Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

IT Specialist (APPSW)

Social Security Administration
Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO / Office of Benefit Information Systems (OBIS)
This job announcement has closed

Resumes limited to two pages

Starting on September 27, 2025, federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length. Sign in to your profile and update your resume now.

Summary

Serves as an IT Specialist responsible for analyzing and refining systems requirements, designing, developing, modifying, validating and implementing Title II programmatic and management information (MI) systems.



Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/15/2024 to 07/19/2024
Salary
$82,764 to - $128,956 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
5 vacancies in the following location:
Woodlawn, MD
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Flextime, alternate work schedules may be available
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
SH12463990
Control number
799480100

Duties

Help
  • Develops software development strategy, analytical approaches and work plans for designing, developing, testing, and implementing systems software in assigned application(s).
  • Conducts analysis and studies to define data, workflow and interrelationships among new or existing systems or subsystems, databases and processes within assigned area.
  • Develops process/systems design alternatives for major portions of systems being analyzed.
  • Ensures the integration of applicable procedures, databases, policies, implementation planning, and information security policies, principles and practices into the design and development/modification of assigned systems.
  • Writes, debugs, and maintains programs and related documentation. Determines output formats, designs user interfaces and works with users to test applications for quality and functionality.
  • Participates in the development of statements of work for systems design, development and implementation activities that may be contracted. Assists the project manager in overseeing contractor activities.
  • Works closely with contractors to ensure adherence to contract requirements and recommends acceptability of contractor deliverables and work products.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required
  • Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
  • Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
  • Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
  • Relocation expenses will not be paid
  • All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement

Qualifications

Applicants must qualify for the series and grade of the posted position. Experience must be 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.

Your resume must provide sufficient experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and proficiency of any required competencies to perform the specific position for which you are applying. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your experience, education, knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies as they relate to this position. Your resume and supporting documents must specifically address the evaluation criteria for the position. Describe duties you perform (not just knowledge, skills and abilities) as they relate to the specialized experience required for this position. Be clear, accurate and specific when describing your experience; e.g., list all positions separately, include full start and stop dates for each position, your work schedule (number of hours per week), your grade (if your position is federal) and a comprehensive description of the relevant duties you performed in each position.

This information is instrumental in determining the highest quality candidates to be referred to the Selecting Official. Please submit a thorough resume that directly relates to this position. If your application materials do not demonstrate the knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, and/or education needed for this position, your application will be ineligible for consideration.

To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, applicants must demonstrate the following IT-related competencies:

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.

In addition, to qualify for this GS-11 level position, applicants must possess and demonstrate 52 weeks of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-09 level in the Federal government that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such IT-related experience must include assisting in thedevelopment of web-based software applications using ALL of the following: 1) J2EE/Java EE/Jakarta EE (e.g., Servlets, JSP, EJB, JPA, Web Service), 2) XML, AND 3) Database (e.g., DB2, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server).

In addition, to qualify for this GS-12 level position, applicants must possess and demonstrate 52 weeks of specialized experience at, or equivalent to, the GS-11 level in the Federal government that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled and has equipped applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Such IT-related experience must include developing web-based software applications using ALL of the following: 1) J2EE/Java EE/Jakarta EE (e.g., Servlets, JSP, EJB, OpenJPA, Web Service), 2) XML, AND 3) Database (e.g., DB2, Oracle, SQL) and 4) Struts or Spring Boot.

All of this specialized experience is REQUIRED and must be explicitly documented/described in your resume or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Please describe duties you perform (not just knowledge, skills and abilities) as they relate to the specialized experience required for this position.

Qualification standards and additional information for this IT position can be found here: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/

Education

Providing Proof of Education for Substituting Education

In order to substitute education for experience at the GS-11 levels ONLY:

GS-11: To qualify at the GS-11 level, you must have one of the following:

  • A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree ; OR
  • Successful completion of 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree;
Your educational degree must be 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.

If you are qualifying on the basis of education or satisfying an educational requirement, submit a copy of your transcripts that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. You must submit your transcripts according to the application submission details of this announcement. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail. If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of the personnel action placing you into the new position.

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.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement.

This is a bargaining unit position represented by AFGE.

GS-11: $82,764 - $107,590
GS-12: $99,200 - $128,956

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

How you will be evaluated

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

The evaluation you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire, which is designed to capture the desired competencies for this position. These competencies include:

  • Ability to design and develop using modern web development technologies.
  • Skill communicating complex issues orally and in writing
  • Knowledge of computer systems and data repositories.
  • Ability to maintain and evaluate existing software and applications.
Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. To preview the questions, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12463990

Your application will be evaluated under the Category Rating method, based on your responses to the Assessment Questions. If you meet the basic requirements for the position, your application will be evaluated and placed into one of three categories:

1 - Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements.
2 - Well Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements and demonstrate a satisfactory level of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.
3 - Best Qualified Category - Candidates who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements and demonstrate a high level of the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Candidates eligible for veterans' preference will be placed ahead of other candidates in the appropriate category for which they have been rated. Additionally, preference eligibles who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent and who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements will automatically be placed in the Best Qualified Category.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.