Clarification from the agency

Current United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General employees and Student Cooperatives, United States Postal Service and United States Postal Inspection Service and Postal Regulatory Commission career employees only.

The USPS OIG is seeking a highly qualified applicant to fill an Entry Level Criminal Investigator vacancy within the Office of Investigations, Northeast Area Field Office (NEAFO), in Brooklyn, NY location. The successful candidate must demonstrate the potential to conduct federal criminal, civil, and administrative investigations. Bring your skills and voice to our team!

Candidates will be evaluated on the skills they possess that are directly related to the duties of the position and/or the experience, education and training that reflect the applicant's ability to acquire the particular knowledge and skills needed to perform the duties of the position. Only those candidates who meet all qualification and eligibility requirements and who submit a complete application package by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, will be considered.

The USPS OIG uses a Pay Banding system which is equivalent to the Federal GS scale. Grade and salary determinations will be made based upon a candidate's education and professional experience.

This position is being advertised at the Journey Band level GS 7 equivalent grade level. The salary range for this position is $67,394 - $85,235 and includes locality pay. Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) is authorized. LEAP will not be part of compensation until successful, completion of the 12-week training course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), or equivalent federal law enforcement academy.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Relocation Authorized: No

Please note that the duties and responsibilities associated with this position may vary based upon the agency's needs at the time of hire. The following description of major duties and responsibilities is only intended to give applicants a general overview of the expectations.

Applicants must be highly motivated and demonstrate the potential to conduct federal criminal, civil and administrative investigations.

Travel Required

• 50% or less
• You may be expected to travel for this position.

Conditions of employment

• Must be able current USPS OIG employees and Student Cooperative, and USPS, USPIS or PRC career employees.
• Must be able to pass a drug screening. Note a physical is required for 1811 criminal investigator positions.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Must be able to pass a background investigation.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a government -issued credit card.
• Selectee will be subject to random drug screenings.
• May be required to successfully complete a 12-month probationary period.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

You must meet ALL of the minimum qualifications listed below.

• Eligible applicants must possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or must provide proof of receipt of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution prior to the start date of employment
• Must be a current USPS-OIG employee or Student Cooperative, USPS, USPIS or PRC career employee
• Have 2 years of experience with a law enforcement agency
• Demonstrated potential to conduct Federal criminal, civil, and administrative investigations
• Submit latest performance appraisal (FY 2025) with at least a satisfactory performance rating. If a performance appraisal is not available, you must submit a written statement stating the reason it is not available; Student Cooperative's must submit a management recommendation letter from current supervisor
  
  In accordance with applicable laws, the applicant selected for this position must:
• Must successfully complete the 12-week Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP).
• Maintain eligibility to operate motor vehicles.
• Must be at least 21 years of age and not have reached 37th birthday at the time of initial appointment to law enforcement position.
• Qualify and maintain authorization to carry firearms, including no current or previous domestic violence convictions.
• Maintain physical, mental and emotional standards and requirements necessary to perform law enforcement assignments.
• Work unscheduled irregular hours with the possibility of personal risk.
• As a law enforcement officer, you will be required to work on an unscheduled basis in excess of the 40-hour work week. These positions require substantial overtime to include holidays, weekends, and nights. You must be readily accessible to perform this unscheduled work. To ensure your availability, you will receive extra compensation in the form of Law Enforcement Availability Pay, which is calculated at a flat rate of 25 percent of base salary.
• Must be willing to relocate at the direction of management.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Advanced academic degree
• Knowledge of Postal Service Operations
• Prior or current law enforcement or military experience

You must have the experience, knowledge and skill as listed in EACH of the evaluation factors. Resumes that fail to provide a written response articulating that you meet all of the evaluation factor requirements as listed below will result in a score of zero (0). Upon receipt of a zero score, you will be deemed "not minimally qualified," and you will not be referred for further consideration.

Include your major accomplishments relevant to the position requirements in your resume.

Your resume MUST reflect that you have experience, knowledge and/or skills in each of the following Evaluation Factors listed below:

1. Demonstrated knowledge of various law enforcement/investigative techniques and procedures
2. Ability to effectively present information, both orally and in writing, to convey ideas and concepts regarding complex and/or sensitive issues.
3. Demonstrated ability to work with a team and develop and maintain effective working relationships with others from within and outside an organization.

Failure to demonstrate that you meet all evaluation factor requirements will result in a score of zero (0). Upon receipt of a zero score, you will be deemed "not minimally qualified," and you will not be referred for further consideration.

You will no longer be considered for this position if you: fail to respond to all of the questions in the self-assessment questionnaire; or receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

The Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications required for this position.

You will no longer be considered for this position if you:

• Receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor
• Fail to attach all required documentation
• Submit a resume that exceeds the two-page limit
• If your application materials indicate that you are not minimally-qualified for this position
• If you fail to qualify on the interview

Only the top-rated candidates will be referred to a review official or the selecting official for further consideration. Top-rated applicants may be required to participate in an interview. Your rating may be further adjusted or rated as ineligible by the review official or the selecting official based on your interview performance. Once all applicant scores are finalized, the selecting official will make a final decision. NOTE: If you receive a zero (0) rating on any evaluation factor or on the interview, you will be considered NOT MINIMALLY QUALIFIED for the position and rated ineligible.

Applicants for this position may be interviewed one or more times as part of the hiring process. During the interview, an in-person writing sample may be requested. A laptop will be provided to complete this task and if the interviewee needs an accommodation (e.g., equipment aid), the request must be made in advance for arrangements. Also, during interviews, applicants may not use any AI tool or virtual assistant (such as ChatGPT) to help them answer questions, except for accessibility tools used as part of a reasonable accommodation. Applicants who fail to follow these rules will be disqualified from the hiring process.

You must submit all required documents by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date of this announcement, Vacancy Announcement IA 26-45A-12910902-DR, by closing date Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

1. RESUME - Required, IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. You will no longer be considered for this announcement if your resume exceeds the two-page limit. Your resume MUST reflect that you have experience, knowledge, and/or skills in each of the Evaluation Factors.It is essential that your resume and supporting documentation provide sufficient information to substantiate your qualifications for the announced position (categorize as "Resume"). Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?

Make sure your page margins are 0.5 inches. The recommended font styles are Sans-Serif, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noto Sans. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

2. COMPLETE OCCUPATIONAL QUESTIONNAIRE. Click the "Apply Online" button and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire. (Required: You must click on "Submit My Answers" button at the end of the Questionnaire to complete this process)

3. PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS (FY 2025) - Required, dated within the last 15 months with Coaching and Review Phase comments and must have received at least a met expectations rating. This is required from all applicants including USPS OIG, USPS, USPIS or PRC employees. If a PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL is not available, you must submit a separate statement with the reason a performance appraisal is not available. (Upload as "Performance Appraisal"). NOTE: An SF50 IS NOT acceptable as a performance appraisal.

NOTE - Student Cooperative's must submit a management recommendation letter from current supervisor. (Required: Upload and save as "Performance Appraisal" document). Note an SF50 IS NOT acceptable as a performance appraisal.

Next steps