Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Information and Technology, Border Enforcement and Management Systems Directorate, located in Ashburn, VA.

Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies specified using this vacancy announcement. Further selections may also be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location listed above.

Duties

Help

Joining the Customs and Border Protection, Office of Information and Technology will allow you to use your experience in application software by developing, managing, implementing and maintaining various Information Technology (IT) application software components. This position starts at a salary of $70,623.00 (GS-9, Step 1) to $111,087.00 (GS-11, Step 10) with promotion potential to $133,142 (GS-12 Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen Homeland Security by supporting new or existing software applications.

GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position.Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts.

In this Information Technology Specialist (Applications Software) position, you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals. Typical work assignments include:

• Designing, developing, debugging, modifying, testing, installing, implementing, and supporting new and existing Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) applications within ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, and ArcGIS Server environments.
• Analyzing and refining application systems requirements for assigned GIS programs, incorporating stakeholder input to design, developing, testing, and implementing geospatial software solutions.
• Translating business requirements into technical specifications, creating technical user stories, and developing project plans and roadmaps.
• Administering and maintaining enterprise geodatabases (e.g., SQL Server, PostgreSQL), including schema updates, data versioning, and performance optimization. Providing configuration, integration, and management of geospatial IT infrastructure (e.g., ArcGIS Online/Enterprise, server environments) to ensure availability, performance, and security.
• Conducting QA/QC of geospatial datasets, geoprocessing outputs, enterprise geodatabases, and cartographic products to ensure data integrity and compliance with federal geospatial standards (DHS, FGDC, US BGN, ISO).
• Ensuring compliance with CBP OIT policies, Section 508 accessibility standards, IT security requirements, and change management processes. Provides technical guidance and resolves complex issues related to GIS application support, design, configuration, development, and deployment.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• All pre-employment processes will be conducted in English
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.
• Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the National Treasury Employees Unions - NTEU. For local chapter contact information see Chapter Websites - National Treasury Employees Union - NTEU.
• The open period for this job opportunity announcement may be extended to allow for a sufficient applicant pool.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: Applicants 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.

Along with the four competencies listed above you must possess at least one (1) year of specialized experience described below to qualify based on experience.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-9 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Assisting in the modification of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) application code or geoprocessing workflows using established templates and guidance.
• Performing routine testing of software functionality and documenting results for review by senior staff.
• Troubleshooting and resolving common software errors (e.g., script syntax issues, failed data loads) under guidance.
• Providing technical assistance to customers on standard GIS application functions, including responding to requests for map printing or basic data extraction.
• Performing standard Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) checks on geospatial datasets and cartographic products and correcting missing attribute values or routine errors.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Independently designing, developing, debugging, modifying, testing, installing, implementing, and supporting new and existing GIS applications within ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, and ArcGIS Server environments.
• Developing and maintaining static and dynamic cartographic products integrated within enterprise systems.
• Creating and maintaining automation scripts using Python and Arcade for geospatial tasks.
• Configuring and supporting web mapping applications using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS within ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise platforms.
• Conducting QA/QC of geospatial datasets, geoprocessing outputs, enterprise geodatabases, and cartographic products to ensure data integrity and metadata completeness.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

Please upload your resume under the "Resume" document type. Any other relevant supporting documents should be uploaded under their appropriate document types as mentioned above. Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. Do notsubmit documents as a PDF Portfolios.

Education Substitution: Please see Education section for details.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 06/24/2026.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

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

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Education Substitution: GS-09: Successful completion of a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in an accredited college or university, may be substituted for experience at the GS-09 grade level. Such education must demonstrate the skills needed to do the work. For this position a degree in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or a degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks is qualifying. One year of fulltime graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 36 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 2 years of full-time study requirement.

Education Substitution: GS-11: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in an accredited college or university, may be substituted for experience at the GS-11 grade level. Such educ