Duties

Summary

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is calling on those who want to help protect American interests and secure our Nation. DHS Components work collectively to prevent terrorism; secure borders and our transportation systems; protect the President and other dignitaries; enforce and administer immigration laws; safeguard cyberspace; and ensure resilience to disasters. We achieve these vital missions through a diverse workforce spanning hundreds of occupations. Make an impact; Join DHS.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and integration of secure cloud IT solutions that meet current and future business requirements to ensure scalability and reliability.
• Enhance and optimize the existing architecture in support of cloud-based solutions.
• Provide cybersecurity advice to managers and regularly represent the organization in meetings and discussions with representatives of advisory committees to resolve Cybersecurity problems.
• Utilize IT performance metrics to assess and support secure cloud clustering and workload balancing for IT cloud platforms.
• Leads or supports pre-award acquisition activities to include market research, cost estimation, and technical evaluation.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be required to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National to apply for this position
• Successfully pass a Background Investigation including financial disclosure
• You must pass a drug screening
• You must submit resume and supporting documentation
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with the Selective Service
• Political appointees may require OPM approval before on-boarding

The qualifications for this position must be met by 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on the closing date of this announcement.

This position IS NOT in the bargaining unit.

This position IS NOT considered "essential" for purposes of reporting to work when the facility might otherwise be closed.

Residency Requirement: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This residency requirement states that candidates must have, for three of the last five years immediately prior to applying for this position; (1) resided in the United States; OR (2) worked for the United States Government as an employee overseas in a Federal or Military capacity, OR (3) been a dependent of a U.S. Federal or Military employee serving overseas.

Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. The background investigation process is initiated after a selection is made. For more information visit the OPM Mythbuster Page .

If a SECRET or TOP SECRET clearance is needed or the position is designated a Sensitive National Security position, all selected candidates must meet the requirements for these clearances or Sensitive National Security position prior to placement AND maintain that level of clearance or national security eligibility while encumbering the position.

Probationary Period: You may be required to serve a probationary period of 1 year.

Qualifications

This announcement is issued under the Direct Hire Authority to recruit for positions for which the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has a critical hiring need.

Basic Requirements: All applicants must meet the following basic requirements. For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below.

Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

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.

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.

Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Selective Placement Factor #1: You must have experience designing and deploying large scale, complex, high performance enterprise applications on Amazon Web Services or equivalent (e.g. Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure). This experience must be documented in your resume. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

Selective Placement Factor #2: You must have experience utilizing Agile development to include use of Kanban, Scrum, or similar application lifecycle management methodologies. This experience must be documented in your resume. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

GS-14: You qualify at the GS-14 level if you possess one (1) year of specialized experience, which is equivalent to at least the GS-13 level in the federal government, that equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. You must have experience performing the following duties:

• Leading enterprise grade software development s using Agile Project Management methodologies along with application life-cycle management tools such as JIRA software to support project management methodologies such as Scrum/Kanban/SAFe;
• Utilizing databases such as MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Hadoop, and mongoDB, DynamoDB, Redshift, and/or Oracle/SQL Server to store data;
• Designing and/or developing cloud based systems that have a high-availability (HA) implementation;
• Interpreting and analyzing code for weaknesses and errors, and overseeing remediation plans to improve them;
• Leading enterprise grade software development projects using agile development management processes to include working with container technology and micro-services, cloud environments, and Java/JavaScript/Python.

Please read the following important information to ensure you submit everything we need to consider your application: It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit your responses and appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity announcement. USCIS will only review the first 5 pages of your resume to determine your eligibility/qualifications for a position. As such, please be sure to include content to support your eligibility/qualifications for this position within the first 5 pages. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Your application will be rated and ranked based on your responses to the online questions.

Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:

• Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job)
• Duties (be specific in describing your duties)
• Employer's name and address
• Supervisor name and phone number
• Start and end dates including month, day and year (e.g. June 18 2007 to April 05 2008)
• Start and end dates for each grade/pay level if you've held a federal position.
• Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
• Salary

Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide the above information may result in a finding of ineligible.

Note: Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Federal Experience: If you are using current or prior federal experience as a basis for qualifying for this position, the grade levels and length of employment (mm/dd/year) at each grade level must be listed in your work history. This information will be further validated if selected for this position.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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 criteria 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 service. Please provide the dates and amount of time/hours worked earning this experience.

Education

EDUCATIONAL SUBSTITUTION: There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

Multiple Locations: The actual salary will be set based on the grade, step, and location of the position. View the 2021 Locality Pay Charts for more information.

Special Employment Consideration: 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.

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 Personnel Management guidance and U.S. Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Additional Information:

USCIS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment , and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

It is our responsibility to eliminate any risks to national security, public health, and public safety that could be posed by individuals who use illegal drugs. This position may be subject to random testing as a condition of employment. A positive drug test or refusal to be tested will result in disciplinary action, up to and including removal from Federal service.

Note: If you previously retired from the Federal service and are receiving an annuity, your salary may be offset by the amount of your annuity.

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

Common definitions for hiring terms found in this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, veterans' preference and category rating do not apply.

Your resume must support your responses to the job specific assessment questionnaires, level of education claimed, experience, and/or training. To remain in consideration for this position, please ensure your resume covers this requirement and that your resume has been successfully submitted as part of your on-line application package.

Creation of this package includes completing the on-line assessment questionnaires, uploading your resume, and uploading any required supporting documents.

NOTE: Your resume and supporting documentation will be verified. If you rated yourself higher than what is supported by your application material, you may be excluded from consideration for this job. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

If you are found qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be contacted for an interview.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligible: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP or ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ ICTAP, you must be placed in the Well-Qualified category for this position, as described above. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement.

Note: Applicants who are referred to the hiring office for selection consideration may be required to complete a writing sample and/or other writing exercise as part of the interview/selection process. If the hiring office decides to request a writing sample and/or other writing exercise as part of its selection process, a designated contractor or Agency representative will contact you to: (1) inform you of this requirement; and (2) provide further instructions.

Conditions of Employment Reminder: If you fail to meet the conditions of employment or any other pre-employment requirements, such as missing any of the scheduled appointments, the hiring agency may rescind their tentative offer of employment.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

Resume: You must submit a resume that clearly demonstrates you have experience that meets the requirements of this position as outlined in the "Qualifications" section. USCIS' human resources office will only review the first 5 pages of your resume to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

In order to ensure that you include all necessary information within the first 5 pages of your resume, you are highly encouraged to save and submit your resume as a PDF instead of submitting it through Resume Builder or a word-processing program such as Word or Google Docs.

Your responses to the job questionnaire. (submitted through the on-line application process in USA Jobs. Responses DO NOT need to be attached as an additional document to your application)

Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)? Submit:

• a copy of your agency notice,
• a copy of your most recent performance rating, and
• a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.

Are you a 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 appointment

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.