The US Tech Force is an elite corps advancing federal technology. Backed by the White House, it deploys top AI and engineering talent across government. The Department of War (DoW) is among the participating agencies seeking innovators ready to tackle critical national challenges.
While most positions are based in the Washington, DC area, agencies may also use this announcement to fill vacancies at additional duty locations.
Summary
The US Tech Force is an elite corps advancing federal technology. Backed by the White House, it deploys top AI and engineering talent across government. The Department of War (DoW) is among the participating agencies seeking innovators ready to tackle critical national challenges.
While most positions are based in the Washington, DC area, agencies may also use this announcement to fill vacancies at additional duty locations.
The specific duties assigned to a Forward Deployed Engineer may differ by hiring agency. Examples may include:
Coordinates with cross-functional teams to integrate software technologies into secure, scalable, and interoperable solutions.
Leads efforts to modernize CI/CD pipelines, integrate automated test frameworks, and improve infrastructure-as-code implementations.
Continuously researches and evaluates emerging technologies, frameworks, and methodologies that improve delivery efficiency and product quality.
Aligns project outcomes with agency-wide IT strategies, digital modernization goals, and mission priorities.
Recommends and implements innovative tools, methodologies, and frameworks to improve project execution and service delivery.
Participates in interagency working groups, task forces, and strategic planning sessions to align IT initiatives with broader government priorities.
Collaborates with one or more delivery teams with technical and non-technical stakeholders to align on requirements, triage issues, validate implementation plans, and ensure technical cohesion and consistent standards across the enterprise.
Elevates other engineers by reviewing designs, code, and delivery practices, ensuring quality and technical growth across the organization.
This is a shared announcement used by multiple Federal agencies. If you are invited to interview or receive a job offer, be sure to confirm the specific conditions of employment with the hiring agency. Specific requirements vary by hiring agency and may include:
Completion of the E-Verify employment verification process.
Selective Service registration, if applicable.
Background investigation and suitability determination.
Security clearance, if required by the hiring agency. Must be able to pass a background investigation and/or obtain and hold a security clearance, as determined by the hiring agency.
Drug testing, financial disclosure, or bargaining unit coverage, depending on the position.
May require a pre-employment drug test and/or random drug testing during the period of employment.
Direct deposit of salary payments.
Successfully completing a trial period.
Applicants must be a U.S. Citizen or national.
Qualifications
This is an open continuous announcement. Applicants may be referred periodically throughout the announcement period based on the needs of the hiring agencies. To be considered, applicants must submit their application package and complete the USA Hire and Industry Coding assessments.
This announcement will close at 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/17/2026. Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date.
Minimum Qualification Requirement:
Under the updated Competency-Based Qualification Standard for the IT Management Series (2210), applicants must:
Demonstrate you have the required specialized experience for the position,
Meet or exceed all required general competencies at the minimum proficiency level for the GS-14 grade, and
Meet or exceed all required technical competencies established for this announcement for the GS-14 grade.
You may be considered ineligible and removed from further consideration for the position, if you fail to meet any of the criteria above.
Specialized Experience
You must demonstrate the competencies required to successfully perform the duties of the position. These competencies are normally attained through one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of the position being filled but may be obtained through other means. Experience may be paid or unpaid (internships, volunteerism). Experience must be validated through the assessment process, consistent with OPM's skills-based hiring policy.
Qualifying specialized experience includes:
Cross-functional collaboration: You have partnered with a diverse range of stakeholders (such as mission partners, program staff, or end-users) to understand needs, align priorities, or deliver successful technical outcomes.
Technology Integration: You have deployed and integrated technical solutions (such as data pipelines, AI/ML models, automation tools, or other systems) within an organizational environment to support mission or operational needs.
Software Engineering: You have experience in one or more areas of software engineering and can design, build, deploy, or maintain reliable technical solutions that address user or mission requirements.
Specialized experience must show demonstrable competencies aligned to the position's job analysis and the IT-2210 standard.
General 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; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
Information Management: Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.
Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations
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.
Teamwork: Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.
Technical Competency
Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
The following technical competencies are required for this position:
General Programming and Algorithms
Requirement Understanding and Implementation
Debugging and Troubleshooting
Education
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
Additional information
Department of War and other agencies across the Federal government may hire from this announcement.
Tech Force Fellowship:Those selected will join a cohort of individuals that receive leadership training, get exposure to America's top technology CEOs and gain unparalleled exposure to policymaking and national-scale impact. This may include CEO fireside chats, networking events, coding training/certificates, and other opportunities.
While most positions are based in the Washington, DC area, agencies may also use this announcement to fill vacancies at additional duty locations. Specific duty locations outside of Washington, DC are not known at the time of this announcement.
The salary range posted in this announcement is an approximation and subject to locality. Final duty location and pay will be determined by the hiring agency.
Applicants will indicate geographic preferences in the application questionnaire. These preferences may help participating agencies understand candidate location interests and potential future workforce needs, but they do not guarantee consideration, selection, or assignment to any specific location.
Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be available, depending on the hiring agency's policies.
Appointments are made under Schedule A (r) hiring authority for 2-year terms. Appointments may be extended to a max of 4 years based on the needs of the hiring agency. There are no rights to further Federal employment in either the competitive or excepted service upon expiration of appointment.
Agencies with non-General Schedule (non-GS) pay plans or bands may hire from this announcement when the vacancy they are filling is equivalent to the GS grade advertised. The hiring agency's servicing HR office must verify grade-equivalency alignment with the advertised GS grade. Selections from this announcement must be for the GS grade (or equivalent pay plan or band) included in the announcement.
Current or Former Political Appointees: 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.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing online assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the online assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the online assessment. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.
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.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.
To be found minimally qualified, you must demonstrate proficiency in the general and technical competencies listed in the Qualifications section of the job announcement. At this level, individuals apply the competencies in considerably difficult situations, require little to no guidance, and demonstrate broad and in-depth understanding of the competency.
Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies:
Accountability, Attention to Detail, Customer Service, Decision Making, Flexibility, Influencing/Negotiating, Integrity/Honesty, Interpersonal Skills, Learning, Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, Self-Management, Stress Tolerance, and Teamwork, Oral Communication, Problem Solving, Information Management, General Programming and Algorithms, Requirement Understanding and Implementation, and Debugging and Troubleshooting.
Application questionnaire: Applicants must complete a questionnaire as part of the application process. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12983159. Applicants identifying as meeting minimum qualifications for the position will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.
Online Assessments:
USA Hire Assessments: The USA Hire Assessments include a passing score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.
Industry Coding Assessment: This online assessment includes a passing score based on the required proficiency in technical competencies. You must meet or exceed the passing score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the passing score or fail to complete the assessment
Resume review: Your resume will be reviewed to confirm your qualifications for this position based on the required minimum qualifications. Applicants passing the resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.
Interview: Applicants will participate in an interview to further assess their qualifications relative to the required minimum qualifications. Applicants passing the interview will be ranked as described below.
Ranking and Preference: Qualified candidates will be placed on an unranked list. Candidates with veterans' preference will be ranked ahead of candidates without veterans' preference.
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/17/2026.
A resume of no more than two pages which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year, and indicates hours worked per week. If military or a civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letters, links to additional information) will not be reviewed. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials may result in your removal from consideration.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume.
The USAJOBS resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
A complete application questionnaire and online assessments.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the online assessment, you can find the Reasonable Accommodation process here.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, orparent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF-15, and if applicable, a completed SF-15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge on the date of your application, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement date from active duty, 2) your discharge will be under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) your separation date from active duty service.
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of service (Member 4 copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions, as listed on the SF-15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee employee?
Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
Position title;
Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee);
Agency; and
Beginning and end dates of appointment.
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials. You must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires and assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Complete the questionnaire and include all supporting documents with your initial application.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the closing date of this announcement.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
If you are required to take the Industry Coding Assessment, you will be notified within 3 business days of completing the USA Hire Assessment. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the system and the completion deadline.
Access the Industry Coding Assessment using the unique assessment link. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessment.
You will have 90 minutes to take the online assessment. Once you start an assessment, you are not able to pause it and restart again. You must complete the assessment in the given time frame or it will time out and submit as you left it
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please contact U.S. Tech Force. You must submit a complete application by the close of the announcement.
