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Posted: February 2, 2026 (1 day ago)

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Supervisory Criminal Investigator (Resident Agent in Charge)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Department of Justice

Fresh

Salary

$125,776 - $163,514

per year

Closes

February 16, 2026

GS-14 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $104,604 - $135,987

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-13. Senior expert or supervisor.

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

Job Description

Summary

This job involves leading a small team of criminal investigators in a field office, focusing on preventing and solving crimes related to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives.

The role requires overseeing complex investigations that often involve gathering hard-to-find evidence, coordinating with other law enforcement agencies, and ensuring team compliance with legal procedures.

It's a good fit for experienced investigators with strong leadership skills who thrive in high-stakes, sensitive cases and are ready to supervise in a remote location like El Centro, California.

Key Requirements

  • One year of specialized experience at GS-13 level or equivalent in criminal investigations
  • Expertise in ATF-enforced laws, including arrest procedures, evidence handling, and dangerous materials
  • Knowledge of relevant regulations and policies, such as ATF Giglio Policy
  • Proven leadership in supervising workgroups, teams, or special projects (managing 3-12 investigators)
  • Strong oral and written communication skills for reports, briefings, and guidance
  • Experience negotiating and collaborating with state, local, or federal law enforcement agencies
  • Ability to handle complex, precedent-setting investigations involving conspiracy violations and jurisdictional challenges

Full Job Description

This Supervisory Criminal Investigator position is assigned to a field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) responsible for the prevention, detection, and investigation of substantive and conspiracy type violations of laws enforced by ATF.

They supervise a group of criminal investigators stationed at Field Offices where group size ranges from small to moderate (i.e., five to twelve, but at least three), who are engaged in substantive criminal investigation work.

To qualify for the Supervisory Criminal Investigator position at the GS-14 level, candidates must also have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) by the closing date of this announcement.

Specialized experience is demonstrated experience, which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

Experience must be in the normal line of progression or must be related to the work of the position advertised and must be reflected in resume.

Specialized experience must include all of: Providing accurate information and guidance regarding procedures (i.e.

arrest and processing; arrest principles); and handling of evidence and dangerous material; AND Applying relevant laws, regulations and policies to investigative resources and techniques (i.e.

ATF Giglio Policy); AND Providing leadership to others such as workgroups, teams or special projects; AND Communicating orally and in writing (i.e.

reports and briefings); AND Negotiating and collaborating with others (i.e. interacting with other law enforcement agency (state, local or federal).

Please do not cut and paste the position description or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.

Your resume must support your responses to the application questionnaire and the qualification requirements. Failure to do so may result in an ineligible rating.

See the Required Documents section for important notes about what must be included in your resume. Major Duties:

The position is located in the Office of Field Operations, Los Angeles Field Division, El Centro Field Office, El Centro, CA.

The major duties of the Supervisory Criminal Investigator, Resident Agent in Charge (RAC), position include, but are not limited to, the following: Serves as a Supervisory Criminal Investigator assigned to a field division of the Bureau.

Responsible for the prevention, detection, and investigation of substantive and conspiracy type violations of laws enforced by ATF.

Supervises a group of criminal investigators stationed at field offices where group size ranges from small to moderate, who are engaged in substantive criminal investigation work and the work must be greater than average in difficulty.

Responsible for the detection and investigation of criminal cases that may require the gathering and piecing together of complex evidence often difficult to secure; result in precedent-setting court decisions; require substantial coordination with other agencies in tracing leads and gathering intelligence; involve illegal activities conducted under cover of legal enterprise; be extremely sensitive due to the suspects involved and have the potential for jurisdictional problems.

*This recruitment will offer a $20K Relocation Bonus with 3-year commitment.

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

Source: USAJOBS | ID: 26-FO-IMP-12872574-ADB