Clarification from the agency

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National. Foreign nationals or legal permanent residents are not eligible for consideration. This is a 21st Century Cures Act authority announcement. Traditional federal rules regarding rating, ranking, and veterans' preference do not apply.

Inspections and Investigations

• Plans and conducts routine regulatory inspections and limited investigations of various industry establishments; such as manufacturers, re-packers, own label distributors, and importers.
• Independently carries out routine investigations, inspections, entry review, filer audits and sampling.
• Upon completion of assignment, prepares concise factual reports reflecting significant observations. Incumbent surveys and follows up with non-compliant industry establishments where violations are clearcut and seeks voluntary compliance. In situations where compliance is not offered it is enforced through other methods, including administrative action, informational agency meetings and legal court actions.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Conducts analyses and evaluation on data samples and documented information gathered during inspections, RRAs, and investigations to ensure that documentation and practices comply with Federal laws, rules, and regulations.
• Documents and organizes required evidence, data, and other information to support violations noted during inspections, RRAs, investigations and sample collections. Interacts with and advises various levels of officials representing the establishments subject to regulatory review.
• Interacts with and advises various levels of officials representing the establishments subject to regulatory review. Initiates contact with industry officials and manufacturers to obtain basic, incomplete, or missing information on regulatory and scientific documents, to discuss the status of investigations, and to attend meetings and conference calls.
• Developmental assignments include assisting higher level employees in the review and evaluation of inspection reports of products or establishments submitted by the field for regulatory action consideration. Additional Developmental assignments include providing support (i.e., documenting conversations and noting circumstances) to higher level employees as they interact with industry officials on regulatory issues.
• Prepares final reports, memoranda, position papers and other written documentation that support investigative findings and recommendations. Reports are developed and, in most instances, accepted with little review of format or content.
• May be called to testify as an expert witness in administrative hearings and judicial proceedings.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship requirement or proof of being a U.S. National must be met by closing date.
• The candidate selected for this position will serve under a career or career-conditional appointment within the competitive service.
• Direct Deposit: You will be required to have all federal salary payments electronically deposited into a bank account with a financial institution of your choice.
• FDA participates in e-Verify: All new hires must complete the I-9 form; this information will be processed through e-Verify to determine your employment eligibility. If a discrepancy arises, you must take affirmative steps to resolve the matter.
• Males born after December 31, 1959, must be registered with the Selective Service. Please go to http://www.sss.gov for more information.
• Financial Disclosure may be required.
• Ethics Clearance may be required.
• Background Investigation Requirement: All employees must pass a security investigation. Failing to pass the background check may be grounds for removal or legal action. If hired, you may be subject to additional investigations at a later time.
• Certification of Accuracy: All information concerning eligibility and qualification is subject to investigation and verification. False representation may be grounds for non-consideration, non-selection, or appropriate legal action.
• Probationary periods are required for new employees appointed to competitive service positions for the first time; or reinstated employees who return after a break in service of 30-days or more and who have not completed a probationary period.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Investigator I position which falls under the 0696 occupational Series, you must meet the following requirements by 11:59 pm EST on 03/13/2026:

Basic Qualification Requirements:
This Investigator job family covers professional positions that conduct inspections in FDA regulated industries and prepare and submit reports accompanied by supporting evidence documenting violations of the FD&C Act and other laws, regulations, and requirements administered by FDA. The position investigates and/or inspects FDA-regulated industry globally and evaluates compliance with U.S. laws and regulations in order to promote a culture of safety and quality with the objective of preventing unsafe, ineffective and/or defective products from becoming available to patients and consumers or used in clinical trials while facilitating appropriate development of novel products. FDA's enforcement of the laws and regulations protects patients and consumers from products that are impure, unsafe, ineffective, improperly or deceptively labeled or packaged, or in some other way dangerous or defective. Investigators routinely examine products; collect samples; conduct inspections of establishments that design, make, process, hold, or distribute FDA-regulated products; and otherwise gather information and evidence to document objectionable conditions and assess compliance with U.S. law and regulations. Investigators apply critical thinking to evaluate manufacturing processes, design practices, facility and material controls, supply chains, quality management systems, laboratory analyses, and clinical investigation programs to assess compliance with U.S. laws and regulations and to support advancements and innovations. Investigators continuously maintain required certification and credentials; provide internal and external stakeholder outreach, assistance, and education; and may mentor less experienced personnel. These positions require knowledge of various scientific fields such as biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, data science, digital health, engineering, epidemiology, food engineering, food processing technologies, food safety, healthcare, medical technology, microbiology, nutrition, pharmaceutical science, pharmacology, public health, quality assurance, and quality management.

Education/Experience Requirement: Candidates must meet one of the following:

• Bachelor's degree in quality assurance/management, data science, statistics, computer forensics, epidemiology, pharmacy, public health, engineering, food science, law or regulations, or related healthcare or science field. The degree must be from an accredited program or institution; AND one (1) year of comparable experience; -OR-
• Master's degree or higher in quality assurance/management, data science, statistics, computer forensics, epidemiology, pharmacy, public health, engineering, food science, law or regulations, or related healthcare or science field. The degree must be from an accredited program or institution; -OR-
• Without a related degree, candidate must have at least three (3) years of comparable experience.

How you will be evaluated

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

This is a Title 21 announcement. Traditional rating and ranking of applications, and veterans' preference does not apply to this vacancy. You will be evaluated against the basic qualifications and if found qualified, you will be referred to the Hiring Manager for consideration.

If you are referred to the hiring manager for consideration, you may be further evaluated based on an interview; review of requested work samples, writing samples, most recent performance evaluation(s), or professional references; or results of an oral presentation or work-related test.
Failure to comply with any of the additional assessment requirements will result in removal from further consideration.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

Resume: At a minimum, your resume should list the position title, employer name, start and end dates (including month and year), salary (or grade and step), hours worked per week, and a list of duties performed or accomplishments, for EACH position listed. A CV (curriculum vitae) may not contain enough information to meet these resume requirements.

• Resume (see USAJobs - What to Include)

• Resume (see USAJobs - Page Limit)

Your two (2) page RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).

• Cover Letter
• Other supporting documentation not listed above
• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps