Customs Entry Officer

Full Job Description

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Center of Excellence and Expertise.

The selection will be made and oversight of this position will be maintained by the Field Office, but the physical location of this position will remain in the duty location chosen.

Please see Duties section for list of departments.

Experience: You qualify for the GS-11 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Examining and validating entry documents to ensure compliance with legal requirements, including determining the eligibility and acceptability of specialized entries such as Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB), American Goods Returned, and entries for federal agencies, while resolving discrepancies and applying enforcement actions when necessary.

Conducting trade compliance and enforcement activities, such as analyzing account data to identify non-compliance, monitoring national account activities, and recommending or executing enforcement actions like penalties, liquidated damages, or referrals for investigations.

Providing technical guidance and customer service to importers, brokers, and other stakeholders by interpreting legal rulings, resolving entry processing issues, and advising on procedures for filing post-summary corrections, protests, and claims, while promoting informed compliance.

Utilizing automated systems such as the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and Automated Targeting System (ATS) to analyze data, identify compliance risks, and ensure accurate processing of entries, liquidations, and revenue collections, while maintaining audit trails and addressing system discrepancies.

Experience in analyzing customs documents; applying customs laws, regulations, and procedures; interpreting customs requirements; or similar experience involving determinations of rates of duty, classification of merchandise, and entry requirements.

Education Substitution: GS-11: You may substitute a Ph.D., an equivalent doctoral degree, or three full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a qualifying field for experience at the GS-11 grade level or an LL.M., if related.

Such education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. Check with your school to determine how many credit hours comprise three years of graduate study.

If that information is not available, use 54 semester or 81 quarter hours.

Combining Experience and Education: To combine your education and experience, you must convert each to a percentage, and then add the percentages.

The combined total of your percentage of education and experience must equal at least 100% in order to qualify.

If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3.

To calculate your percentage of graduate education, divide the number of graduate semester hours in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level, by 18.

To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience.

Add your percentages of education and experience. The two percentages must total at least 100.

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: Performing as the technical expert and advisor to the supervisor, clients, team members, and the general public on all matters relating to entry processing.

Rendering advice and assistance on all types of entry problems and matters, approving the use of various special types of entries, approving various special applications and permits pertaining to entries of merchandise of exceptional variety and unusual complexity, and resolving differences of opinion between lower grade entry officers and the import community.

Authorizing the use of various types of entries which involve special requirements, such as appraisement entries, articles for use by the federal government, and diplomatic officers of foreign governments.

Coordinating and directing trade/entry activities within the team and with other CBP offices.

Experience in analyzing customs documents; applying customs laws, regulations, and procedures; interpreting customs requirements; or similar experience involving determinations of rates of duty, classification of merchandise, and entry requirements.

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 03/09/2026.

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. Major Duties:

Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations, Center of Excellence and Expertise.

The selections will be made and oversight of these positions will be maintained by the Field Offices, but the physical locations of the positions will remain in the duty location chosen.

Field Office Center: Atlanta- Consumer Products & Mass Merchandising (CPMM) Buffalo- Industrial & Manufacturing Materials (IMM) Chicago- Base metals (BM) Detroit- Automotive & Aerospace (AA) Houston- Petroleum, Natural Gas & Minerals (PNGM) Laredo- Machinery (MACH) Los Angeles- Electronics (ELEC) Miami- Agriculture & Prepared Products (APP) New York- Pharmaceuticals, Health & Chemicals (PHC) San Francisco- Apparel, Footwear & Textiles (AFT) This position is located in an organization within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations, Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center).

The primary purpose of this position is to provide advanced training in the analytical and judgmental aspects of entering merchandise and goods into the United States; and to learn about marketing efforts for various automated systems and for new programs.

The primary mission of CBP is to detect and prevent terrorists and instruments of terror from entering the United States, enforce applicable laws, and facilitate the orderly and efficient flow of legitimate trade and lawful travelers.

This position starts at a salary of $74,678.00 (GS-11, Step 1) to $116,362.00 (GS-12, Step 10) with promotion potential to $116,362(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.

Major duties for this position include but are not limited to: Acting as the principal authority on entry processing, providing expert guidance to supervisors, team members, clients, and the public on all matters related to the admissibility, classification, valuation, and processing of imported merchandise.

Offering expert-level assistance on a wide range of entry-related challenges, including approving specialized entry types, applications, and permits for merchandise of exceptional variety and complexity, while mediating disputes between lower-graded entry officers and the import community to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.

Authorizing the use of specialized entry types, such as Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB), American Goods Returned, appraisement entries, and entries for federal government use or diplomatic officers, ensuring adherence to applicable laws and regulations.

Directing and aligning trade and entry-related activities within the team and across CBP offices, ensuring consistency in enforcement actions, facilitating collaboration, and maintaining compliance with national trade laws and regulations Additional selections may be made beyond the total number of vacancies specified using this vacancy announcement.

Further selections may also be made for additional organizational divisions and/or units within the duty location(s) listed above.

Please note: Due to multiple vacancies per duty location; you may be contacted by selecting officials from different Centers of Excellence and Expertise locations.

You will be asked to identify your duty location preference in the on-line application process. Applicants will be limited to selecting one duty location.

In some cases, the duty stations may not have a vacancy during the life of this announcement.