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Posted: March 31, 2026 (2 days ago)

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MARINE CARGO SPECIALIST

U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command

Department of the Army

Fresh

Location

Location not specified

Salary

$52,727 - $68,549

per year

Closes

April 14, 2026

GS-7 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $41,966 - $54,557

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-6. Bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement or 1 year graduate study.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves planning and overseeing the movement of cargo on large ships, including loading, storing, and unloading it safely while following marine rules.

A good fit would be someone with hands-on experience in shipping or logistics, like former Navy cargo officers or Merchant Marine workers, who can solve problems and work well with teams.

It's a government role at the entry professional level, open to eligible veterans, military spouses, and current federal employees.

Key Requirements

  • One year of specialized experience in coordinating marine cargo movements, including loading, stowage, and unloading on vessels of at least 5,000 dead-weight tons
  • Knowledge of preparing preliminary cargo stowage plans and overseeing operations to ensure they match plans or authorizing changes
  • Comprehensive understanding of marine rules, regulations, and policies for cargo handling
  • Ability to plan, direct, organize, and coordinate cargo activities, interpret policies, investigate issues, and resolve problems
  • Skills in establishing and maintaining effective work relationships
  • Master's degree or equivalent in relevant fields like transportation, business administration, or engineering (or 2 years of graduate education), or a combination of education and experience

Full Job Description

About the Position: RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION/RETENTION INCENTIVE may be requested through management and may be authorized up to 25% of base salary per year to be paid bi-weekly for a period of service up to 2 years.

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job.

You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected.

See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Applying to OCONUS Positions Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army) Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Excepted Service Overseas Family Member Appointment Family Member Preference (FMP) for Overseas Employment Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouse Preference (MSP) for Overseas Employment Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Reinstatement Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA) In order to qualify, you must meet the education/experience requirements described below.

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).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes coordinating marine cargo movements and handling the loading, stowage and unloading of cargo on ships.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

Experience must have been gained in (1) preparing preliminary cargo stowage plans, and/or (2) overseeing loading, stowage, and discharge operations to make certain that they conform to preliminary plans, or authorizing necessary changes and preparing final plans.

This experience must have involved vessels of at least 5,000 dead-weight tons.

It must also clearly show a comprehensive knowledge of marine rules and regulations and the ability to plan, direct, organize, and coordinate cargo handling activities; to interpret and apply policies; to investigate operations and practices and resolve problems; and to establish and maintain effective work relationships.

Experience in layout planning, ship-loading, and cargo handling may have been gained during such seagoing and marine terminal assignments as service in the U.S.

Navy as a cargo officer, similar service in the Merchant Marines, or employment by commercial steamship lines.

OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree with a major study in accounting, business administration, business or commercial law, commerce, economics, engineering, finance, industrial management, statistics, traffic management, transportation, motor mechanics, or other fields related to the position.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas: Attention to Detail Customer Service Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Reading Comprehension Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-07).

Major Duties:

  • With assistance, the incumbent will participate with planning and coordinating vessel operation plans and contract specifications for loading and/or discharge of DOD-sponsored cargo through commercial or military ocean terminals.
  • Incumbent will conduct Port Site Surveys and studies.
  • Plans and executes marine cargo operations to include vessel loading and offloading and port staging for support of JCS exercises
  • Coordinates with unit movement representatives for unit deployment lists in preparation of documentation activities for the deployment and redeployment of military units.
  • Performs duties as Safety Manager or Safety Assistant specifically related to the safe conduct of terminal and vessel operations.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 3/31/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 4/2/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: EUJU-26-12924938-MP-R7