Supervisory Computer Scientist- DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY Job in Dahlgren, VA

Vacancy No. AFMC-1550-03-13078043-JWK Department Air Force Elements, U.S. Strategic Command
Salary $139,539.00 to $197,192.00 Grade 3 to 3
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/29/2026 Close Date 10/13/2026
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Dahlgren, VA


Supervisory Computer Scientist- DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY

Department of the Air Force
Air Force Elements, U.S. Strategic Command
Joint Warfare Analysis Center

Summary

Click on "Learn more about this agency" button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information.

The primary purpose of this position is to perform professional work involving the application of, or research into, computer science methods and techniques to store, manipulate, secure, transform, or present information by means of computer systems.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Eligible NAF employees are considered under Hiring Path - "Federal employees-Excepted service" This job announcement will be used to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.

Duties

DR-1550-03

  • Serves as first level supervisor, technical authority, and advisor for a division. Directs and oversees experiments and investigations to design and implement IT systems in support of the command's operations and analytical requirements. Provides technical direction to identify, coordinate and prioritize requirements for the development of new and/or improved methods and tools to advance scientific/engineering/discipline specific capabilities, as appropriate.
  • Conducts testing and evaluation of new capabilities for integration into operations. Identifies funding requirements to support development activities. Develops integration plans and executes Technical Point of Contact/financial duties for contract efforts, as required. Ensures security/contractual/other programmatic requirements are met. Mentors analysts in the application of new capabilities to current projects.
  • Represents JWAC and establishes, develops, and maintains effective working relationships with higher headquarters and external organizations. Responsible for communicating impact of, gaining commitment for, and ensuring consideration of branch initiatives, policies, and recommendations. Meets with key customer and coordinating officials to assess customer satisfaction, explain organization policy and procedures, and resolve problems that arise.
  • Prepares and presents reports and briefings on status of branch initiatives and/or recommends action to key internal and/or external elements. Represents JWAC at meetings, conferences and trainings in order to keep abreast of issues impacting organization; ensure project plans and objectives are on target; resolve technical conflicts; and serve on technical groups or committees.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship Required
  • Males must be registered for Selective Service, see www.sss.gov
  • A security clearance may be required
  • If authorized, PCS will be paid IAW JTR and AF Regulations. If receiving an authorized PCS, you may be subject to completing/signing a CONUS agreement. More information on PCS requirements, may be found at: https://afciviliancareers.com/regulatory/
  • Recruitment incentives may/may not be authorized
  • This posn is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
  • This position may require drug testing and the candidate may be subject to passing a drug test upon selection.
  • Employee may be required to work other than normal duty hours, to include evenings, weekends and/or holidays
  • Shift work and emergency overtime may be required
  • Employee must maintain current certifications
  • Disclosure of Political Appointments
  • Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.
  • Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period.
  • Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
  • Position may be subject to polygraph testing.
  • This position may require travel.
  • Selectee is expected to be granted with and/or maintain the appropriate security clearance required for the position.
  • Position may require supervisory 1 year probationary period

Qualifications

Experience requirements are described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions. Due to the use of 120-day rosters, this period of experience may be completed within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
Bachelor's degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-13, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes leading and/or supervising technical teams in the application of computer science methods and tools to design, develop, test, secure, integrate, and/or sustain information technology capabilities; conducting testing and evaluation of information technology capabilities for integration; managing development resources, contracts, and programmatic/security requirements; and advising on technical initiatives, risks, and recommendations.

NOTE: Due to the use of 120-day rosters, this period of experience may be completed within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Click on the following link to view qualification requirements for this position:http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF
Click on the following link to view occupational requirements for this position:http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1500/computer-science-series-1550/

IDEAL CANDIDATE:
In addition to the specialized experience statements listed above, the ideal candidate would have the following skills and experience:

A senior technical leader with a proven record of leading the design, deployment, and sustainment of enterprise scale virtualization, hybrid cloud, and container orchestration environments. The candidate must have a deep understanding of configuration as code automation for Operating System provisioning, patching, and baseline compliance; overseeing petabyte scale storage architectures and automated data lifecycle management; and direct endpoint protection, familiar with building frameworks that embed automated security testing and optimized scheduling for high throughput analytics workloads. A strong background in applying RMF/NIST 800 53 controls, securing Authority to Operate (ATO) renewals, and integrating security by design principles into all services is desired.

In addition to technical acumen, the candidate must demonstrate senior level leadership of large, cross functional teams, including success mentoring, training, and building highly technical teams, with a focus on retaining talent in a highly competitive job market. Experience leading, training, and retaining a diverse support team of civilian, military, and contractor personnel, focusing on professional development and technical certifications. Experience drafting or reviewing Performance Work Statements (PWS), Technical Evaluation criteria, and overseeing contractor performance (COTR/COR duties) for multiple IT contracts is desired. The candidate should excel in strategic communication to deliver clear, audience appropriate briefings, technical papers, and written artifacts; negotiate resource allocations; and represent the organization at conferences, inter agency working groups, and industry forums to promote technology adoption and partnership opportunities. Success in this role is measured by sustained system uptime, rapid incident resolution, accomplished pilot-to-production transitions, and the completion of technical roadmap milestones.


COMPETENCIES: Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Problem Solving, Communication, Technology Management, and Teamwork and Leadership.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

IF USING EDUCATION TO QUALIFY: If position has a positive degree requirement or education forms the basis for qualifications, you MUST submit transcriptswith the application. Official transcripts are not required at the time of application; however, if position has a positive degree requirement, qualifying based on education alone or in combination with experience, transcripts must be verified prior to appointment. An accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education must accredit education. Click here to check accreditation.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying.

