HAZARDOUS DEVICES 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.)

Job Opening: 63375
Opening Date: February 17, 2026
Closing Date: March 3, 2026 at 11:59 pm (ET)

Job Title HAZARDOUS DEVICES SPECIALIST - BOMBS

Full Performance Level GS-13

Division CRITICAL INCIDENT RESPONSE GROUP

Unit RENDER SAFE

Location Quantico, VA.

Working Hours 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Job Type Full Time/Permanent

Who May Apply All U.S. Citizens

Number of Positions Available
Unlimited Number of Vacancies

Questions Email: Jarmaine S. Blake at

Salary $121,785.00-$158,322.00

To attract and retain highly qualified candidates, selectees may be eligible for a recruitment incentive of up to 25%.

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.

JOB SUMMARY

This vacancy is for a member of a recognized National Asset of the United States Government and is a highly technical and specialized position responsible for locating, diagnosing and subsequent disablement or destruction of improvised explosive devices or weapons of mass destruction. This work directly impacts the resolution of incidents with the highest risk or greatest necessity for success.

The Render Safe Unit Selection In-Service will consist of a one-week testing period conducted at Quantico, VA. During this Selection In-Service, each candidate will be extensively evaluated in a number of scored areas. The Selection process is designed to replicate conditions which have occurred during RSU training and deployments. This is a comprehensive assessment and selection process to identify the most desirable candidates to be selected for hire based on technical and non-technical knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as physical fitness. In addition to the core technical, fitness, and practical problem solving testing that all candidates will be evaluated on, candidates will undergo skill specific testing specifically related to the counter-IED and WMD problem set. Skill specific competencies, knowledge, and trainability will be evaluated through scenario based and written evaluations.

Only the most competitive candidates who achieve the highest scores in these area will be retained. Candidates must achieve preferred or acceptable ratings in all assessed events. As a condition of the job offer, candidates who receive ANY unacceptable ratings during this assessment and those with the lowest scores will have their offer rescinded. A candidate who has three or more unacceptable events may be dropped from the selection process.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Must be able to pass a Government physical exam and a HAZMAT exam
• Must be able to obtain a Top Secret-SCI clearance
• Some travel required
• Must pass a strength and mobility assessment and swim test

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Incumbents of this position must meet the fitness requirement by passing the FBI's Strength and Mobility Assessment.
• The work requires considerable and extensive physical exertion, strength, stamina, physical skills, dexterity, and training to perform
  intricate time critical tasks, avoid injury, or reduce the adverse effects of strenuous physical activity. Work typically involves:
  Extensive periods of standing, walking, and movement over rough, rocky, uneven and hazardous terrain while carrying heavy
  equipment or wearing protective suits and breathing apparatus.
• Ascending tall or vertical ladders, fences, walls, towers, or structures while carrying a 50 pound pack under typical conditions.
• Descending into deep confined spaces and operating from a suspended harness.
• Lifting and lowering heavy response equipment (over 68 kilograms (150 pounds)) to a height of 5 feet; or comparable effort in
  positioning heavy test equipment and explosive charges.
• Crouching, crawling, climbing, or performing physical tasks over extended periods in restrictive areas such as culverts, tunnels
  and confined spaces.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The work regularly involves exposure to high risk response and readiness operations in permissive and non-permissive
  environments.
• Work is performed both indoors and outdoors at sites of WMD exposure to extreme occupational hazards, High voltage electrical sources potentially exceeding 20,000 Volts.
• Work operating in and around active runways, towers, or fast moving vehicles, waterborne and - aerial craft.
• Utilization of potentially dangerous machinery and equipment.
• These hazardous environments involve temperatures ranging from 5 - 140 degrees F. in mountainous, desert, urban, maritime and confined space environments requiring improvised safety and/or shoring measures, in adverse weather and low or no light conditions with unsure footing.
• The work environment requires continual focus to remain alert, knowledgeable and skillful in the use of extensive safety, occupational, and procedural precautions to control, reduce, eliminate, and prevent the possible adverse effects from unusual environmental stress or dangerous conditions, situations or exposures.
• Protective clothing such as specially treated coveralls, bomb suits, chemical protective clothing, respirators, and safety shoes are required during typical standard operations.
• The employee will be required to use a wide range of protective, defensive, or monitoring gear. Some gear may be extremely uncomfortable to use or wear.

MAJOR DUTIES:

• Respond to, interrogating, and executing solutions to incidents involving Improvised Explosive Device (IED)/Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and the capture/recovery of stolen special weapons.
• Perform time sensitive on-site investigative and render safe operations in conjunction with on-scene Team Leader.
• Perform critical operations with other law enforcement personnel, scientific support assets, and private citizens involving stabilizing affected facilities and collecting forensic evidence.
• Perform critical analysis of situational/operational aspects of extremely sensitive, highly technical and sophisticated emergency responses to IED/WMD Render Safe operations.
• Provide technical advice and consultation to FBI Headquarters and field office supervisors in regards to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosives and render safe 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. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

If you are found minimally qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

The first five competencies/The competencies will be used in a Structured Resume Review to objectively evaluate applicant resumes. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Your resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies.

Competencies:

• Problem Solving/Judgment
• Observational Accuracy and Judgment
• Analytic Thinking
• Concentration and Vigilance
• Flexibility/Adaptability

Selective Placement Factor:

In order to be considered for this position, applicants must respond to the following selective placement factor question. All qualifying experience MUST be provided within your resume to be considered.

Are you a graduate of the FBI Hazardous Device School or NAVSCOLEOD and have worked in the EOD/Bomb Technicians field within the past three years?

In addition to the selective placement factor, please make sure your specialized experience/requirement(s) can be identified in your resume.

Specialized Experience (SE)

GS-13: Applicant must possess at least one (1) year of SE equivalent to the GS-12 grade level. SE is defined as follows:

• Reading and analyzing intelligence assessments and provide management with detailed findings and recommendations relating to the response to WMD terrorism incidents.
• Developing and formatting lesson plans and visual aids for presentation of critical render safe operations.
• Performing live render safe, containment and disposal operations in accordance with applicable laws, rules, regulations, methods and procedures.
• Coordinating safe transportation of a device for further disassembly and forensic analysis.
• Preserving and collecting physical evidence and prepare pertinent procedures to ensure safe and efficient operation in a WMD environment.

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:

Utilizing the Resume Builder, outline your relevant work experience and associated start and end dates. Uploaded resumes will not be reviewed or used for qualification purposes.

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.
• 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 .