LANGUAGE SPECIALIST

POSITION OVERVIEW

This position advertised has been exempted from the federal civilian hiring freeze.

Current FBI employees are ineligible to apply if serving under the same conditions as that for which is advertised, including:

• Appointing organization (FBI)
• Type of position (full-time, part-time, etc.)
• Same or higher grade
• Duty location (city or state)
• Type of appointment (permanent, temporary, etc.)

A failed background investigation may affect your current contract relationship with the FBI.

Job Opening: 60939
Opening Date: October 27, 2025
Closing Date: November 10, 2025 at 11:59 pm (ET)

Job Title Language Specialist, GS 7/9/11/12

Full Performance Level GS-13

Division Multiple Field Offices

Location U.S. Locations

Working Hours Monday - Friday / 8:15am - 5:00pm (hours may vary depending upon the office's needs.)

Job Type Full Time/Permanent

Who May Apply FBI Independent Contract Linguists

Number of Positions Available Multiple

Questions Email: HR Specialist Pitek at

Salary
GS-7: $42,679.00 - $55,486.00

GS-9: $52,205.00 - $67,865.00

GS-11: $63,163.00 - $82,10800

GS-12: $75,706.00 - $98,422.00

Note: The salaries listed above are the basic rate of pay for Federal employees on the General Schedule (GS) pay scale. A complete list of pay tables factoring in locality pay (based on geographical area) can be found on OPM.gov.

Divisions and Locations:

• Boston Field Office - Boston, MA
• Denver Field Office - Denver, CO
• Houston Field Office - Houston, TX
• Las Vegas Field Office - Las Vegas, NV
• Los Angeles Field Office - Los Angeles, CA
• New York City Field Office - New York City, NY
• Newark Field Office - Newark, NJ
• San Antonio Field Office - San Antonio, TX
• Seattle Field Office - Seattle, WA
• Washington Field Office - Washington, DC
• Language Services Section HQ - Washington, DC

Required Languages: Arabic-Levantine, Arabic-Maghreb, Chinese-Mandarin, French, Georgian, Pashto-Afghani, Persian-Farsi, Russian, Spanish, or Turkish.

Note: In order to be considered for an Arabic-Levantine or French position you must have successfully passed the FBI's Foreign Language Test Battery for both languages.

Additional selections may be made from this announcement to fill positions within the same division when the position includes substantially the same duties, responsibilities, and qualifications.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be an FBI Independent Contract Linguist
• Must have successfully passed the FBI's Foreign Language Test Battery for one of the required languages (listed above)
• Must be able to obtain a Top Secret-SCI clearance
• Some travel may be required
• Selectee will be required to complete the FD-918 Worldwide Mobility Agreement
• Selectee will be required to complete a Security Financial Disclosure Form
• Selectee will be required to complete form FD-887, Request for Access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI)

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Work is primarily sedentary; however, some physical exertion and stress due to prolonged periods of concentration may be experienced.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is generally performed in a secure office area although locations outside of the office may be required. Office space is often cramped and has warm temperatures due to bulk and heat emanation from the tape playing equipment.

MAJOR DUTIES

GS-7:

• Perform literary research in language assigned to gain understanding of specialized vocabulary.
• Translate routine correspondence and inquiries from assigned foreign language to English and vice versa.

GS-9:

• Translate verbatim and summarize a variety of recorded and written materials from assigned foreign language into English and vice versa.
• Perform literary review of written translations from assigned foreign language for grammatical accuracy.

GS-11:

• Research and analyze foreign language documents to disseminate pertinent facts to the intelligence and criminal operations community.
• Compose grammatically correct and logical communications on an expeditious basis.
• Dictate or type, proofread, and edit verbatim translations and/or summaries; compose transmitting communications.

