POLYGRAPH SPECIALIST

Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to: Retained Grade Preference (PPP-RGP) eligible, and Military Reserve and National Guard Technician (PPP MRNG) eligible may also apply. Current federal and prior federal employees.

This is a temporary position NTE to 4 years, one day; The position may be extended for 1 year.

As a POLYGRAPH SPECIALIST you will be responsible for the following duties:

• Serves as subject matter expert regarding national-level policies and directives governing the administration of federal Credibility Assessment (CA) testing and federal CA oversight processes and mandates.
• Provides expert oversight of federal agencies by conducting on-site quality assurance inspections, ensuring federal agencies properly implement all federal CA standards. Accurately and professionally documents inspection results in technical reports. Formally briefs agency senior management on inspection protocol and results.
• Serves as CA technical expert, provides assistance to federal agencies in the form of advice, recommendation, and guidance on all federally approved CA techniques and activities.
• Provides expert technical advice and guidance in the development of proposed policies and standards to ensure that the procedures utilized by Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies comply with federal laws, congressional mandates and other applicable standards.
• Confers with federal polygraph and CA program managers to coordinate presentations and training seminars.
• Participates on national committees to ensure coordination and flow of relevant information between the members of the polygraph community and intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US citizen
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. For more information http://www.sss.gov
• Resume and supporting documents received by 11:59PM EST will be considered
• This is a Drug Testing designated position, the incumbent will be placed in a drug-testing pool and be subject to random drug testing.
• Position is a (DCIPS) position in the Excepted Service under U.S.C. 1601
• Work Schedule: Full Time
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• PCS (Permanent Change of Station): Not Authorized
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
• Financial Disclosure: Not Required
• Telework Eligibility: Supervisors may approve situational telework on a case-by-case, temporary basis for limited situations.
• The incumbent must be a currently certified Federal polygraph examiner.
• The incumbent must be a graduate of the NCCA PDD Program.
• The duties of this position may require temporary duty travel (TDY) and /or local travel.
• This position is designated special-sensitive; the incumbent must obtain and maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.

Qualifications

This position has a Basic Requirement for the 1801: All polygraph examiner candidates must graduate from the National Center for Credibility Assessment (NCCA) Psychophysiological Detection of Deception (PDD) training program. Candidates must be current, certified federal polygraph examiners. A copy of your certificate is required.

The experience described in your resume will be evaluated and screened from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPMs) basic qualifications requirements. See: General Inspection Investigation Enforcement and Compliance Series 1801 for OPM qualification standards, competencies and specialized experience needed to perform the duties of the position as described in the MAJOR DUTIES and QUALIFICATIONS sections of this announcement by 06/29/2026

Applicant must have directly applicable experience that demonstrates the possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies necessary for immediate success in the position. Qualifying experience may have been acquired in any public or private sector job, but will clearly demonstrate past experience in the application of the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position.

You must have specialized experience sufficient to demonstrate that you have acquired all the competencies necessary to perform at a level equivalent in difficulty, responsibility, and complexity to the next lower grade GG-13 in the Federal service and are prepared to take on greater responsibility.
Generally, this would include one year or more of such specialized experience.

Specialized experience for this position includes:
1. Orchestrated inter-agency collaboration with federal partners on polygraph standards, credibility assessment techniques,
and program oversight initiatives.

2. Executed all phases of federal polygraph examinations, including pre-test interviews, in-test data collection, and post-test analysis and reporting.

3. Interpreted and applied federal policies and guidelines on polygraph and credibility assessment, advising,
and guiding stakeholders throughout the federal polygraph community.

4. Authored and presented technical reports and briefings on polygraph matters, effectively communicating complex information to diverse audiences.

• Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
• Writing - Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material that is appropriate for the intended audience.
• 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.
• Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire.

EXCEPTED SERVICE PILOT REVIEW: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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.). Your complete application includes your COMPLETE 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.

The following documents are REQUIRED:

1. Your resume:

• IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position. Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text. We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
• If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent."
• 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 will not be considered for this vacancy.
• Narrative responses in the assessment questionnaire do not replace content in your resume or vise a versa. Experience must be described in both places for qualification determinations.
• Resumes should NOT include: Classified information/SSN/Photo of yourself/personal information (gender, religion, affiliation etc., Encrypted digitally signed docs). Resumes with this prohibited information will be automatically ineligible for consideration.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the dates of employment (i.e., Month/Year to present. Hours per Week).
• If your resume does not clearly outline details for each position as noted, you may be deemed "not referred" for this position.
• Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job? The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

• All current and former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. Failure to provide latest SF50 may result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

• If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents: DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.

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