requirement: The minimum entry age for this position is 21 years of age and the maximum entry age for this position is 36 years of age (the date of appointment must be no later than the date immediately preceding the 37th birthday) unless you have sufficient prior Federal service in a covered law enforcement position or are a preference eligible veteran.

5. Lautenberg Amendment: This position authorized the incumbent to carry a firearm and must meet the Lautenberg Amendment requirements as described in Title 18, USC Section 992 (g). Any person who has been convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor, or crime of domestic violence cannot lawfully possess a firearm. The term convicted as defined by the statute, excludes any person whose conviction has been expunged, set-aside, pardoned, or any person whose civil rights have been restored, so long as the restoration does not restrict the shipping, transport, possession or receipt of firearms or ammunition. Candidates who have been convicted of felony or misdemeanor or crimes of domestic violence within the meaning of the referenced statute are not eligible for this position.

Education

TRANSCRIPTS:
Positions which are scientific or technical in nature often have very specific educational requirements. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities, see the Foreign Education section below for additional requirements.

Pay careful attention to the Qualifications and Education sections to identify vacancies where a transcript is required. Even if you hold a similar position or are a current employee, you are not exempt from transcript requirements.

Electronic Transcript Caution: If you have obtained your transcripts electronically, the file might contain security measures that could prevent our application system from reading the file. Therefore, you should consider asking the institution to provide the file in a non-secured electronic format. Alternatively, you could scan or take a photo of the printed copy of the transcript. If your uploaded transcript cannot be read by our system, you may receive consideration and credit for the information we can access.

See the Application Manager Documentation for tips on submitting your paper-based documents.

FOREIGN EDUCATION
Applicants using part, or all of their education completed outside of the U.S. to meet the qualification requirements, must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. We will only accept the completed foreign credential evaluation.

To be acceptable, the foreign credential evaluation must include/describe at a minimum, the following information: (1) The type of education received by the applicant; (2) The level of education in relation to the U.S. education system, and state that its comparability recommendations follow the general guidelines of the International Evaluation Standards Council; (3) The content of the applicant's educational program earned abroad, and the standard obtained; (4) The status of the awarding foreign school's recognition and legitimacy in its home country's education system; and (5) Any other information of interest such as what the evaluation service did to obtain this information, the qualifications of the evaluator, and any indications as to other problems such as forgery. Note: Some positions require the completion of specific courses or a specified number of credit hours. Therefore, the foreign credential evaluation should provide information similar to that of an official transcript, to include a list of the courses taken, quarter and/or semester hours awarded, the cumulative grade point average (GPA), honors received, if any, date degree awarded.
Applicants can request an evaluation from a member organization of one of the two national associations of credential evaluation services listed below:

  1. National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)
  2. Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE)
Credential evaluations are not free, and applicants are responsible for the cost of the selected service.
For more information about this requirement, please visit the the https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Qualifications are based on breadth/level of experience. In addition to describing duties performed, applicants must provide the exact dates of each period of employment (from MM/YY to MM/YY) and the number of hours worked per week if part time. As qualification determinations cannot be made when resumes do not include the required information, failure to provide this information may result in disqualification. Applicants are encouraged to use the USAJOBS Resume Builder to develop their federal resume.

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 submit https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents to verify your eligibility to apply for this vacancy. For most applicants, an ttps://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/service/sf-50 will be required. However, if you are applying as a https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans, individual with a https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/individuals-with-disabilities, or a https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition , you will be required to provide other supporting documents as applicable. See the Required Documents section for details.
Be sure that any files you upload as supporting documentation are free of security or compression features which render such documents unreadable to our system.

