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Security Specialist

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
National Civil Applications Center

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

GS-13 Salary:
$121,785.00 Per Year (Step 1) to $158,322.00 Per Year (Step 10)

NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/24/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 24, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$121,785 - $158,322 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel up to 3 nights per month 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
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/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
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
USGS-RES-26-12993859-ST-KF
Control number
876051200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to current or former Federal employees w/perm comp status; OR those eligible under a special or noncomp appointing authority (e.g.,VRA, disabled, Pathways Interns & Recent Grads who are elig for noncomp conversion, etc.); OR current or former employees who are serving, or previously served, on temp or term appt in a land mgmt agency; OR veterans with preference or have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after approx 3yrs or more of continuous active service.

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Duties

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Duties:

As a Security Specialist within the National Civil Applications Center, some of your specific duties will include:

- Manage all aspects of physical security for the Top Secret - Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) secure facilities.
- Plan, lead, develop, implement, control, and enforce security procedures.
- Protect physical security for personnel, documents, facility, documents, equipment, systems and data.
- Conduct special security briefings and debriefings to all levels of employees.
- Implement and monitor policies, instructions, and procedures for safeguarding and use of classified information.
- Review classification and declassification markings of sensitive materials; approve personnel access; and administer the need-to-know criteria.
- Work with Information Systems Security Managers to make sure TS-SCI IT systems are in information security compliance.
- As a Communications Security (COMSEC) Officer to provide services related to maintaining encoders and other protection devices needed to ensure proper security for COMSEC information and data.
- Work with policies and directives from many federal agencies, including but not limited to: DOI, USGS, Office of the Director for National Intelligence (ODNI), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Agency (NSA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and other applicable Intelligence Community (IC) or Department of Defense (DOD) organizations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. Must be able to obtain and mantain a TS/SCI clearance.
  5. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

  • Prior to appointment, the selectee will be required to take and pass, at Federal expense, a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use. From thereon, the individual may be subject to random drug testing.
  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
  • If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-13 level:

**One year of specialized experience in or directly related to this position that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. To be creditable, the required specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service.

Examples of GS-12 level work include experience: 1) interpreting policies and directives issued from: DOI, USGS, Office of the Director for National Intelligence (ODNI), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Security Agency (NSA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and other applicable Intelligence Community (IC) or Department of Defense (DOD) organizations 2) overseeing all aspects of physical security for Top Secret - Sensitive Compartmented Information secure facilities; 3) planning, development, implementation and maintenance of control procedures. 4) communicating potential impacts of personnel security requirements on operations; 5) monitoring policies, instructions and procedures for safeguarding and use of classified information.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Conditions of Employment for this Position:
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

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.

Education

  • 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.
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs

Additional information

Other Information:

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • As part of the application process, a series of four short essay questions will be included. Applicants must certify that their own words were used to answer the questions.
  • Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
Agency Benefits:

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.

--Resume Length:
Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

--Basis of Rating:
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the result of the assessment required for this position. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible.

Resume Review Assessment Required: If you meet the eligibility and basic qualification requirements for this position subject-matter-experts will perform a structured review of your resume to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and competences as they directly relate to the duties of this position.

As part of the online application process, you will be assessed on your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

  • Security
  • Information Systems/Network Security

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12993859

Geological Survey

Agency contact information

Kathy Falino
Phone
703-648-7408
Email
kathy_falino@ios.doi.gov
Address
NATL CIVIL APPLICATIONS CTR
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Mail Stop 600
Reston, VA 20192
US

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https://www.usgs.gov/about/about-us

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