Telecommunications Specialist
What you'd do
Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, Sector Intelligence Unit, located in Grand Forks, ND. Additional selections may be made for other organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.
Major duties
In this position, you will manage, design, and maintain mission critical telecommunications and network systems-including radio, video surveillance, sensor, and WAN/LAN infrastructure-for a U.S. Border Patrol sector. Reliable, secure communications provided by this role directly enable frontline agents and partner agencies to execute border security and law enforcement operations effectively and safely in support of DHS and CBP missions. This position starts at a salary of $89,508.00 (GS-12, Step 1) to $116,362.00 (GS-12, Step 10). GS Salary: Visit this link to view the locality pay tables by geographic area. If you do not see your geographic area listed, select the "Rest of United States" pay table. Some positions fall under a special pay rate depending on the series, grade level and location of the position. Please visit this link to view special pay rate charts. As a Telecommunications Specialist, you will perform advanced technical work to plan, implement, maintain, and improve complex telecommunications and network systems that support law enforcement operations across the sector. Typical duties will include: Monitoring, configuring, troubleshooting, and repairing radio, network, video surveillance, sensor, and related telecommunications systems to ensure reliable, mission-ready service. Planning, designing, and evaluating telecommunications infrastructure and technologies, conducting feasibility studies and technical analyses to meet evolving operational requirements. Coordinating and overseeing vendor and contractor activities, including site preparation and installation of towers, antennas, transmission lines, generators, and electronic equipment. Developing and delivering user training, technical guidance, and assessments on telecommunications systems, including radio, video, access control, and network services. Conducting technical studies and analyses (e.g., propagation, path, and frequency allocation) to optimize system performance and support sector-wide communications planning.
What you need to qualify
Experience: You qualify for the GS-12 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Managing and maintaining complex land mobile radio, network, and video surveillance systems across multiple remote sites, resolving at least 90% of trouble tickets within established service-level timeframes; Designing and implementing telecommunications infrastructure upgrades (e.g., new repeaters, microwave links, or fiber paths) based on feasibility studies and path/propagation analyses, resulting in quantifiable improvements in coverage, reliability, or throughput; Leading or overseeing contractor and vendor work for installation of towers, antennas, generators, and communications shelters, ensuring all work meets technical specifications, safety standards, and project schedules; Providing formal and informal training and technical support to law enforcement or mission support personnel on radios, networked systems, and surveillance technologies, increasing user proficiency and reducing recurring user-related issues; Conducting advanced diagnostics and root-cause analysis on recurring or complex telecommunications failures, developing and implementing corrective actions that reduce similar outages or performance degradations by a measurable margin. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. You must: Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 07/17/2026. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period. Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. View information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85 for this position. In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the Required Documents section of this announcement.
Before you apply
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