Supervisory Physical Scientist (Friction Ridge)-Direct Hire

US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Beltsville (MD); Vor Ort; USD 110.000 - 140.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seeks a Section Chief for a Laboratory within the Office of Science and Technology. This senior role leads a team of forensic scientists in highly technical fingerprint analyses to support the Bureau’s law enforcement mission.

Position requires GS-14 level qualifications and specialized experience in latent fingerprints, quality assurance, and clear written and oral communication. Applicants face a closing date of 2026-11-03.

Qualifikationen

• Mentor forensic examiners and lead project teams.
• Perform complex examinations of evidence requiring latent print development.
• Conduct fingerprint testing to determine origin and similarity.
• Communicate results clearly orally and in writing.
• Apply quality assurance procedures in the laboratory per standards.

Kenntnisse

Mentoring

Team leadership

Forensic analysis

Communication

Quality assurance

Jobbeschreibung

This position serves as Section Chief in a Laboratory within the Office of Science and Technology (OST). This position supports the mission of OST by encompassing a broad range of responsibilities that are highly technical and scientific services in support of the Bureau's primary law enforcement mission.

Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) is a hiring authority granted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to address critical hiring needs or severe candidate shortages.

To qualify for the Supervisory Physical Scientist (Friction Ridge), position at the GS-14 grade level, you must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Basic Requirements

A. Degree: in 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

B. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

AND to qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level, candidates must also have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) by the closing date of this announcement.

Specialized experience is demonstrated experience, which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Experience must be in the normal line of progression or must be related to the work of the position advertised and must be reflected in resume.

Specialized experience must include all of the below:

• Mentoring forensic examiners or leading project teams; AND
• Conducting complex examinations of evidence requiring the development of latent prints; AND
• Performing comparative testing of finger/palm print evidence, both visible and latent, to determine if they share a common origin; AND
• Communicating orally and in writing to clearly and concisely convey the results and concepts of forensic fingerprint examinations; AND
• Applying quality assurance procedures for fingerprint examinations in a Laboratory system in accordance with accepted laboratory standards.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating. See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume.

After you submit this application, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a USA Hire assessment is required of you. You will have 48 hours from the closing date of this announcement (11/03/2026) to complete the assessment as this assessment is part of your application.