POLYGRAPH SPECIALIST
About This Position
Advance your career as a Senior Polygraph Specialist in the Quality Assurance Program with DCSA's National Center for Credibility Assessment! Lead the future of Federal credibility assessments by conducting critical examinations, overseeing Quality Assurance across 30+ partner agencies, developing national curricula, and testing next-generation polygraph technologies. Apply today to protect our nation and lead the Federal credibility assessment community!
Qualifications
This position has a Basic Requirement for the 1801: All polygraph examiner candidates must graduate from the National Center for Credibility Assessment (NCCA) Psychophysiological Detection of Deception (PDD) training program. Candidates must be current, certified federal polygraph examiners. A copy of your certificate is required.
The experience described in your resume will be evaluated and screened from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPMs) basic qualifications requirements. See: General Inspection Investigation Enforcement and Compliance Series 1801 for OPM qualification standards, competencies and specialized experience needed to perform the duties of the position as described in the MAJOR DUTIES and QUALIFICATIONS sections of this announcement by 06/29/2026 Applicant must have directly applicable experience that demonstrates the possession of the knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies necessary for immediate success in the position. Qualifying experience may have been acquired in any public or private sector job, but will clearly demonstrate past experience in the application of the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to successfully perform the duties of the position.
You must have specialized experience sufficient to demonstrate that you have acquired all the competencies necessary to perform at a level equivalent in difficulty, responsibility, and complexity to the next lower grade GG-13 in the Federal service and are prepared to take on greater responsibility. Generally, this would include one year or more of such specialized experience. Specialized experience for this position includes: 1. Orchestrated inter-agency collaboration with federal partners on polygraph standards, credibility assessment techniques, and program oversight initiatives.
- Executed all phases of federal polygraph examinations, including pre-test interviews, in-test data collection, and post-test analysis and reporting.
- Interpreted and applied federal policies and guidelines on polygraph and credibility assessment, advising, and guiding stakeholders throughout the federal polygraph community.
- Authored and presented technical reports and briefings on polygraph matters, effectively communicating complex information to diverse audiences. Specifically you will be evaluated on the following competencies: Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance. Writing - Recognizes or uses correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicates information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produces written information, which may include technical material that is appropriate for the intended audience. 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.
Reasoning - Identifies rules, principles, or relationships that explain facts, data, or other information; analyzes information and makes correct inferences or draws accurate conclusions.
Major Duties
This is a temporary position NTE to 4 years, one day; The position may be extended for 1 year. As a POLYGRAPH SPECIALIST you will be responsible for the following duties: Serves as subject matter expert regarding national-level policies and directives governing the administration of federal Credibility Assessment (CA) testing and federal CA oversight processes and mandates. Provides expert oversight of federal agencies by conducting on-site quality assurance inspections, ensuring federal agencies properly implement all federal CA standards.
Accurately and professionally documents inspection results in technical reports. Formally briefs agency senior management on inspection protocol and results. Serves as CA technical expert, provides assistance to federal agencies in the form of advice, recommendation, and guidance on all federally approved CA techniques and activities.
Provides expert technical advice and guidance in the development of proposed policies and standards to ensure that the procedures utilized by Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies comply with federal laws, congressional mandates and other applicable standards. Confers with federal polygraph and CA program managers to coordinate presentations and training seminars. Participates on national committees to ensure coordination and flow of relevant information between the members of the polygraph community and intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Education
Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement.
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire. EXCEPTED SERVICE PILOT REVIEW: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.
You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation. Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration.
A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'. Please follow all instructions carefully.
Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Additional Information
VETERANS PREFERENCE/CURRENT OR FORMER FEDERAL In accordance with DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, veterans preference is not required to be applied when considering candidates with prior Federal competitive or excepted service who have completed a probationary or trial period and have not been separated for cause. Therefore, veterans preference will not be applied to applicants with current federal service, or former federal civilian service meeting the above criteria. Re-employed Annuitant: This position does not meet criteria for re-employed annuitant.
The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/1400.25-V300.pdf Applicants selected from this announcement may be required to serve a two-year trial period. If selected, Federal employees currently serving in the competitive service must acknowledge that they will voluntarily leave the competitive service by accepting an offer of employment for a DCIPS excepted service positions. If selected, non-DCIPS candidates must acknowledge in writing that the position they have been selected for is in the excepted service and covered by DCIPS.
All Defense Intelligence positions under the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) are in the excepted service by specific statue, 10 U.S.C. 1601.
This position is in the excepted service and does not confer competitive status. For more information on the DCIPS occupational structure click here. For more information about career advancement in DCIPS click here.
This position is subject to an initial drug screening, and random testing thereafter. A negative drug test result must be received by HR within 30 calendar days after the EOD (i.e., start date). The selectee's inability successfully pass; or refusal to conduct the test may result in: 1) the tentative or FJO being withdrawn during the recruitment process; or 2) subsequently being removed from Federal service for failure to meet a condition of employment.
You may be required to sign a "Drug Test Statement of Understanding" if you are selected for this position.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply Online to access an online application.
Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents.
You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account or you may need to create a new account.
You will be taken to an online application.
Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
NOTE: Resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
You will receive an email notification when your application has been received for the announcement. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, https://www.usajobs.gov, select the Application Status link and then select the More Information link for this position. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application.
Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. To preview the questionnaire, please go to https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12985644. Please review the General Application Information and Definitions at: https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/DoDGenAppInfo%2012-1-2020.pdf?ver=ECNbdsHtGilTd3OENN4A0Q%3d%3d As required by 5 C.F.R. § 302.106., DLA will provide Section 508 conformant ICT to employees with disabilities.
All ICT interfaces with the public related to vacancy announcements and career transition opportunities must conform to the applicable requirements in the current ICT Standards and Guidelines (36 C.F.R. § 1194).
Required Documents
The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc.).
Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further. The following documents are REQUIRED: 1.
Your resume: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages. If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement. The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position.
Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible. The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages.
We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text.
We recommend using a font like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent." If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy.
Narrative responses in the assessment questionnaire do not replace content in your resume or vise a versa. Experience must be described in both places for qualification determinations.
Resumes should NOT include: Classified information/SSN/Photo of yourself/personal information (gender, religion, affiliation etc., Encrypted digitally signed docs). Resumes with this prohibited information will be automatically ineligible for consideration. For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the dates of employment (i.e., Month/Year to present.
Hours per Week). If your resume does not clearly outline details for each position as noted, you may be deemed "not referred" for this position. Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
- SF50 All current and former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. Failure to provide latest SF50 may result in you being rated ineligible for this position.
- Veteran's Documents: If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents: DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.
NOTE: Active duty military members are not eligible for appointment unless currently on terminal leave. PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW LINK FOR OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS needed for proof of eligibility: https://www.dla.mil/Portals/104/Documents/Careers/downloads/DODCustomersRequiredSupportingDocumentation.pdf