IT Specialist (ENTARCH) (TERM) Job

Vacancy No. FSA-2025-0033 Department Federal Student Aid
Salary $124,531.00 to $184,929.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/22/2025 Close Date 9/26/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
San Francisco, CADenver, COWashington, DCAtlanta, GA


Summary

There are three positions located in the Chief Technology Office Technology Operations Division. The Chief Technology Officer is responsible for providing information technology services for all FSA systems, promoting the effective and secure use of technology to achieve FSA's strategic objectives through sound planning, investments, integrated technology architectures and standards, effective systems development, production support, and cybersecurity services.

Duties

APPLICATION LIMIT: This vacancy announcement is limited to the first 200 applications received and will close at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the day that we receive the 200th application, or at 11:59PM Eastern Time on the listed closing date, whichever occurs first. This is a term position with a Not to exceed 13 months which can be extended up to four year with a possibility of being converted to permanent.  Note: There is a full time permanent competitive position being announced at the same time for another position under FSA-2025-0030, if you would like to be considered for both. Applicants must apply for both announcements as they are two different appointment lengths.

We encourage you to read this entire vacancy announcement prior to submitting your application.

As an Information Technology Specialist (ENTARCH)- "Infrastructure and Database Engineers", GS-2210-14, you will be responsible for:

  • Developing network solutions for all assigned networks, e.g., Federal Taxpayer Information Infrastructure, Next Generation Data Center, Next Generation Data Center cloud, and conducts technical analysis, plans local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs) architecture, aligning IT network strategy plans, and systems with the mission goals, structure, and processes of the agency. Making recommendations regarding optimization commercial MTIP and MPLS lines and advances configuration parameters which enhance network security.
  • Performing assessments which typically involve extensive coordination and have a substantial effect outside the agency. Providing recommendations and work products associated with long-range plans, forecast program requirements, development of measurement concepts, and resolution of critical problems concerning the program objectives. Managing network assets and overseeing the maintenance of network inventory through reviews of orders and requested changes, revisions of inventory records, and technical validation of invoices.
  • Developing and maintaining business, systems, and information processes to support enterprise mission needs; developing information technology (IT) rules and requirements that describe baseline and target architectures (Securely Provision). Serving as an FSA technical expert providing recommendations for architectural oversight, management, and implementation of network services for FSA to deliver services or in the data processing of Title IV aid programs.
  • Building new applications principally in the Cloud and moving legacy data center applications to the cloud. Engaging with technology leaders, business partners, and contractors who ensure operational requirements and needs are being met. Inputting design and technical documentation, reviewing final documentation, and through leadership, ensuring an enterprise network operations engineering framework is being met.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Relocation will not be paid.
  • Males 18 and over must be registered with the Selective Service.
  • Must be a US Citizen
  • You may be subject to serve a one-year probationary period.
  • Must complete a Background Investigation and Fingerprint check.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

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. We will consider all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements
You may meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-14, if you possess the specialize experience below.

Specialized Experience for the GS-14
One year of experience in either federal or non-federal service that is equivalent to at least a GS-13 performing two (2) out of three (3) of the following duties or work assignments:

  1. Experience as an individual contributor in a multi-disciplinary project involving the design, development, and implementation of a new system or a major enhancement to an existing IT system. 
  2. Experience serving as an engineer or senior software developer, overseeing internal and external software development, testing, integration, and operation.
  3. Experience communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences and translating business requirements into technical user stories.

Basic Experience Requirements

You must possess IT related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (e.g., IT certification), as appropriate) 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 (i.e., 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 (e.g., ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (e.g., 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.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) - Information Technology Specialist (ENTARCH) GS-2210-14
The quality of your experience will be measured by the extent to which you possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). You do not need to provide separate narrative responses to these KSAs, as they will be measured by your responses to the occupational questionnaire (you may preview the occupational questionnaire by clicking the link at the end of the Evaluations section of this vacancy announcement).

    1. Knowledge of enterprise architecture and project management principles to develop and maintain organization-wide IT standards.

    2. Skill in evaluating and improving IT systems and programs using quantitative and qualitative methods.

    3. Ability to provide technical guidance and maintain secure, high-availability data center and network infrastructure.

          4. Knowledge of advanced IT concepts and practices to develop and interpret strategies, policies, and service delivery.

          5. Ability to analyze, design, implement, and manage enterprise IT frameworks that align technology with organizational goals.

          6. Skill in communicating, presenting, negotiating, and collaborating effectively across diverse perspectives.

Education

Education cannot be substituted for experience for this position and grade level. 

Foreign Education:

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet 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. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must submit a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.  For further information, please click Foreign Education.

Additional information

Veterans’ Career Counseling: If you are a veteran interested in receiving tips on preparing a Federal resume and/or how to prepare for an interview, you may email sro_recruiting@ed.gov to schedule a session with a career counselor (“Veterans Counseling Session” should be placed in the subject line of the email).

Student Loan Default: If selected for this position, we will verify that you have not defaulted on any loan funded or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are found to be in default, we will contact you to make arrangements for repayment prior to making an official offer of employment.

Suitability and Investigation: If selected for this position, you will be required to complete the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine your suitability for federal employment and successfully complete a pre-appointment investigation/background check.

Essential/Non-Essential: This position is considered non-essential for purposes of reporting to work during federal government closures.

Financial Disclosure: This position does not require financial disclosure.

Bargaining Unit: This position is included in the bargaining unit (American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 252).

Selections: Agencies have broad authority under law to hire from any appropriate source of eligibles and may fill a vacancy in the competitive service by any method authorized. We may make additional selections from this vacancy announcement within 90 days from the date the selection certificates are issued, should vacancies occur. We may also share selection certificates amongst program offices across the agency.

