Summary THIS IS A HIRING PILOT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is recruiting professionals to support a range of technical roles in Secure Software Engineering, including both Front and Backend Engineers, Full Stack Developers, and Software Architects. All positions are in the DHS Cybersecurity Service. NOTE: Remote and telework options may be available for some positions. Responsibilities There are a variety of Secure Software Engineering opportunities across the Department, including supporting several specialized programs at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a DHS Cybersecurity Service employee in the Technical Career Track, you will continually maintain and share your Secure Software Engineering expertise to perform a wide range of critical, complex, routine and non-routine tasks, including: Applying technical expertise to design, build, maintain, and oversee the development of secure custom software critical to support and safeguard Departmental or Component mission spaces. Serving as a technical expert and mentor to other team members by reviewing software systems and development processes for security, technical quality, maintainability, and reliability. Documenting secure development and code best practices to support Departmental or Component projects and programs, including security, coding, testing, and governance best practices for both government and contractor developed systems. Applying knowledge of software environments and source code quality, security, and stability to interpret existing code functionality and performance, taking appropriate corrective action as necessary. Writing secure and maintainable source code to address identified business needs. Working with other software engineers, DevOps engineers, testers, designers, and product managers to support the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC) from design and development through building and deploying secure, scalable, reliable, and maintainable software systems. Analyzing risks throughout the life of software systems to understand likely points of attack and failure, including the development process through operations and maintenance of deployed applications. Creating and continuously improving unit, functional, and end-to-end tests and analyzing results to prevent and remediate security issues and bugs. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications This position is in the Technical Track for the DHS Cybersecurity Service across a range of career levels. Employees in this career track generally: Note: Please see the Secure Software Engineering specific qualifications below for additional information. Have between 5-15 years of cybersecurity work experience, including work within Secure Software Engineering. Range from experienced cybersecurity professionals who apply technical expertise and independent judgement to perform cybersecurity work - to - recognized Federal cybersecurity technical authorities with uncommon technical expertise who advise on cybersecurity challenges impacting DHS and the Nation. Depending on their career level, DHS Cybersecurity Service employees with a technical capability in Secure Software Engineering will generally apply their technical expertise to: Conducting software system planning and development to create new, and enhance existing, technical capabilities, following industry best practices for quality, security, scalability, and reliability. Giving full consideration to the security risks and mitigations for software systems throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and is able to both create secure systems and review existing systems for potential security issues. Developing software using modern best practices and cross-functional knowledge of the entire software development landscape including agile methodologies, continuous integration and continuous deliver (CI/CD) processes, automated testing, and secure system design and analysis. Staying current on emerging technologies, trends, and practices and recommends pathways to implement such improvements to meet organizational goals and requirements. DHS Cybersecurity Service employees start at career levels and salaries matching their experience and expertise. In recruiting for this opportunity, DHS may hire employees at higher or lower career levels and associated salaries. To learn more about DHS Cybersecurity Service career tracks and levels, visit our application portal. DHS Cybersecurity Service jobs are structured cybersecurity specializations - called technical capabilities. To learn more about technical capabilities, visit our application portal. DESIRED TOOLS/INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE: Demonstrated experience coding in at least one modern programming language. Demonstrated experience using algorithms and data structures. Demonstrated experience implementing modern secure software development best practices (e.g., automated testing, agile development, and CI/CD) Demonstrated experience with system design, especially of distributed, cloud-based systems. Demonstrated exposure to common security vulnerabilities in software and how to guard against them (e.g., XSS, DoS, SQL injection, CSRF, etc.). Education Degrees are not required for jobs in the DHS Cybersecurity Service, but DHS is interested in your level of education and the topics you studied. As you submit initial application information, you will be asked questions about your education. Additional Information Salary: Listed salary ranges reflects typical starting salaries available to employees in most of the United States across applicable career levels. Within the provided range, average salaries vary for each career level. Senior Cybersecurity Specialist: $104,000 - $133,500 Staff Cybersecurity Specialist: $126,500 - $159,500 Principal Cybersecurity Specialist: $150,800 - $188,000 Senior Principal Cybersecurity Specialist: $166,400 - $207,500 In some geographic areas, average starting salaries will be higher because of a local cybersecurity labor market supplement (e.g., metro Washington, D.C. +10%). Actual salaries of individual employees may be higher or lower than provided figures. For an overview of the salaries available in the DHS Cybersecurity Service, visit Resources. Benefits: DHS Cybersecurity Service employees receive a range of federal employment benefits designed to support their professional and personal lives. To learn more about benefits, visit our application portal. More information about the specific benefits available to you will be provided as you progress through the application process. Background Investigation: To ensure the accomplishment of its mission, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requires each and every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully complete a background investigation for a security clearance as a condition of placement in this position. This review includes financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs. Pursuant to Executive Order 12564 and DHS policy, DHS is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, conducts random and other drug testing of its employees in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. Headquarters personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions are subject to random drug testing and all applicants tentatively selected for employment at DHS Headquarters are subject to drug testing resulting in a negative test result.