IT Specialist (OS/SYSADM) IT Modernization Architect

Social Security Administration

Chief Information Officer - SOHE

Summary

The purpose of this position is to provide executive leadership, direction, and authoritative advice affecting all SSA components, and are vital to the effective completion of the Agency Strategic Plan. The work of the programs involves critical, sensitive and highly visible projects including major Agency ITS initiatives.

This job is open to

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Veterans

Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Military spouses

Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

Clarification from the agency

ICTAP eligibles Only

Duties

Provides technical advice and counsel on short and long-range efforts in the direction, management, and coordination of projects in support of SSA’s programs and policies.
Plans, directs, and/or conducts complex, sensitive and/or confidential studies which involve resolving critical problems in existing or future systems, and which require innovative solutions in many aspects of the studies.
Engineers studies and analyses to ensure SSA’s IT systems are consistent with the mission, goals and operations of the Agency. Resolves the most difficult and intricate IT performance problems.
Conducts and/or leads analyses of proposed improvements or enhancements to SSA operations.
Conducts and/or leads analyses for proposed hardware, network, or software applications as they relate to integration into SSA computing environments. Represents OTSO as its ranking member(s) on the Agency's Architecture Review Board.
Conducts and/or leads analyses of changing Federal standards as they relate to the Agency IT infrastructure and architecture. As the Agency technical authority, advises top level Agency management on proposed impact of changes.
Assesses needs and develops policies and regulations to ensure timely delivery of services. Leads ongoing research activities for determining the most effective techniques and practices for the resolution of critical systems problems.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Proof of ICTAP eligibility required
U.S. Citizenship required
Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement

Qualifications

Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information.

READ ALL SECTIONS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.

To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, the applicant must demonstrate the following competencies:

Attention to Detail (Level 4, Advanced) - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail

Customer Service (Level 4, Advanced) - 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.

Decision Making (Level 3, Intermediate) - Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.

Information Management (Level 4, Advanced) - Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

Interpersonal Skills (Level 4, Advanced) - Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations

Oral Communication (Level 3, Intermediate) - 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.

Problem Solving (Level 4, Advanced) - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Teamwork (Level 4, Advanced) - Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Technical Competence (Level 4, Advanced) - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Specialized Experience:
Applicants must have specialized experience that is directly related to the work of the position and have equipped them with the competencies required to successfully perform the duties of the role. These knowledge, skills, and abilities/competencies are normally attained through the equivalent of one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level of the position being filled.

To qualify at the GS-15 level, you must have specialized experience at the GS-14 level, or equivalent. This experience must demonstrate proficiency in the following:

Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing IBM High Availability architectures to ensure continuous delivery of missioncritical systems.
Led the development and support of highavailability IT environments, improving resilience and system uptime.
Provided advanced application software and data architecture leadership to optimize system performance and scalability.
Directed strategic planning and execution for establishing highavailability IT support centers that enhance operational continuity.
Led enterprise IT modernization initiatives and hybrid cloud strategies that improved automation, performance, and service efficiency.

Qualification standards and additional information for this position can be found here: Competency-Based Qualification Standard for the Information Technology Management Series, 2210

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

In addition to the minimum qualifications, applicants must be eligible under the following category:

Displaced or surplus Federal employees eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP).

In addition to meeting the basic eligibility criteria, ICTAP applicants must be well qualified for the position. Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Under numeric rating procedures, qualified ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of 85 or higher to be eligible for selection.

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

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.

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.

The evaluation you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire, which is designed to capture the desired competencies for this position. These competencies include:

Ability to evaluate, develop and present technical requirements and strategies to meet the Agency's current and future needs as a lead mainframe architect implementing high-availability storage configurations in datacenter fabric.
Skill and mastery in the planning, management, and deployment of mainframe data storage, backup, and recovery projects as a lead mainframe architect designing and deploying advanced business resilience solutions.
Ability to resolve the most complex mainframe hardware/ software configurations and performance problems and work with internal and external storage architects and business partners to swiftly assess and resolve obstacles impacting Agency operations.
Knowledge of the procurement process to meet Agency data storage processing requirements as lead architect in the planning, design, and forecasting of the mainframe data storage needs housing the Agency's application data.

Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. To preview the questions, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12997270

Required Documents

You must also submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.

Resumes exceeding two pages will not be considered. To be considered, your resume must:

Clearly demonstrate your qualifications for the position
Include your contact information

We recommend using a clear, easy-to-read format and focusing on information most relevant to the job announcement.

You must submit supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.

INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies. To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified category as described in the vacancy announcement. Candidates must also provide:

proof of eligibility with your application. Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and
proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.

For more information visit http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Your Resume
2. The Occupational Questionnaire
3. Additional Required Documents, if applicable (see Required Documents section)

The complete Application Package must be submitted before midnight (EST) on 07/08/2026.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process.

If you use assistive software or an adaptive device, or you are experiencing some other type of technical difficulty and/or otherwise require assistance with the application process, please contact Careers at SSA at Careers@ssa.govor 000-000-0000.

Individuals with hearing or speech disabilities may use the listed email or 7-1-1 for TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services to call the listed phone number. Additional Telecommunications Relay Services options are available in each state: https://www.fcc.gov/general/trs-state-and-territories

Due to our security procedures, our office will not accept any applications submitted via email or standard mail. The email address is listed only for inquiries about the position or the How to Apply process.

To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log in to your USAJOBS account.

Agency contact information

Careers at SSA

Email: Careers@ssa.gov

Address: CIO - SOHE
6401 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21235
US

Next steps

Once you have successfully submitted your application materials, you can expect to receive at least two or more of the following email notifications concerning your application status: (1) Receipt of application; (2) Qualifications status and whether your application has been Referred/Not Referred to the selecting official; and (3) Selection status for the position.

Selection interviews may be conducted with one or more of the candidates, but there is no requirement that interviews be conducted. The hiring office will contact candidates directly for interviews. Interviews may be conducted via video conferencing software, if technically feasible. Applicants referred for consideration will receive a final disposition notice after selections have been made.

IT Specialist (OS/SYSADM) IT Modernization Architect Job in Woodlawn, MD