Military

Senior Industrial Security Specialist

๐Ÿ“ Pasadena, California GG-13 $106,437 - $163,062/yr
Posted: Jun 24, 2026 Deadline: Jul 6, 2026 (Closes in 12 days)

About This Position

DCSA's Industrial Security Component is seeking a Senior Industrial Security Specialist. In this role you will be responsible for handling complex Industrial Security Program (ISP) functions within the Field Office's Area of Responsibility (AOR), and to assist the Field Office Chief as necessary in managing, directing, and coordinating day-to-day operations.

Qualifications

The experience described in your resume will be evaluated and screened from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPMs) basic qualifications requirements. See: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0000/security-administration-series-0080/ 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 07/06/2026 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/GS 12 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: Overseeing operational Industrial Security guidance to entities within the National Industrial Security Program (NISP)/Defense Industrial Base, as well as, other mission areas; Conducting periodic security reviews and other security oversight actions to ensure contractor compliance with regulatory requirements, contractual obligations, and/or other security agreements; Conducting, recording and overseeing security violation investigations and/or associated activity occurring at contractor facilities to include the loss, compromise, or suspected compromise of classified information/material ensuring appropriate conclusions, identification of culpable individual(s), root cause and corrective actions to prevent recurrence; Integrating and collaborating with internal/external stakeholders to decrease associated risk to programs/technologies and support strategic initiatives; Mediating and resolving conflicts involving security requirements and/or guidance amongst internal or external stakeholders.

Specifically you will be evaluated on the following competencies: 1. Self-Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; works with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrates responsible behavior.

  1. Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
  2. Vulnerabilities Assessment and Management: Conduct assessments on threats and vulnerabilities, determine the level of risk, and develop and recommend appropriate mitigation countermeasures in operational and non-operational situations. Conduct assessments in a counterintelligence context to protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, and sabotage conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations or persons, or international terrorist activities.
  3. 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.
  4. Interpersonal Skills: Treats others with courtesy, sensitivity, and respect. Considers and responds appropriately to the needs and feelings of different people in different situations. The incumbent is required to attain the Security Fundamentals Professional Certification (SFPC) within 24 months of entry on duty and attain the Industrial Security Oversight Credential (ISOC) within 12 months of SFPC. Incumbents who already possess SFPC are required to attain ISOC within 12 months of entry on duty. Certifications and credentials must be maintained in accordance with program rules.

Major Duties

As a Senior Industrial Security Specialist you will be responsible for the following duties: - Utilizes senior level technical and critical thinking to identify, document, compose reports and communicate security program vulnerabilities and associated mitigation actions to internal/external stakeholders up to the senior executive level. - Demonstrates senior-level competency of analysis methods, professional writing skills to complete comprehensive reports, and oral presentations with the ability to succinctly express ideas and concepts to internal/external stakeholders. - Conducts recurring Security Reviews (SRs) of the most difficult and challenging contractor facilities. - Independently conducts, records and oversees complex security violation investigations and/or associated activity occurring at contractor facilities to include the loss, compromise, or suspected compromise of classified information/material. - Conducts on-site FCL eligibility surveys based on new requests to evaluate operational and/or physical vulnerabilities associated with threat to U.S.

OR

foreign classified information as part of the DCSA FCL risk analysis process. - Employs senior level interpersonal skills and uses a situationally adaptive approach with internal/external stakeholders to gain cooperation and commitment to resolve complex security issues. - Performs as lead advisor, mentors, provides training and conducts quality assurance activities for junior Industrial Security Specialists.

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, and the result of the SME Resume Panel review. 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.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Competencies: Self-Management, Problem Solving, Vulnerabilities Assessment and Management, Oral Communication and Interpersonal Skills 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/12992998. 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. ยง 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. ยง 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Senior Industrial Security Specialist position at Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency?
The salary range for this position is $106,437 - $163,062/yr. This is a GG-13 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Senior Industrial Security Specialist job located?
This position is located in Pasadena, California. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Jul 6, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
Yes, a Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance is required.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.