Additional information

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): For information on how to apply as an ICTAP eligible click here. To be well-qualified and exercise selection priority for this vacancy, displaced Federal employees must be rated well qualified or above for this position. You must submit a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.

Employed Annuitants (Reemployed Annuitants): Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. Click here for more information.

120-Day Register: This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.

This job announcement will be used to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.

If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here.

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.

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The resume/documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.

For additional information on what to include in your resume, click here.

APPRAISALS/AWARDS: Hiring Managers use objective methods and consider previous performance appraisals and awards in the selection process. Current Federal Civilian employees should list any relevant performance related rating and/or awards in your resume.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be provided with your application. Applicants who do not submit required documentation to determine eligibility and qualifications will be eliminated from consideration. Other documents may be required based on the eligibility/eligibilities you are claiming. Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide and the required documents you must submit to substantiate the eligibilities you are claiming.

  1. Online Application: Questionnaire
  2. Resume: Your resume may NOT exceed two pages, and the font size should not be smaller than 10 pts. You will not be considered for this vacancy if your resume is illegible/unreadable. Additional information on resume requirements can be located under "How To Apply".
  3. Transcripts/Registration/License: If qualifying on education/position requires education, you must submit copies of your transcripts and if required for the position, submit an active, current registration/license.
ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: The VOW Act requires federal agencies to treat an eligible active duty service member as a veteran, disabled veteran, and preference eligible (as applicable) when applying for civil service positions before the effective release or discharge date. Appointment of military members before the release or discharge date is permissible if the member is on terminal leave. At the time the active duty member applies for a civil position, he or she must submit a "certification" memo in lieu of a DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Active duty members applying for a civil service position without submitting a valid certification memo or DD Form 214 with their application will render the member ineligible for the position. The certification memo must originate from the member's military service branch on official letterhead and contain the following:
  • Name/Rank/Grade of Service Member
  • Branch of Armed Forces
  • Dates of Active Service (Start and End Date(s)
  • Expected Date of Discharge/Release from Active Duty
  • Terminal leave start date (if applicable)
  • Expected character of service/discharge and type of separation (i.e. separation or retirement)
  • Must be certified within 120 days of anticipated discharge
  • Signature by, or by direction of the adjutant, personnel office, unit commander, or higher headquarters commander.
Note: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If appointed, a DD Form 214 must be submitted upon receipt.

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

The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/13/2026

To preview the Application Questionnaire, please click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13078043

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 application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

1. Your Resume. If you submit more than one resume, only the most recent will be reviewed. The "most recent" is considered the resume with the latest timestamp.

  • Resumes may not exceed two pages. The two-page resume ensures the most relevant experience is reviewed and considered, which is a common practice in both the public and private sectors. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Additional information on how to complete or update your resume may be located here.
  • For qualification determination your resume must contain hours worked per week and dates of employment (i.e., month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as insufficient, and you will not receive consideration for this position. If you are a current Federal employee or previous Federal employee, provide your pay plan, series and grade, i.e. GS-0301-09. Current Federal Civilian Employees may list any relevant performance related rating (given within the last three years) and/or incentive awards in your resume.
  • Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy.
  • Your name, first and last, MUST be included on your resume.
2. A complete Application Questionnaire
3. Additional Required Documents (see Required Documents section). Ensure all submitted documents contain your full name.
4. Help recruiters find you. Make your resume and profile searchable, which means recruiters may contact you about possible jobs. Additional information may be located here.

Current or Former Federal Civilian Employees (Includes current Air Force employees): You are required to submit legible copy/copies of your last or most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, (block 24 must be a "1" or "2" AND block 34 must be a"1"). Additionally, if you are applying for a higher grade (GS) and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).

OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS:
Performance Appraisals for Current Federal Civilian Employees
- Most recent performance appraisals (dated within last 3 years) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.
Awards for Current Federal Civilian employees - List any awards received within the last 3 years on the resume.
Note: Applicant must not submit award Notification of Personnel Actions (SF50s).

PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.

Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.

Agency contact information

JWAC Group Box
Phone
123-123-1234
Email
stratcom.south-potomac.jwac.list.jwac-jobs@mail.mil
Address
Joint Warfare Analysis Center - JWAC
4048 Higley Road
Dahlgren, VA 22448
US

Next steps

Once your application package is received an acknowledgement email will be sent.

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 and qualifications for consideration. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.

To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select My Applications, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.

If you do not provide an email address, you are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you.

Air Force Elements, U.S. Strategic Command

The mission of the United States Air Force is: To fly, fight, and win ... Airpower anytime, anywhere. To achieve that mission, the Air Force has a vision of Global Vigilance, Global Reach and Global Power. That vision orbits around three core competencies: Developing Airmen, Technology-to-Warfighting and Integrating Operations. Core competencies and distinctive capabilities are based on a shared commitment to three core values -- integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.

This job announcement may close at any time - apply now!

Click here to view the AF Civilian Employment Eligibility Guide:

  • US Citizen

Agency contact information

JWAC Group Box
Phone
123-123-1234
Email
stratcom.south-potomac.jwac.list.jwac-jobs@mail.mil
Address
Joint Warfare Analysis Center - JWAC
4048 Higley Road
Dahlgren, VA 22448
US