GS-12:

• Translate and/or summarize record and written materials that consistently involves a variety of non-standard terminology where extreme consideration to inflection and nuances is important to render an accurate translation, summary of a recorded conversation, or document.
• Research and analyze translated intelligence data.
• Utilize extended work experience, intermittent guidance from investigative personnel, and in-depth knowledge of current world affairs to collect pertinent fact for FBI investigations and operations.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EVALUATIONS: Please ensure that your specialized experience and requirements are clearly identifiable in your resume. Your application will be evaluated using the FBI's Candidate Rating Procedures. Your resume and supporting documents will be reviewed to verify that you meet the job qualifications listed in this announcement and will be compared against your responses to the online assessment questionnaire. If your self-assessment in the vacancy questions is not supported by details in your resume or supporting documents, you may be disqualified from the Most Competitive category. Veterans' preference will be applied. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are deemed Most Competitive, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.

All applicants will be rated on the following Competencies:

• Analytical Thinking
• Communication
• Initiative
• Interpersonal Ability

FBI's Foreign Language Test Battery: In additional to the required specialized experience and education, listed below, an applicant's Foreign Language Test Battery results will be considered when determining the qualifying GS level.

• Core - Eligible at the GS 7/9/11 levels
• Core +1 - Eligible at the GS 7/9/11 levels
• Core +2 - Eligible at the GS 7/9/11/12 levels

Specialized Experience (SE): Grade level will be determined based on language experience, education, or a combination of the two. Qualifying specialized experience for all grade levels consists of any bilingual work experience such as: translating, teaching, interpreting, editing manuscripts; or professional-level day-to-day bilingual experience on both a paid and/or voluntary basis. Specialized experience that is not full-time in nature (40 hours per week/52 weeks per year) will be prorated on an hourly basis based on a 2,087 hour work year.

When listing experiences please include the following: employer's name/company, your position title, dates of employment, and the amount of hours worked per week using your language skills in that job. Please see the example provided below:
Name of employer: Home Improvement Store Inc.
Position Title: Customer Service representative and cashier
Dates of employment: January 2015 - October 2020
Hours worked using language per week: 40 hours/week, used ( specific language) 20 hours/week
Description of duties/experience: Used ( specific language ) to help customers understand store policies verbally and in writing. Translated store service agreements and descriptions of inventory from English to ( specific language ) and vice versa.

GS-7: Applicant must possess at least four (4) years of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level and a passing language proficiency test score in combination with a high school diploma, or its equivalent. SE is defined as follows:

• Translate routine conversations and analyze data for relevance.
• Apply research methods and analytical skills to perform document edits.

GS-9: Applicants must possess at leastfive (5) years of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level and passing language proficiency test scores. SE is defined as follows:

• Translate and interpret orally and in writing to communicate effectively in English and the foreign language assigned to employee.
• Correct grammar, punctuation, syntax, and spelling for grammatically correct, fluent and more precise translations.

GS-11: Applicants must possess at least seven (7) years of qualifying specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 grade level and passing language proficiency test scores. SE is defined as follows:

• Translate to transfer material from one language to another to accurately reflect the meaning of the original.
• Ability to understand idiomatic expressions, colloquialisms, habits, mannerisms, and other data to furnish information of interest to investigative personnel.

GS-12: Applicants must possess at least eight (8) years of qualifying specialized experience at the GS 11 grade level and passing language proficiency test scores. SE is defined as follows:

• Translate material consisting of non-standard terminology, recognizing technical jargon related to intelligence data.
• Perform literature research to determine equivalents to new and unique terms, idiomatic expressions, and/or highly abbreviated material.

Education: All degrees must be from an accredited college or university. Education may be substituted for specialized experience as follows:

GS-7: The completion of a bachelor's degree (or its academic equivalent from a college or university with regional or national institutional accreditation) in any discipline will count as four (4) years credit.

GS-9: The completion of a master's degree or Juris Doctorate (or its academic equivalent from a college or university with regional or national institutional accreditation) in any discipline will count as five (5) years credit.

GS-11: The completion of a Doctorate Level Degree (or its academic equivalent from a college or university with regional or national institutional accreditation) in any discipline will count as seven (7) years credit.

GS-12: Education may not be substituted.

Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the above requirements provided you can show foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States.

