Clarification from the agency

All US Citizens

In this role as a Branch Chief - Applications Development, you will be responsible for:

• Providing strategic leadership and direction to the team, setting priorities, allocating resources, and removing obstacles to ensure successful delivery of application management, architecture, and cloud solution initiatives.
• Serving as a software engineer and applications developer and consultant, on a diverse range of highly technical and complex software engineering, development, security, and identity management issues.
• Designing, developing, and deploying secure cloud infrastructure, automated processes, and continuous integration using Amazon Web Services to enhance the operations, installation and maintenance of specialized software and hardware supporting business operations.
• Supporting the enterprise services including DevSecOps, data integration, middleware, security solutions, reporting and visualization, and other processes to provide an effective environment for development operations.
• Using Agile and DevSecOps methodologies to monitor and maintain the system development through production delivery.
• Applying artificial intelligence tools where appropriate, including code assistant tools such as GitHub Copilot and information processing tools such as Amazon Bedrock.
• Using machine learning, financial mathematics, data mining, and/or other quantitative modeling to solve customer problems.
• Providing insight and advice on digital customer experience planning and implementation, including designing surveys and conducting interviews and focus groups.
• Ensuring IT projects are delivered on budget and comply with the terms of agreements.
• Developing cooperative relationships working with customer teams and navigating and working through conflicting priorities from stakeholders.

Conditions of employment

• CITZENSHIP: You must be a US Citizen.
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
• SECURITY CLEARANCE: Entrance on duty is contingent upon completion of a pre-employment security investigation. Favorable results on a Background Investigation may be a condition of employment or selection to another position.
• PERMANENT CHANGE OF STATION (PCS): Moving/Relocation expenses are not authorized.
• DIRECT DEPOSIT: All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: This appointment may require completion of a two year supervisory/managerial probationary period.
• The duties of this position may require the incumbent to carry a cell phone and be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week on a rotational basis, based on the needs of the organization.

Qualifications

Applicants are responsible for confirming all required materials are submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Please check the How You Will Be Evaluated and Required Documents sections carefully, as missing documents will render the application incomplete and ineligible for review.

Qualifying experience may be obtained in the private or public sector. 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. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below:

1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the basic requirement, applicants must also meet the minimum qualification requirement below.

SK-15: Applicant must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/SK-13 level:

1. Architecting and developing secure software solutions for supporting modern applications/systems;
2. Leading information systems development and modernization efforts;
3. Performing customer engagement to identify opportunities for new or improved business process solutions; and
4. Securing software throughout complete product lifecycle including security engineering and operations.

ACCOMPLISHMENT RECORD COMPETENCIES: Your Accomplishment Record narratives should address the following competencies. See the How You Will Be Evaluated section below for more information:

• Cyber Operational Planning: Conducts strategic and operational-level planning to support cyberspace operations and prevent unauthorized access to electronic assets such as databases, equipment, systems, networks, and information.
• Information Systems/Network Security: Implements and uses methods, tools, and procedures, including the development of information security plans and standards, to prevent information systems vulnerabilities and provide or restore privacy and security of applications, information systems, and/or network services.
• Technology Expertise: Knowledge of the principles and methods of specialized technologies, tools, and delivery systems, including security, risk management, governance, functionality, and user interface in area of expertise (e.g., programming languages, server, web, applications, network)
• Building Teams: Ability to create and foster cohesive and effective teams.

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 for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this announcement.

This position is being advertised through the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Direct-Hire Authority (5 U.S.C. Section 3304 and 5 CFR Part 337, Subpart B) and is open to All U.S. Citizens. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking and veterans' preference procedures do not apply.

Your resume and application package will first be reviewed to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements outlined in the announcement. If you are found minimally qualified, the Office of Human Resources will contact you to request an Accomplishment Record. You will have 3 business days from the date of the request to submit it. Failure to submit the Accomplishment Record on time will remove you from further consideration. Because of the short turnaround time, you are strongly encouraged to begin preparing your Accomplishment Record in advance.

Once your Accomplishment Record is received, a rating panel will review both your resume and your narrative responses. Your Accomplishment Record must clearly demonstrate your proficiency in the competencies listed in the Qualifications section.

Click here for guidance on writing your Accomplishment Record.

Your resume must provide evidence that supports the claims in your Accomplishment Record. Each narrative must describe one specific, relevant example from your experience or training. Responses are limited to 300 words per competency; any text beyond this limit will not be reviewed.

You must provide one document containing your narrative responses for all four competencies. Failure to address each competency annotated on the announcement or failure to provide the correct document will result in loss of further consideration. Please note: A Performance Appraisal does not satisfy the requirement for an Accomplishment Record.

Required Accomplishment Record Format:

Applicant First Name and Last Name
Competency Title

• Position title and dates from your resume that this experience was obtained
• Describe the situation (i.e., the challenged faced, the problem solved)
• Describe the specific actions you took
• State the outcome, results, or long-term impact of your accomplishment
• Name and email address of someone who can verify this information

Reference checks may be conducted as part of the final selection process, and you will be notified before any contacts are made.

Basis for Rating: The rating panel will evaluate applicants' accomplishment records and resume, and then place them into one of the following categories:

• Pass - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and has at least a moderate amount of skills and experience in most of the job related competencies.
• Fail - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but has only limited experience in several of the job related competencies.

Passing applicants will be referred to the hiring office for further review and consideration. The hiring office may directly contact recommended candidates for interview(s).

To preview the Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12957464

You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes:

• Required: Your responses to the Questionnaire.
• Required: Resume - Resumes should include relevant work experience, with specific employment dates, that demonstrates qualifications for the specialized experience and competencies as outlined above. If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. Resumes that exceed two pages will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration. For resume writing tips, visit USAJOBS and the SEC careers page.
• Required, if applicable: CTAP/ICTAP documentation (a copy of a separation notice or other proof of eligibility for priority selection; a copy of an SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing current position, grade, promotion potential, and duty location; AND a copy of your most recent performance appraisal.)

Next steps