Summary

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Laboratories and Scientific Services located in San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; New Orleans, LA; Miami, FL; Ashburn, VA; and Long Beach, CA.

Duties

As a Physical Scientist you will perform a full range of extremely difficult physical, chemical, and forensic analyses on evidentiary items seized and/or submitted to the regional and/or field laboratory. You will be a delegated authority to serve as an expert in forensic examinations and are given a wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgement.

This position starts at a salary of $106,437.00 (GS-13, Step 1) to $138,370.00 (GS-13, Step 10).

• Develops and recommends forensic methods, procedures, policy recommendations, and long-range proposals to support LSS forensic operations, including complex physical, chemical, friction ridge, and related forensic examinations.
• Plans, develops, implements, and monitors laboratory procedures, technical requirements, and quality practices to support effective forensic, scientific, and technical services in fixed and field laboratory settings.
• Provides scientific review and technical analysis of forensic policies, procedures, and proposed changes to ensure technical uniformity, legal sufficiency, field operability, and consistency with LSS quality requirements, ANAB accreditation, and ISO/IEC 17025 standards.
• Provides expert forensic consultation and technical support to agency officials and investigative partners, including review of forensic methods, evidence handling procedures, examination results, and related technical documentation, as authorized and within the scope of LSS responsibilities.

Requirements

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.
• Security Clearance: You are required to obtain a Secret or higher level clearance for this position.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

Degree: Physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience: Education equivalent to one of the majors listed above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.ANDExperience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Preparing, communicating, and reporting examination results and conclusions and illustrative exhibits for court use;
• Serving as a subject matter expert in federal and other court systems to present evidence and testimony;
• Gathering, processing, and analyzing scientific and technical data and summarizing for strategic and operational decision-making;
• Planning, and organizing projects, programs, and initiatives, coordinating with staff and management; and
• Communicating conclusions. alternatives, and recommendations on national policies, programs, and studies.

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.

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 08/27/2026.

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.

Education

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

Additional information

The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions. This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/[redacted]

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.

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.