PHYSICAL SCIENCE TECHNICIAN (FORENSICS)

About the Position: You will serve as a Forensic Science Technician (Forensics), responsible for the receipt of irreplaceable forensic evidence, collection, preservation, and evaluation of evidentiary samples, and the development of forensic testing strategies. Collection and preservation techniques are performed to collect: controlled substances to include narcotics, DNA, digital evidence, firearms and ammunition, latent fingerprints, questioned documents, and trace evidence.

About the Position: You will serve as a Forensic Science Technician (Forensics), responsible for the receipt of irreplaceable forensic evidence, collection, preservation, and evaluation of evidentiary samples, and the development of forensic testing strategies. Collection and preservation techniques are performed to collect: controlled substances to include narcotics, DNA, digital evidence, firearms and ammunition, latent fingerprints, questioned documents, and trace evidence.

Overview

Accepting applications

Open 09/25/2026 to 10/05/2026

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Fort Gillem, GA

No matching locations found.

Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$65,271 - $84,857 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9
Promotion potential
11


Learn more about pay scale and grade

Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.

Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position up to 10% of the time.

Appointment type
Permanent

Occupations and job series

• 1311 Physical Science Technician

Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No

Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

Background check type

• Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number
DAHT-26-13072284-MP
Control number
886333700

This job is open to
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Federal employees - Competitive service
Current federal employees whose agencies follow the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's hiring rules and pay scales.

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.

Land and base management
Current or former employees of a base management agency.

Veterans
Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces or a spouse, widow, widower or parent of a veteran, who may be eligible for derived preference

Military spouses
Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.

National Guard and reserves
Current members, those who want to join or transitioning military members.

Individuals with disabilities
Individuals who are eligible under Schedule A.

Clarification from the agency
See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

Duties
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• Evaluates items of evidence to determine suitability for analysis, the type of processing required, and the appropriate sequence of testing to prevent the loss, contamination, or deleterious change of evidentiary items.
• Utilizes cyanoacrylate ester fuming chambers, cyanoacrylate ester, ultraviolet decontamination lamps and positive controls to ensure equipment and chemicals are working appropriately.
• Collect samples of controlled substances using swabs, disposable pipettes, glassine envelopes, culture tubes, automatic liquid sampler vials, etc.
• Conduct trace evidence collections using adhesive tape grids.
• Ensures all evidence and forensic materials submitted to USACIL from DoD Criminal Investigative, Operational, and Intelligence Agencies worldwide are handled IAW USACIL, Army, Federal, and local rules and regulations.
• Testify in federal, military, state, local and foreign country courts as an expert witness, present technical testimony in layman's terms, defends methods against rigorous cross-examination.
• Swabs items of evidence to collect and preserve DNA for future examinations.
• Renders firearms safe and appropriately annotates this safety measure.
• Responsible for all facets of case management and evidence and forensic materials accountability throughout the Laboratory's activities.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• POSITION SENSITIVITY: This position is designated non-critical sensitive and requires a Secret clearance.
• Must obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license and government driver's license.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 pounds.
• Temporary Duty (TDY) business travel may be required approximately 10% of the time.
• This position is covered by the 1996 Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968. Persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are not eligible for the position.
• May be required to work overtime and other than normal duty hours.
• Must sign DA Form 5019-R, condition of employment for certain civilian positions identified as critical under the drug abuse testing program.
• Must participate in DNA profiling database within the USACIL.
• Must obtain and pass a pre-employment physical.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Reinstatement
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
• Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 grade level in the federal service which includes: collecting samples of controlled substances; marking and separating evidence that require examination; and maintaining evidence to prevent loss or contamination. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-08).

OR

Education: 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Geology, Chemistry, or Physics. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-08).

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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 an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• This is a 16 Career Program position aligned under the Engineers and Scientists (Non-Construction) Career Management Directorate.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.

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.

Benefits

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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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) applicants will receive preference consideration and will be placed (if selected) at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined best qualified, up to and including the full performance level.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicants will receive preference consideration at the full-performance grade level only.

Only MSP/PPP applicants currently occupying a formal training program position are entitled to exercise their priority status.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Benefits

Help
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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

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.

Required documents

Required Documents
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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). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your 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.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• 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 may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.
• Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
• This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:




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 ac