Additional information

For some advertisements, the Food & Drug Administration receives hundreds, even thousands, of applications from job-seekers. Because of this high level of interest, FDA reserves the option of setting an application number limit.
When an application limit is set, USAJOBS will close the vacancy at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on either:
(A) the day the limit is reached, -OR-
(B) the pre-defined closing date of 06/25/2026, whichever comes first.
If the limit is reached before 11:59 pm ET, all applications in excess of the limit will continue to be accepted until 11:59 pm ET.
The application limit for this advertisement, if applicable, is: 300 applicant count limit
For more information about announcement closing, see: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/job-announcement/expiration

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT THAT MAY BE REQUIRED
  • Pre-employment physical: Yes, you will be subject to a pre-employment and periodic medical examinations.
  • Drug testing: Yes
  • License: Yes, Driver's License
  • Immunization: No
  • Bargaining Unit: No
  • Mobility agreement: Yes, to promote the efficiency of the OCI, the incumbent of this position may be reassigned to another position and/or location with OCI in the United States or Puerto Rico. You will be required to sign a mobility agreement to accept relocation to other geographic locations, if required by the agency. Failure to relocate when directed may result in separation from employment in the FDA in accordance with appropriate Government regulations.
  • Financial Disclosure: Please be advised that this position may be subject to FDA's prohibited financial interest regulation. If you are hired, you may be required to divest of certian financial interests. You are advised to seek additional informatin on this requirements from the hriing official before accepting any job offers.
Incentives may be authorized; however, this is contingent upon funds availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require you to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a period of up to 3 years. Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid. Incentives include the following: moving expenses, recruitment or relocation incentive; student loan repayment, superior qualifications appointment, creditable service for annual leave for prior non-federal work experience or prior uniformed military service, etc.
All requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement (06/25/2026 ); only education and experience gained by this date will be considered. You must continue to meet all requirements throughout the entire hiring process.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://secure.login.gov/ select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application.

ll requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement (06/25/2026). You must continue to meet all requirements throughout the entire hiring process.

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.

You must meet the requirements of the job by 11:59 (Eastern Standard Time) of the closing date: 06/25/2026

Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position (as listed in this vacancy announcement above) will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and your score from the required assessment(s).

The application review process will be conducted in multiple stages:

Eligibility Consideration: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Office will review your application and supporting documentation to determine it is complete, meets the two (2) page resume limit and meets the eligibility requirements for this vacancy.

Minimum Qualifications: Then, the Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job requirements and qualifications.

Assessment and Rating Process: This vacancy will use the following assessment(s): Accomplishment Record.

Next, the Human Resources Office and/or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review your technical qualifications based on the extent and quality of your experience, education (if applicable to the job), and training described in your resume, questionnaire, and assessment documentation as related to the duties and competencies of this position.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics). You need not respond to the KSA's separately, but your resume should contain sufficient information to demonstrate possession of these competencies.

  • Criminal Investigation
  • Criminal Law
  • Partnering
This assessment and rating process will determine your quality category for referral. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your skills and abilities.

All qualified Non-Competitive applicants and the best-qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: Employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position (obtain a score of 85 or higher on assessments); and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility.

PHS Commissioned Corps Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps may apply online to this announcement. Candidates will be referred to (CC) personnel and not as candidates for conversion to a permanent career or career-conditional appointment.

Referral Consideration: If you are referred to the hiring manager for consideration, you may be further evaluated based on an interview, review of requested work samples, etc. Failure to comply with any of the additional assessment requirements will result in removal from further consideration.



Food and Drug Administration

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At the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) you can give back to your community, state, and country, by making a difference in the lives of Americans everywhere! HHS is the principal agency for protecting the health of citizens. Join HHS and help to make our world healthier, safer, and better for all Americans.


The positions are located in the Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI), Office of Inspections and Investigations (OII).

The mission of the OII is to conduct rigorous, transparent, and science-based inspections and investigations, providing real-time evidence and insight essential in empowering fact-based regulatory decisions to protect public health. To view our OII Vision, Mission, and Values, please visit: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/office-inspections-and-investigations.

Agency contact information

FDA Applicant Help Desk
Phone
866-807-3742
Email
eric@fda.hhs.gov
Address
FDA Center Office of Inspection and Investigation
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20852
US

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