Supervisory Physical Security Specialist (Branch Chief) Job in Landover, MD

Vacancy No. TLE-TEC-ASD-JJ032-25-INT Department U.S. Secret Service
Salary $142,488.00 to $185,234.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/18/2025 Close Date 7/25/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Landover, MD


Summary

Joining the US Secret Service, Office of Technical Development and Applied Research, Aviation and Airspace Security Division, will allow you to provide specialized technical expertise and operational support, to develop and implement countermeasures to threats against protected persons and facilities, and to support criminal investigations conducted by the US Secret Service.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Current Career or Career Conditional employees in the Competitive Service with the US Secret Service and Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligibles.

Duties

The selectee will serve as Supervisory Physical Security Specialist (Branch Chief) in the Office of Technical Development and Applied Research, Aviation and Airspace Security Division. Typical work assignments include:

  • Serving as a subject matter expert for large scale protective activities in various technical security specialized programs and developing and implementing technical investigative programs for protective advances and activities.
  • Identifying and implementing procedures and logistical planning in preparation for various types of countermeasures and overseeing and conducting the full range of law enforcement activities as it relates to protection, surveillance, and undercover investigations.
  • Directing the work of employees engaged in protective, investigative, technical, and administrative work and planning and providing technical direction for projects.
  • Coordinating security requirements with internal and external law enforcement stakeholders and participating in meetings with other management officials.

Apply for this exciting opportunity to support the Secret Service's mission by providing a technically secure environment for the President and Vice President at the White House and Vice-Presidential Residence, providing technical security for other protectees, and to provide leading edge technical
support to criminal investigations conducted by the agency.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Effective May 7, 2025, all applicants are required to have their REAL ID driver's license.
  • Obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Clearance. For more information visit OPM MythBuster Page.
  • Certify registration or exemption with the Selective Service if you are a male applicant born after 12/31/59.
  • Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing during employment.
  • Submit to a polygraph examination prior to your appointment.
  • Complete a pre-employment and post-employment medical examination and be determined physically fit to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties.
  • Be at least age 21 at the time of application and less than age 37 at the time of referral unless you have previous service in a Federal Civilian Law Enforcement position covered by special civil service retirement provision, including early or mandatory retirement. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must be less than 40 years of age at the time of referral.
  • Carry and use a firearm. Maintaining firearm proficiency is also mandatory. You will be ineligible to occupy this position if at any time you have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unless you received a pardon, or your conviction was expunged or set aside.
  • Possess uncorrected visual acuity of no worse than 20/100 binocular. Possess corrected visual acuity of 20/20 or better in each eye. Lasik, ALK, RK, and PRK corrective eye surgeries are acceptable eye surgeries for applicants, and you will be considered eligible for this position provided specific visual tests are passed. Waiting periods are Lasik-2 months after surgery, PRK-6 months after surgery, and ALK/RK-1 year after surgery.
  • Hearing loss, as measured by an audiometer, must not exceed 25 decibels (A.S.A. or equivalent I.S.O.) in either ear in the 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz ranges.
  • Successfully complete or secure an appropriate waiver for a 10-week Mixed Basic Training Course (MBTC) at the James J. Rowley Training Center (RTC) in Laurel MD, and a 6-week Protective Advance Coordinator Course in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.
  • Selectee must sign a mobility agreement stating willingness to accept assignments anywhere within the United States and overseas.
  • A one-year supervisory probationary period may be required.

Qualifications

To qualify for the grade GS-14 level you must possess one year of specialized experience at the grade GS-13 grade level performing duties such as:

  • Planning and directing a technical staff and work involving at least one of the following areas: Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS) operations, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) flight operations, or Air Space Security Operations; or,
  • Providing technical guidance for counter UAS operations, UAS flight operation planes, or air space security planning; or,
  • Providing or developing training programs related to any of the above specific subject matter areas.

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

Time-in-Grade Requirement: An individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying). To verify you meet the Time-In-Grade requirement, you must submit the documentation listed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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

This position is covered by Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime.