HOW TO APPLY: For detailed instructions related to applying, uploading documents, withdrawing an application or updating your application, please review instructions on . If applying online is a hardship, please use the contact information listed in the vacancy announcement prior to the closing date for assistance.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: To apply to this position, interested applicants must provide a complete application package by the closing date which includes:

A two-page resume that outlines relevant work experience and associated start and end dates. Resumes exceeding two pages will not be considered.

A complete assessment questionnaire
Other supporting documents (if applicable):

• College transcripts, if qualifying based on education or if there is a positive education requirement
• Notification of Personnel Action, SF-50; not applicable to current FBI employees
• Most recent Performance Appraisal; not applicable to current FBI employees
  Veterans: DD 214; Disabled Veterans: DD 214, SF-15, and VA letter dated 1991 or later
• Memorandum for Record (MFR): Work performed outside assigned duties (that would not normally be documented on an SF-50, i. e., back-up duties), has to be documented in detail by an immediate supervisor in order to receive full credit for amount of time worked in that position. If no documentation is furnished no credit will be given for time worked in that position. The following notations must be specified in the documentation:
  • Percent of time worked in the particular position (cannot conflict with main duties.
  • The month/year work began
    Frequency worked (i.e., daily, monthly, etc.)
  • Specific duties performed

Attach the Memorandum for Record to your application in the "Cover Letters and Attachments" section of My Career Tools on the Careers Home page. Please upload the attachment as type "Other."

While applicants might see these documents in their profile, HR Specialists may be unable to access them. Therefore, all applicants MUST upload another copy to ensure that staffing units can review the complete application.

Please note: Failure to provide the necessary and relevant information required by this vacancy announcement may disqualify you from consideration. Incomplete applications will not be supplemented with additional requests for information; your application will be evaluated solely on the information you submit. You must complete the application process and submit all required documents by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the announcement's closing date.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT: Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your ranking. The Most Competitive candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. You will be notified of your status throughout the process.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The FBI is in the Executive Branch of the federal government. It is one of the components of the Department of Justice (DOJ). The FBI is the principle investigative arm of the DOJ. All FBI positions are in the excepted service.

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens and consent to a complete background investigation, urinalysis, and polygraph. You must be suitable for Federal employment; as determined by a background investigation.
• Positions with fitness for duty requirements or those that require international travel may require proof of certain vaccinations.
• Management may select any grade for which this position has been announced.
• Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for an actual assignment and performance of higher-level duties.
• If you are selected, you will be required to serve a two-year probationary period. Probationary employees are precluded from being considered for all job opportunities until 12-months of their 24-month probationary period has concluded. Probationary Employees may be considered for competitive vacancies that are advertised within their respective division or field office after serving 90 days within the FBI.

Veterans' Preference: If you are entitled to veterans' preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume and application. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency.

Nepotism: Nepotism is the act of favoring relatives in the hiring process and is prohibited by law. Public officials are prohibited from hiring or promoting relatives or relatives of officials in their chain of command, as well as actively or indirectly endorse a relative's appointment or promotion. During the hiring process, all selected candidates and FBI hiring managers will be required to certify they are not related to anyone involved in the hiring process.

Reasonable Accommodation: The FBI provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application and/or hiring process, please contact the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Affairs (OEEOA) Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Program by email at REASONABLE_ACCOMMODA@fbi.gov, phone at 202-324-2158, or fax at 202-324-3976. This email address is for reasonable accommodation requests only. Do not send applications or unrelated inquiries to this address, as they will not be considered.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The FBI is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for this vacancy. Unless explicitly authorized by law, selection will be made without regard to, and there will be no discrimination because of, color, race, religion, national origin, marital status, parental status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, age (40 or over), sex, pregnancy and related conditions, or on the basis of personal favoritism, or any other non-merit factors.

Benefits: The Bureau matches your dedication with a commitment to professional growth, a supportive work environment, and a robust benefits package that prioritizes you. As a member of our team, you'll enjoy comprehensive health and life insurance benefits, paid vacation, sick leave, and federal holidays. For more details about benefits available to all federal employees, visit the Office of Personnel Management's .