Information Technology Specialist (Policy and Planning/Systems Analysis) Job in Fort Meade, MD

Vacancy No. DAKB-26-12819628-Public Department Joint Activities
Salary $142,488.00 to $194,734.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/22/2025 Close Date 11/5/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Fort Meade, MD


Summary

About the Position: This position is a DOD Cyber Excepted Service (CES) personnel system position in the Excepted Service under 10 USC 1599f. Employees occupying CES positions are in the Excepted Service and must adhere to U.S. Code, Title 10, as well as Department of Defense Instruction 1400.25. This position is located at the U.S. Cyber Command, Rapid Development and Innovation Division.

Duties

  • Serve as the Command's lead for cyber operations test and evaluation activities, integrating them into all phases of the development, acquisition, and utilization of cyber operational (CO)-peculiar capabilities.
  • Exercise technical expertise to address and resolve highly complex technical challenges that arise during the course of cyber capability testing and evaluation efforts.
  • Identify significant test and evaluation capability gaps and justifies refinements or significant changes in direction, objectives, and/or strategies for the development of critical methods and tools.
  • Capture complex cyberspace issues in policy statements, proceedings, white papers, and other work products to elicit discussion among program community members and to facilitate collaboration on issues of joint interest.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • Three year trial/probationary period may be required.
  • Incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) as a condition of employment.
  • This position is a Test Designated Position (TDP). Pre-employment and periodic random drug tests are required.
  • The employee will be required to work other than normal duty hours which may include evenings, weekends, and/or holidays in support of exercises and crisis planning.
  • Recall to duty, overtime, and/or emergency overtime may be a requirement of this position.
  • Work may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station (up to 25%) on military and/or commercial aircraft.
  • Information Assurance Certification is a condition of employment. See "Additional Information" for full details.
  • The employee must meet the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) requirements applicable to the duties of the position.
  • Incumbent will be required to submit to the administration of a counterintelligence polygraph and must satisfactorily pass such examination as a condition of employment.
  • The incumbent must meet NSA personnel security requirements outlined in NSA/CSS Policy 5-1.

Qualifications

Who May Apply:
Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

  • Current Army Cyber Excepted Service (CES) Employee
  • Current Army Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) Employee
  • Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
  • Current DoD Cyber Excepted Service (CES) Employee (non-Army)
  • Current Permanent DoD Civilian Employee (non-Army) Applying to Cyber Excepted Service Positions
  • Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Applying to Cyber Excepted Service Positions


Army CES positions apply Veteran's Preference to preference eligible candidates, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 3005, "CES Employment and Placement". If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you must submit documents verifying your eligibility with your application package.

To qualify based on your experience, your resume must describe one year of specialized experience that demonstrates the possession of knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies necessary for immediate success in the position. Such experience is typically in or directly related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience would be demonstrated by developing testing and evaluation capability integration plans, providing technical advice to senior management officials in addressing rapid deployment testing and evaluation aspects of urgent operational contingencies; AND capturing cyberspace issues in policy statements, proceedings, white papers, and other work products to facilitate collaboration on issues of joint interest.

Specialized experience includes, or was supplemented by, information technology related experience (paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training, as appropriate) which demonstrates each of the four competencies, as defined:

(1) Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: leading others by setting the standards for the quality of work, even in the most difficult and/or high pressure circumstances; reviewing and editing work completed by others to ensure that the quality of work meets acceptable work standards;

(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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: using expertise and experience to address complex problems, questions, or complaints; anticipating customer needs and modify the team's work activities, processes, and practices to meet these needs; collaborating across team and outside of own team to organize planning sessions that elicit ideas for improving customer service and support;

(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. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: clearly explaining and defending complex ideas, appropriately adapting to each audience's level of knowledge; actively listening and clarifying points when presenting highly complex and controversial findings; using well-constructed, fact-based arguments to persuade stakeholders/officials to take action on suggestions for improvement; and

(4) Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. Examples of IT-related experience demonstrating this competency include: providing precedent setting solutions to unique problems not previously encountered; helping team make decisions which are complicated by the number and nature of existing policy, guidelines, and organizational goals; identifying the root causes of problems; developing systemic solutions to address them and prevent them from reoccurring.
This position is in the Professional Work Category at the Senior Work Level within the CES Occupational Structure.

Education

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Additional information

  • If you are a current federal career/career-conditional employee, you will be placed on an excepted appointment.
  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
  • Information Assurance Certification is a condition of employment. This position includes information assurance (IA) work as a paramount duty requirement. Per DoDM 8140.03 , the incumbent of this position must achieve the appropriate IA certification within six months of assignment of these duties. A waiver of this six-month requirement may be granted per DoDM 8140.03. Failure to receive the proper IA certification may result in removal from this position.
  • This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is an Information Technology Management Career Field position.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.
  • Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
  • Recruitment, Retention, and/or Relocation incentives may be authorized if it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government.

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.

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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

Required Documents

WARNING: DO NOT INCLUDE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKET! Application packages that contain Classified information WILL NOT receive consideration for this position. Should you submit a resume or any other document as part of your application package and it is confirmed that any of the information is Classified, in addition to being found ineligible for consideration for this position, your Security Office will be notified to determine if any further action is warranted.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

  • Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
  • For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
  • Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
  • For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/05/2025 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12819628).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section.
  • You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Address
KB-W6HWAA US CYBER COMMAND
DO NOT MAIL
Fort Meade, MD 20755
US

Next steps

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.


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