Applicants selected for this position may be required to sign a Continued Service Agreement (CSA) before being assigned to an initial training class, if applicable. The CSA will commit the applicant to a specified period of employment with the U.S. Secret Service upon the successful completion of training.

The work performed in protective service is high-paced and may involve a high risk of exposure to potentially dangerous situations and hazardous environments impacting the lives of internal and external stakeholders and properties protected. The work requires long and irregular hours including holidays, weekends and evenings, shift work, physical exertion (lifting heavy objects, crouching/crawling under or in automobiles, self-protection in harm's way and defending internal and external stakeholders against a physical harm and/or attack(s).

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to Equal.Opportunity@usss.dhs.gov.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger).

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan, Thrift Savings Plan (similar to a 401(k)); Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, and grade and unit occur.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with other DHS components for similar positions.

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.

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 qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Upon review, your resume and/or supporting documents need to support your answer choices and reflect the one year of specialized experience requirement to be considered. If the one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level cannot be identified in your resume, you will be considered not qualified. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Technical Competence
  • Leadership
  • Partnering

An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3),

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Under 5 CFR 330.601, Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) eligibles in the local commuting area will receive special selection priority.

Required Documents

In addition to addressing the vacancy specific questions, you must also submit the following documentation:

  • Resume: In order to receive credit for experience contained in an uploaded resume, your employment history should show work experience in month/year format (MM/YYYY), reflecting starting date and ending date, and include the number of hours worked per week.
  • Current Secret Service employee: Submit a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing your tenure code as career or career-conditional (codes 1 or 2, in block 24), and position occupied in the competitive service (code 1, in block 34). In addition, the SF50s must show the highest grade or promotion potential level attained competitively. An award SF-50 does not contain the required information. If you are applying for a higher grade, please provide the SF-50s which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade and that supports one year of experience (i.e., With-in Grade Increase (WRI) SF-50). You may need to submit more than one SF-50 to comply. Also submit your performance appraisals and/or incentive awards.
  • Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) Eligibles: Submit a copy of your agency notice, copy of your most recent performance appraisal (with at least a satisfactory rating), and your most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location.
  • Current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee: Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title, Type of appointment (Schedule a, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee) Agency, beginning and ending dates of your appointment.

Note: If tentatively selected for this position, the applicant may be required to provide additional documentation (SF-50) to validate eligibility for the position.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin the application process. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) by the closing date, to receive consideration. The application process is as follows:

  1. To begin your online application, click the Apply Online button and follow the prompts to register or sign into USAJOBS,
  2. Complete the online questionnaire and submit the required documents. See Required Documents section for more detail.
To preview the assessment questions, please visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12765328

To update your application, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account. There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Update Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USA Jobs account. All of your applications will appear on the Welcome page. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides the Announcement Status and a "You applied on" date. This information does not confirm the agency application status. Use the "Track this Application" link for additional information regarding the agency application status, the documentation you submitted, and any correspondence sent related to this application. Please be sure to monitor your 'Spam' or 'Junk' folder as correspondence are auto generated and may be routed into the incorrect email box. The Announcement Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.

For information on what each Announcement Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online, you may contact the Law Enforcement Acquisition Division, Technical Law Enforcement Support Branch at TLEHRSupport@usss.dhs.gov or by calling (202) 406-6411 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm EST (excluding Federal holidays) prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance.

The Secret Service provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process.

Agency contact information

TLE Support Branch
Address
United States Secret Service
Please read entire announcement
Please apply online
Washington, DC 20223
US

Next steps

It is your responsibility to verify, and information entered or uploaded is received and is accurate. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. Determining your eligibility and qualifications is dependent on the supporting documentation and information provided, which may impact your referral for further consideration. If a document is not legible, we will not be able to view it in your application.

Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your eligibility. Best-qualified applicants will be referred for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 45 days of the closing date of this announcement. You may check the status of your application for this position by going to your USAJOBS account.

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


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