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Investigative Technology Specialist (SURVEILLANCE)

Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Administration
Los Angeles Field Division

Summary

This position is located in the DEA, Los Angeles Field Division, Riverside, CA.

This positions primary purpose is to provide consultative/planning, advising, continuously evaluating advancements in technology and equipment for adoption/modification of the ST program DEA wide.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/22/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$87,061 - $113,185 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Promotion potential
13
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 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.
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
H-DEA-26-12992985-IMP-BB
Control number
876221700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) employees in the competitive service on a career or career conditional appointment. Eligible displaced and surplus Department of Justice (DOJ) employees in the local commuting area.

Duties

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As a your typical work assignments may include:

  • Participating in sensitive covert activities requiring the installation and recovery of electronic devices.
  • Tracking and intercepting surveillance to assist personnel with investigative operations by integrating the use of electronic communications equipment.
  • Designing and modifying large and diverse inventory of highly specialized state-of-the-art electronics used in surveillance and information gathering activities to support criminal investigations and prosecutions.
  • Participating in maintenance of covert and concealed surveillance equipment.
  • Analyzing networks, including radio frequency-based (e.g., cellular, radio, Wi-Fi) and internet protocol-based, to determine the best technological approach (i.e. electronic surveillance, communication, and interception) to use in support of an investigative operations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Employment is subject to the successful completion of a background investigation. Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
  • Incumbent is subject to random drug testing.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit: http://www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
  • Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov/).
  • Applicant must possess and maintain a valid motor vehicle operator's license while employed in the position and will be required to operate the motor vehicle in accordance with applicable OPM regulations and related requirements of DOJ/DEA.
  • Employee required to become certified Investigative Technology Specialist (Surveillance), GS-0391-11 within 12-18 months of assignment
  • This position is entitled to Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime (AUO).

Qualifications

For more information on eligibility requirements see: DEA Employment Eligibility

Applicants must meet the required qualification requirements described below by the closing date of the announcement. If you are qualifying based on education or if there are mandatory education requirements listed below, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcripts with your application.

Basic Qualification Requirements:
Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- electrical or electronic engineering, mathematics, physics, public utilities, statistics, computer science, telecommunications management, information systems management, business administration, industrial management, or other fields related to the position to be filled.

Other Education: Communications/electronics or automatic data processing training in technical institutes or business schools above the high school level or in Armed Forces schools that included advanced instruction in addition to basic courses, may be substituted for general experience on a month-for-month basis.

OR

Specialized Experience: Experience in evaluating, analyzing, developing, managing, or improving communications systems, procedures, and requirements that demonstrated knowledge of current developments and trends in communications concepts and technology.

AND

Applicants applying for the GS-11 must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least one full year of specialized experience that is at least equivalent to work performed at the GS-09 grade level. Specialized 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.

Qualifying experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Conducting covert surveillance and collection operations both day and night in very close proximity to known or suspected violent offenders; 2) Applying advanced surveillance and monitoring techniques to gather evidence and intelligence that facilitates the prosecution of violations of criminal laws of the United States; 3) Assisting with analyzing and monitoring telecommunications equipment for software reliability and utilization using real time monitoring techniques and tools to identify and define problem areas, and to maintain voice, video, and data telecommunications performance levels; and 4) Assisting in maintaining storage records and in developing data for inventory reports.

OR

Education:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

Additional information on the position qualification requirements are located in the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Qualifications Standards Handbook.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants must meet time-in-grade and time after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See the qualification section of this vacancy announcement for education requirements.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if you can show that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For a list of accredited organizations recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials, visit: www.naces.org/members.php.

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

Additional information

For reasonable accommodation at the Drug Enforcement Administration, please contact the Human Resources office listed in this announcement.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If an applicant is currently, or has been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, applicants must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office listed in this announcement.

Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. If eligible, applicants to this announcement may be referred to similar positions in any Division/Office listed in this announcement. Telework eligibility and security clearance requirements may vary for such similar positions.

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 will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents) and assessment questionnaire.

If you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements for this position a panel of subject-matter-experts (SMEs) 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.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Network Management
  • Technical Problem Solving
  • Technology Awareness
  • Technology Application

The assessment questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions which provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question in 200-words or less.? You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and have not used a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot.

Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) candidates must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for selection priority. Candidates are considered well qualified if their knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) exceed the minimum qualifications described in the announcement.

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE: You may preview the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12992985.

Drug Enforcement Administration

TOUGH WORK. VITAL MISSION. Challenge yourself! You have the power to help combat drug trafficking. Be a part of DEA! It's tough work, but a vital mission. Whatever your background or expertise, your work at DEA will be tremendously rewarding because it will have a daily impact on national security and the quality of life of all Americans.

The DEA is our country's leading organization in charge of enforcing the controlled substance laws of the United States. The DEA provides employees with an exciting career whether supporting missions at home or abroad. Our employees make a difference by working together as a team to keep Americans safe from dangerous drugs and those who traffic them.

Please visit www.dea.gov to learn more about who we are and career opportunities that our organization offers.

Agency contact information

Beth Bell
Phone
000-000 0000
Email
Beth.A.Bell@dea.gov
Address
Drug Enforcement Administration
Do Not Send Postal Mail
Springfield, VA 21310
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Drug Enforcement Administration, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.dea.gov/index.shtml

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