IT Cybersecurity Specialist (Digital Evidence) Job in Lorton, VA

Vacancy No. H-DEA-12619617-DE-25-DFAS Department Drug Enforcement Administration
Salary $99,200.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 12 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/25/2024 Close Date 11/29/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Lorton, VA


Summary

This position is located in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Office of Forensic Sciences, Digital Evidence Laboratory.

Thís position(s) primary purpose is to perform as an intermediate level trainee, analyzes seized digital evidence, performs on-site acquisition/duplication of digital evidence for DEA offices, testifies in Federal and state courts as an expert witness, and provides subject matter expertise and advice to both DEA investigators and junior examiners in the laboratory.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

This position is being filled under a Direct Hire Authority. Open to U.S. Citizens, Nationals, or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Duties

As an IT Cybersecurity Specialist (Digital Evidence), your typical work assignments may include:

  • Serving as a Digital Forensic Examiner trainee within DEA's Digital Evidence Laboratory conducting forensic analysis of digital technologies.
  • Providing technical guidance related to forensic deployments, best practices for preservation of evidence, and forensic analysis support.
  • Performing technical evaluations of equipment, software, and procedures, and documents the results.
  • Supporting the advancement of DEA's Digital Evidence analysis and review capabilities by implementing enhancements to technical training.

Requirements

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/).
  • Selectee may be required to serve a probationary period.
  • 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.
  • Must complete all required courses of DEA's Digital Evidence Laboratory's training program within the first year of employment.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all of the required qualification requirements described below by the closing of this 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 transcript with your application.

Basic Qualification Requirements: or all IT 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

Applicants applying for the GS-12 must meet one of the following requirements: 1) preserving and analyzing electronic data using established methods, or 2) conducting digital forensic examinations, documenting actions, and providing written results, or 3) using expertise in an area of information technology to make correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions about the content or structure of data.

A. Have at least one full year of qualifying specialized experience that is at least equivalent in difficulty and complexity to work performed at the GS-11 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 specialized experience must demonstrate the following:


Applicants applying for the GS-13 must meet one of the following requirements:

A. Have at least one full year of qualifying specialized experience that is at least equivalent in difficulty and complexity to work performed at the GS-12 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 specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 1) preserving and analyzing electronic data using established methods, or 2) conducting digital forensic examinations, documenting actions, and providing written results, or 3) using subject matter expertise in an area of information technology to make correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions about the content or structure of data

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

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 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.

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.

Recruitment and/or Relocation Incentives may be considered and approved if the DEA has determined that the position is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of an incentive and funding for such an incentive is available.


If eligible, telework and/or remote work agreements may be permitted with supervisory approval. Please note that any approved remote work arrangement is subject to the locality pay area of the alternative telework worksite.

Benefits

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.

Review our 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.

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

Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply. For this announcement, all applicants will be assessed to determine if they meet the qualifications for this position, specifically the education, specialized experience, necessary to perform the work of the position. All applications that meet the required qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE: You may preview the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12619617.

Agency and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP and ICTAP) Eligibles: View information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. You must be rated in the Highly-Qualified category for this position and submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement to receive consideration for selection priority.

Required Documents

All required documents listed below, that are applicable to you, must be submitted to our automated system by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

  1. Resume showing applicant's name, email address, relevant work/volunteer experience, education and training. Include the start and end dates (from month/year to month/year), work schedule (e.g. part or full time), the number of hours per week worked/volunteered, job title and description of duties performed.
  2. Transcripts, if applicable and you are qualifying based on education. See the Qualification and Education sections of this announcement for more information. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.
  3. ICTAP/CTAP - Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable. This includes copies of your agency notice (e.g. Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal), most recent performance rating and more recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level and duty location.
  4. Other Qualification documents (e.g. certificates, certifications, etc.), if applicable. See the Qualification section of this announcement for more information.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Prepare your application in USAJOBS

To start your application, click Apply and the system will provide guidance on how to attach a resume and any required documents.

During the application process you can review, edit, delete, and update your information. We'll automatically save your progress as you go, so you won't lose any changes. You have until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process.

STEP 1: Select the "Apply" button and follow the instructions to register or sign into USAJOBS.
STEP 2: Submit your resume. Please see the Required Documents section for specific information that should be outlined in your resume.
STEP 3: Complete the online assessment questions.
STEP 4: Submit all required documentation applicable to you, as listed in the Required Documents section.

Alternate Application Procedures
If applying online poses an extreme hardship, you may request alternate application procedures to submit your application package. Contact the Human Resources office listed on the announcement between the business hours of 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET at least 2 working days prior to the closing date of this announcement. The application package for alternate application procedures must be submitted and received in the Human Resources office no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on the closing date of this announcement. Paper applications and information sent by mail will not be accepted.

Agency contact information

Joanselle Montalvo
Address
Drug Enforcement Administration
Do Not Send Postal Mail
Springfield, VA 21310
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Once the online application package is received, you will be notified through USAJOBS of your qualification status and referral or non-referral to the hiring official for further consideration. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted.

We will notify you by email the outcome after each of these steps has been completed. Your application status will be updated up to four times during the following hiring phases:

  1. After applications are received.
  2. After applications are assessed to determine qualifications.
  3. After candidates are referred to the hiring manager.
  4. If selected, candidates may receive additional notifications regarding the next steps in the hiring process.
Your status will also be updated on your USAJOBS account throughout the process.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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