Technical Assessment Notification
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will invite applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements to complete a mandatory technical assessment which will be administered by a third-party contractor hired for this purpose (assessment provider). OPM will send the assessment provider qualifying applicant email addresses solely for the purpose of administering the assessment. Each applicant will receive a link to the assessment at the email address used to apply. After the assessment is completed, the assessment provider will transmit the scores to OPM to be used for applicant evaluation purposes. By written agreement with OPM, the assessment provider will handle all information related to the assessment as confidential information for use only in the assessment process for the relevant vacancy. Taking the assessment is voluntary, but it must be completed in order to receive further consideration for the position.
We will email applicants after each step of the hiring process to notify them of their outcome. Tentative timeline:
June 2026: Job announcement opens
July-August 2026: Interviews
August 2026: Agency interviews and selections begin
Selection process: Participating agencies will receive a list of qualified candidates. Agencies will conduct interviews, check references, and make offers directly to qualified candidates. Once a candidate accepts a tentative job offer from any agency, the candidate may be removed from consideration for other agencies and may not receive another interview or offer. A candidate who declines a tentative job offer from any agency may be removed from further consideration. After making tentative job offers, agencies conduct suitability/security background investigations.
Future consideration: This is a shared hiring announcement open to agencies throughout the Federal government. Your resume and other application materials may be shared with multiple agencies to consider you for employment, however there is no guarantee of consideration or selection. By applying to this announcement, you are opting-in to your resume and other application materials being shared with multiple agencies. Participating agencies are responsible for making all selection or non-selection decisions. The lists of qualified candidates may be shared with Federal agencies for up to a year.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 07/17/2026.
A resume of no more than two pages which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year, and indicates hours worked per week. If military or a civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade. Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letters, links to additional information) will not be reviewed. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We may not make assumptions regarding your experience. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials may result in your removal from consideration.
Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.
Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume.
The USAJOBS resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
A complete application questionnaire and online assessments.
If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the online assessment, you can find the Reasonable Accommodation process here.
If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, orparent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF-15, and if applicable, a completed SF-15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge on the date of your application, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement date from active duty, 2) your discharge will be under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) your separation date from active duty service.
If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of service (Member 4 copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions, as listed on the SF-15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee employee?
Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
Position title;
Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee);
Agency; and
Beginning and end dates of appointment.
Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials. You must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires and assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents sections. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:
Click the Apply Online button.
Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Complete the questionnaire and include all supporting documents with your initial application.
If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. The online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the closing date of this announcement.
Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
If you are required to take the Industry Coding Assessment, you will be notified within 3 business days of completing the USA Hire Assessment. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the system and the completion deadline.
Access the Industry Coding Assessment using the unique assessment link. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessment.
You will have 90 minutes to take the online assessment. Once you start an assessment, you are not able to pause it and restart again. You must complete the assessment in the given time frame or it will time out and submit as you left it
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, please contact U.S. Tech Force. You must submit a complete application by the close of the announcement.
Technical Assessment Notification
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will invite applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements to complete a mandatory technical assessment which will be administered by a third-party contractor hired for this purpose (assessment provider). OPM will send the assessment provider qualifying applicant email addresses solely for the purpose of administering the assessment. Each applicant will receive a link to the assessment at the email address used to apply. After the assessment is completed, the assessment provider will transmit the scores to OPM to be used for applicant evaluation purposes. By written agreement with OPM, the assessment provider will handle all information related to the assessment as confidential information for use only in the assessment process for the relevant vacancy. Taking the assessment is voluntary, but it must be completed in order to receive further consideration for the position.
We will email applicants after each step of the hiring process to notify them of their outcome. Tentative timeline:
June 2026: Job announcement opens
July-August 2026: Interviews
August 2026: Agency interviews and selections begin
Selection process: Participating agencies will receive a list of qualified candidates. Agencies will conduct interviews, check references, and make offers directly to qualified candidates. Once a candidate accepts a tentative job offer from any agency, the candidate may be removed from consideration for other agencies and may not receive another interview or offer. A candidate who declines a tentative job offer from any agency may be removed from further consideration. After making tentative job offers, agencies conduct suitability/security background investigations.
Future consideration: This is a shared hiring announcement open to agencies throughout the Federal government. Your resume and other application materials may be shared with multiple agencies to consider you for employment, however there is no guarantee of consideration or selection. By applying to this announcement, you are opting-in to your resume and other application materials being shared with multiple agencies. Participating agencies are responsible for making all selection or non-selection decisions. The lists of qualified candidates may be shared with Federal agencies for up to a year.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
