Program Analyst.

Veterans Benefits Administration; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Veterans Benefits Administration in Washington, DC seeks a Program Analyst (GS-13) to lead release, configuration, and deployment management for the VR&E IT portfolio within a DevSecOps framework.

You will plan secure automated software releases using CI/CD pipelines, maintain integrated release schedules across stakeholders, facilitate readiness reviews, and ensure compliance with VA, federal, and NIST guidelines while delivering metrics to leadership.

Qualifications

• Experience planning, coordinating, and overseeing system updates to deliver changes
• Experience developing testing strategies and coordinating validation activities
• Experience applying federal requirements and compliance standards to assess readiness and risk
• Experience analyzing performance data to identify trends and inform leadership decisions
• Experience coordinating with technical staff, owners, and leadership to implement changes

Responsibilities

• Lead release, configuration, and deployment management activities for the VR&E IT portfolio within a DevSecOps framework.
• Plan, coordinate, and oversee secure, automated software releases using CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment patterns.
• Maintain integrated release schedules and coordinate activities across business stakeholders, OIT, cybersecurity, contractors, and governance bodies.
• Facilitate release planning ceremonies, readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, and post-implementation assessments using DevSecOps performance metrics.
• Manage configuration governance through CCB/CAB meetings and maintain CM processes and tools to ensure alignment with approved baselines.
• Assess proposed changes for operational and security impacts and guide release sequencing to minimize risks.
• Lead deployment readiness activities, including plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, communications, and automated verification.
• Develop and execute comprehensive testing strategies, including automated functional, security, performance, and UAT testing within CI/CD workflows.
• Coordinate compliance, cybersecurity, and ATO-related documentation, ensuring releases align with VA, federal, and NIST requirements.
• Provide executive leadership with release dashboards, risk analyses, performance metrics, stakeholder updates, and recommendations to improve DevSecOps operations and IT portfolio governance.

Skills

DevSecOps

CI/CD

Release management

Security testing

Leadership

Stakeholder coordination

Tools

CM tools

Job description

• Lead release, configuration, and deployment management activities for the VR&E IT portfolio within a DevSecOps framework.
• Plan, coordinate, and oversee secure, automated software releases using CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment patterns.
• Maintain integrated release schedules and coordinate activities across business stakeholders, OIT, cybersecurity, contractors, and governance bodies.
• Facilitate release planning ceremonies, readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, and post-implementation assessments using DevSecOps performance metrics.
• Manage configuration governance through CCB/CAB meetings and maintain CM processes and tools to ensure alignment with approved baselines.
• Assess proposed changes for operational and security impacts and guide release sequencing to minimize risks.
• Lead deployment readiness activities, including plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, communications, and automated verification.
• Develop and execute comprehensive testing strategies, including automated functional, security, performance, and UAT testing within CI/CD workflows.
• Coordinate compliance, cybersecurity, and ATO-related documentation, ensuring releases align with VA, federal, and NIST requirements.
• Provide executive leadership with release dashboards, risk analyses, performance metrics, stakeholder updates, and recommendations to improve DevSecOps operations and IT portfolio governance.

Duties

Specific Duties Include

• Lead release, configuration, and deployment management activities for the VR&E IT portfolio within a DevSecOps framework.
• Plan, coordinate, and oversee secure, automated software releases using CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment patterns.
• Maintain integrated release schedules and coordinate activities across business stakeholders, OIT, cybersecurity, contractors, and governance bodies.
• Facilitate release planning ceremonies, readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, and post-implementation assessments using DevSecOps performance metrics.
• Manage configuration governance through CCB/CAB meetings and maintain CM processes and tools to ensure alignment with approved baselines.
• Assess proposed changes for operational and security impacts and guide release sequencing to minimize risks.
• Lead deployment readiness activities, including plans, rollback procedures, validation steps, communications, and automated verification.
• Develop and execute comprehensive testing strategies, including automated functional, security, performance, and UAT testing within CI/CD workflows.
• Coordinate compliance, cybersecurity, and ATO-related documentation, ensuring releases align with VA, federal, and NIST requirements.
• Provide executive leadership with release dashboards, risk analyses, performance metrics, stakeholder updates, and recommendations to improve DevSecOps operations and IT portfolio governance.

Promotion Potential

This position is at the full performance level.

Work Schedule

Full time, Monday through Friday

Compressed/Flexible

Not Available

Telework

Available, This position is eligible for situational (ad hoc) telework only. The selectee is required to report to the official duty station each scheduled workday. Telework may be approved only on a case-by-case basis with supervisory approval. Routine or recurring telework is not authorized for this position.

Virtual

This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#

Program Analyst; 422920

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives

Not authorized

Financial Disclosure Report

Not required

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Your performance and conduct;
• The needs and interests of the agency;
• Whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government;
• Whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Required

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement:11/12/2026.

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENT

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements.

• For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 level.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

GS-13 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience at the GS 12 level that demonstrates:
• Experience planning, coordinating, and overseeing implementation of system or program updates, ensuring changes are delivered in a controlled, timely, and organized manner and aligned with organizational requirements and stakeholder needs.
• Experience developing and executing testing strategies for new or updated systems, including creating test plans, coordinating stakeholders involved in validation activities, documenting results, tracking issues, and recommending readiness for implementation.
• Experience applying organizational policies, federal requirements, and compliance standards to evaluate the readiness, risks, and operational impacts associated with system changes or program improvements.
• Experience analyzing system performance, operational data, or program outcomes to identify trends, risks, or improvement opportunities and preparing reports, briefings, or recommendations that inform leadership decisions.
• Experience coordinating with technical staff, business owners, and leadership to support effective implementation of system or process changes, resolve issues, align priorities, and ensure stakeholders understand upcoming operational impacts.
• Education Substitution: There is no education substitution at this grade level.

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; religions; 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.

Full vs. Part-Time Employment: Full-time employment is considered to be at least 35 hours per week. Part-time experience will be credited on a pro-rated basis; when including part-time employment in your resume you must specify the average hours worked per week.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary and is typically performed in an office or telework environment, although some slight physical effort may be required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP),

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Placement Policy

The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the

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.

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.

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.