Criminal Investigator

Full Job Description

View Common Definitions of terms found in this announcement. Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations within various offices throughout the country. These are non-bargaining unit positions.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Do not copy and paste the duties, or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

You qualify for the GS-09 grade level if you possess one of the following: Experience: One (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade level or equivalent performing these duties: Investigating or assisting with investigations in one or more programmatic areas such as narcotics, money laundering, financial crimes, human trafficking, fraud, international trade, network intrusion response, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, counterproliferation or general criminal or administrative investigations; Performing federal, state, and local law enforcement-related database queries; Collecting or analyzing information in support of general criminal or administrative actions; Conducting or assisting with interviews with generally cooperative individuals (e.g., suspects, witnesses, sources, and/or victims) to gather information.; AND Assisting in the preparation of reports in support of general criminal or administrative actions.

OR Education: A master's (or equivalent graduate degree such as a L.L.B/J.D.) or 2 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.

Graduate level education must have been from an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience as described above that equals 100%.

Education must be from an accredited college or university and must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

In addition your resume will be evaluated to determine demonstration of following competencies: Problem Solving- Identifies and analyzes problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant information; provides options for resolving problems.

Teamwork- Encourages and facilitates cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; fosters commitment and team spirit; works with others to achieve goals.

Interpersonal Skills- Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings, and capabilities of different people in different situations; is diplomatic, tactful, and sensitive, and treats others with respect.

AND Flexibility-Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior and work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR 315.707.

Veterans, Peace Corps, VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission.

If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs.

To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible.

View information about ICTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

To be considered eligible under ICTAP, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position, as described below.

In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this job announcement. Major Duties:

As a Criminal Investigator, at the full performance level, you will perform the following duties: Conduct and coordinate high-level comprehensive investigations involving individuals, groups, or large organizations operating at a local, national, or international level.

Use electronic surveillance, interviews, polygraph examination, and physical surveillance to obtain evidence in investigative cases.

Make arrests, confront multiple suspects, and secure scenes sometimes under potentially dangerous and hazardous environments.

Take part in securing signed statements, affidavits, and documentary evidence for inclusion in reports or case records.

Prepare sworn testimony on behalf of the government in criminal and federal grand jury cases. This is an open continuous announcement until07/08/2026.

The initial cut-off date for qualified applicants to be considered will be set for 02/09/2026.

Additional cut-off dates for referral to hiring managers for selection consideration will be established by the agency as needed.

Organizational Location: These positions are located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations at 235 duty locations throughout the country.

Salary: The salary range indicated in this announcement reflects the lowest and highest potential salaries for this position.

The actual salary range will be based on the applicable locality pay for the selected duty location. Special Salary Rate locality pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages.

Suitability: If you receive a tentative offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application prior to entry on duty.

False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12564, and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace and, therefore, personnel in safety- or security-sensitive positions (testing designated positions) are subject to random drug testing.

Moreover, other drug testing of employees (e.g., reasonable suspicion drug test) may be conducted in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment.

All applicants tentatively selected for employment at ICE are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative drug test result.