Clarification from the agency

• U.S. Citizens • Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) • lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP)

You will plan and execute authorized offensive security engagements that show federal and critical infrastructure partners exactly how a real adversary would attempt to breach them, emulating threat-actor tradecraft against enterprise networks and cloud tenants, and then briefing leaders on how to prioritize fix actions.

Typical work assignments at the full performance level include, but are not limited to:

• Lead full-lifecycle red team and penetration-test engagements against federal enterprise networks, cloud tenants (AWS / Azure / GCP), containerized and serverless workloads, web applications, and CI/CD pipelines - owning scoping, rules of engagement, operator tasking, deconfliction, and final reporting.
• Emulate real-world threat actors - design and run ATT&CK-aligned operations that chain initial access, identity/IAM abuse, privilege escalation, and lateral movement to reach crown-jewel systems, then prove impact without causing harm.
• Build and operate offensive infrastructure as code - stand up and tear down C2, redirectors, phishing, and lab/range environments repeatably with Terraform, Ansible, or comparable tooling, with disciplined OPSEC.
• Develop and extend offensive tooling - custom payloads, C2 profiles, exploit adaptations, and AI/LLM-augmented recon, code-review, and triage workflows - and feed that tradecraft back into team capability.
• Run continuous external attack-surface testing - automate discovery and assessment of internet-facing assets, set severity rubrics, and track exposure reduction across the agencies you support.
• Assess emerging attack surface - infrastructure-as-code and pipeline supply chains, SaaS/identity-provider federation, and AI/ML-integrated applications (prompt injection, model abuse, data-exfil paths).
• Partner with threat intelligence and detection engineering - turn current adversary reporting into testable TTPs, and work purple-team to validate and harden defensive coverage after every operation.
• Brief the people who can act - deliver attack narratives and prioritized, concrete remediation to system owners and senior executives in mission-impact terms; mentor operators and set tradecraft, automation, and OPSEC standards for the team

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• Selective Service - Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service, see http://www.sss.gov/
• All Federal employees are required to participate in Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer for salary payments.
• DHS 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.
• You must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance suitable for Federal employment as determined by a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.
• One-year probationary period may be required.
• This position may be designated as essential personnel. Essential personnel must be able to serve during continuity of operation events without regard to declarations of liberal leave or government closures due to weather, protests, and acts of terrorism or lack of funding. Failure to report for or remain in this position may result in disciplinary or adverse action in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations (5 U.S.C. 7501-7533 and 5 CFR Part 752, as applicable).
• This position has been identified as a drug testing designated position (TDP) for purposes of the CISA's Drug-Free Workplace Program. All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to a drug test to screen for illicit/illegal drug use prior to receiving a final offer of employment. A final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result. After appointment, you may be subject to periodic random drug testing.

Qualifications

Do NOT copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Your resume must describe your work and experience, in your own words.

To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required competencies and experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying:

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES: Experience must be Information Technology (IT)-related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate.You must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the 9 competencies listed below:

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.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Accountability
• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Reasoning
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

All documents, including transcripts, must be in English.

1. RESUME: Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. Be clear and specific in describing your job-related qualifications, as HR cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Include dates (month and year) and hours worked per week. For military or Federal civilian service, you MUST include your pay plan/band, series, and/or rank/grade (e.g., Captain, E-5, GS-0301-9). Do NOT include photographs, social media links (e.g., LinkedIn), inappropriate content, or other personal or sensitive information such as date of birth, social security number, gender, religious affiliation. IF INCLUDED YOUR RESUME WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

2. COMPLETE APPLICATION QUESTIONNAIRE AND ONLINE USA HIRE ASSESSMENTS

• If you are requesting a reasonable accommodation to the USA Hire Assessments, submit documentation to support your request, including the Reasonable Accommodation Request Form.

• CURRENT OR FORMER FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE: Submit a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which shows the grade, step, tenure (block 24) "1" (Career) or "2" (Career-Conditional), and position occupied (block 34) "1" (Competitive Service). Provide proof of permanent appointment if applying based on an Interchange Agreement. If applying for a higher grade, provide a SF-50 which shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade or promotion potential held. You may need to provide more than one (1) SF-50,if your SF-50 does not clearly demonstrate that you meet the one-year time-in-grade requirement(examples of appropriate SF-50s include Appointment/Conversion, Within-Grade/Range Increases and Promotion actions). NOTE: Pay adjustments and awards are NOT acceptable.
• VETERAN DOCUMENTATION: Submit a copy of your DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member Copy 4 or equivalent).
  • ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE MEMBERS: If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of active service, rank/grade, expected character of service (i.e., honorable or general) and type of separation (i.e., separation or retirement). NOTE: The VOW Act provides tentative preference. If selected, a DD-214 must be provided prior to appointment.
  • 10-POINT VETERANS' PREFERENCE: If claiming 10-point Veterans' Preference, you will need to submit a SF-15 and provide an official document from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces certifying your overall compensable service-connected disability rating (NOTE: Your overall percentage must be clearly shown), and/or any other associated documentation based on your preference.
• INTERAGENCY/CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (I/CTAP): Submit a copy of the following:
  • Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice, notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate, notice of disability annuity termination, or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  • SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", documenting your RIF separation, noting your position, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through reemployment priority list (RPL), etc.;
  • Latest performance appraisal including your rating; AND
  • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.
• 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; AND
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Next steps