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.

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.

As an ED employee, you will also benefit from our family-friendly work environment. As part of our commitment to maintain a work life balance, we offer excused leave for Parent/Teacher Conferences (3 hours); excused leave for annual health screenings (4 hours); and matching leave for community volunteer service. Other flexibilities that may be available to you include alternative work schedules. You may be eligible to receive a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to receive a relocation incentive for this position. To receive this incentive payment, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon. You may be eligible to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program as a recruitment incentive for this position. To receive student loan repayments, you will be required to sign a service agreement obligating you to remain with the U.S. Department of Education for a specified period as agreed upon.

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.

We use a multi-step process to review and evaluate applicants:

  1. Eligibility and Minimum Qualifications

Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your submitted resume and documents to determine if you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, including any required education, experience, and/or selective placement factors. You will be rated as ineligible if you are outside of the area of consideration (i.e., who may apply) or your application is missing any required documents. You will be rated as not qualified if you do not possess the minimum qualification requirements.

  1. Rating and Ranking

If you are found to meet both the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, we will assess the quality of your experience and the extent to which you possess the required KSAs by comparing your submitted resume and documents against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Your application may be referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation. Based on the outcome of this evaluation, you will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. If your responses to the occupational questionnaire are not substantiated by your submitted resume, you may be eliminated from receiving further consideration. Veterans’ Preference: Qualified veterans’ preference eligibles will be ranked ahead of qualified non-preference eligibles within each category for which they are qualified. Qualified veterans’ preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the Best Qualified category, except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-9 grade level or higher.

Based on the outcome of this evaluation candidates will be assigned a numerical score out of a possible 100 and be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified.  The three categories are defined below:

Best-Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 95 and 100.  Demonstrates better overall or key knowledge, skills, or abilities for a specific position.

Well-Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 85 and 94.99.  Possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities which clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position but does not necessarily meet the definition of best qualified.

Qualified Category – Applicants who have a score between 70 and 84.99. Meets the minimum qualification standards for a specific position.

  1. Referral and Selection

If you are found to be amongst the most highly qualified applicants, you will be referred to the selecting official. As part of the assessment and selection process, the selecting official may invite you to participate in a structured interview, check your references, and/or request that you submit a writing sample or complete a written assessment or exercise to further evaluate your qualifications for this position. If you require reasonable accommodation for any part of the interview process or written assessment or exercise, please inform the selecting official at the time of scheduling.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

You must submit (REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICANTS):

A resume demonstrating your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiating your responses to the occupational questionnaire. Please limit your resume to 2 pages with the font size no smaller than 10 points. If your resume is more than 2 pages, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed and considered for the qualifications determination.

Transcript: This position has a positive education requirement and requires proof of education for eligibility. You must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.

Transcript: If you meet the qualification requirements based on education you must submit an unofficial transcript that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, major(s), grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts. This also applies to ED employees.

If you are claiming Veteran's Preference, you must submit: A copy of your DD-214 that shows active service and character of discharge (Separated Members only); OR A certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions within 120 days from the date of application (Current Active Duty Members only); AND/OR The Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference (SF-15) AND all documents indicated on the form as proof of type of preference; AND/OR Proof of Sole Survivorship Preference (e.g., certificate of death or 100% disability as a result of serving in the armed forces). Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), or Interagency

Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the https://www2.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ictap.html or https://www2.ed.gov/about/jobs/open/edhires/ctap.html for information on how to apply as a CTAP, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

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

How to Apply:

Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov.

Step 2: Create a resume using the USAJOBS resume builder or upload a resume into your USAJOBS account. Ensure that your resume demonstrates your education, experience, training, and accomplishments as it relates to the qualifications for this position and substantiates your responses to the occupational questionnaire.

Step 3: Upload any required documents into your USAJOBS account (must be less than 3MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, or Word (DOC or DOCX)).

Step 4: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire and attach any required documents. Verify that uploaded documents from USAJOBS transfer into the agency's hiring system. You will have the opportunity to upload any additional required documents in the agency's hiring system. Click “Finish” to submit your application.   

NOTE: You may update your application or required documents at any time while the announcement is open by logging into your USAJOBS account, clicking on "Application Status," clicking on the position title, clicking "Update Application,” and following the prompts.

In order to receive consideration for this position, you must submit your complete application, including all required documents, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the closing date of the vacancy announcement. If the vacancy announcement has an application limit, we recommend that you submit your complete application at the time of initial application. We will not accept any required documentation after the closing date of the vacancy announcement.  

If you have any questions regarding submitting your application, please contact the HR Specialist listed under the Agency Contact Information.

Next Steps:

As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time.  We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
1.    Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
2.    After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
3.    Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled)..

Agency contact information

T. Hunter
Phone
202-377-3932
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
Tyra.Hunter@ed.gov
Address
EDUCATION-OFC OF FEDERAL STUDENT AID
400 Maryland Ave. S.W.
Attn: Human Resources Services
Washington, District of Columbia 20202
United States

Next steps

As an applicant, you may check your application status through your USAJOBS account at any time.  We will also notify you via email of your application status at three key stages in the recruitment process.
1. Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will inform you that your application has been received.
2. After we review your submitted resume and supporting documentation, we will inform you if you are eligible and qualified, if your application was referred to a subject matter expert or panel of subject matter experts for further evaluation, and if you were amongst the most highly qualified candidates referred to the selecting official.
3. Finally, we will inform you of your final disposition for this announcement (e.g., if/when a selection is made, if/when the announcement is cancelled).

Additional Locations

  • Chicago, IL
  • Kansas City, MO
  • New York, NY
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • Dallas, TX
  • Seattle, WA


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


© 2006-2025, exclusive of U. S. government job opportunity announcements