COBOL Developer

About the role

IT Specialist (APPSW) COBOL Developer positions are being filled through the Office of Personnel Management's delegated Direct Hire Authority, open to all U.S. citizens. Selections made under this bulletin will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service.

Under the provisions of the Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and the "Rule of Many" do not apply.

What you will do

• This announcement serves as public notice.
• Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.
• Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement.
• Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.
• Positions filled with applications from this pool will be placed into positions where cybersecurity duties occupy the majority of the work performed.

How you will be evaluated

The evaluation you receive is based on your responses to the online assessment questions completed during the application process. Please make sure you answer all questions and follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your evaluation.

Information not specifically stated in your resume cannot be assumed. Information that is copied or restated language from the vacancy announcement or rating criteria will not be considered. If this occurs, you may be found ineligible.

Documents you must provide

• Your resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.
• Other documents supporting qualifications and/or preference, if applicable.
• Resumes exceeding two pages will not be considered.
• To be considered, your resume must: Clearly demonstrate your qualifications for the position Include your contact information We recommend using a clear, easy-to-read format and focusing on information most relevant to the job announcement You must also submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.
• INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP): ICTAP provides eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority for competitive service vacancies.
• To receive selection priority, candidates must meet the requirements for the Well Qualified.
• Well-qualified is defined as having knowledge, skills, and abilities that clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position.
• Candidates must also provide: proof of eligibility with your application.
• Such proof may include a copy of your written notification of ICTAP eligibility or a copy of your separation Notice of Personnel Action, (SF-50); and proof of your most recent performance rating of at least "fully successful" (Level III) or equivalent.
• For more information visit ***
• Veteran's preference does not apply under this Direct Hire Authority for these positions.
• Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

What to expect next

Once you have successfully submitted your application materials, you can expect to receive an email notification acknowledging receipt of application. The hiring office will contact candidates directly for interviews. Interviews may be conducted via video conferencing software, if technically feasible.

To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log in to your USAJOBS account, select Application Status, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.

Additional information

See announcement cutoff dates below under How to Apply. This announcement serves as public notice. Applications submitted be placed into a pool and will remain on file for selection as positions become available.

Vacancies may be filled for up to 6 months after the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants may not receive notifications of referral status until the full 6-month eligibility period has elapsed.

Applications may be gathered from additional recruitment sources. Are you ready to power the digital backbone of America? The Social Security Administration's technical team is looking for business systems application developers to join us in delivering high-performance solutions on our world-class, enterprise-grade infrastructure, boasting over 424,000 MIPS of processing power.

Whether you're a seasoned expert in COBOL or an early-career developer eager to master mission-critical systems, this is your chance to help shape the future of digital services for over 330 million Americans. Forget everything you think you know about COBOL-this isn't your father's programming language!

The latest COBOL release (2023) is packed with modern features, robust capabilities, and the flexibility to tackle today's most demanding business challenges. COBOL is the engine behind some of the world's most reliable, secure, and high-throughput applications, and it's running on some of the coolest, most powerful hardware in the industry.

Our COBOL application development environment leverages the most modern Generative AI-driven coding tools in the industry to accelerate the modernization and enhancement of our most strategic business applications. This AI-driven development environment is part of SSA's modern development lifecycle process to enable an agile CI/CD pipeline.

We encourage our developers to actively seek opportunities to integrate and collaborate with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, exploring innovative ways to enhance business applications and processes.

If you're ready to take your career to the next level-whether you're a proven expert or an ambitious learner-apply today and discover just how cool, modern, and powerful COBOL can be as you help us build the future of digital government services! Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement.

This Direct Hire announcement may be used to fill the same or similar position in another office. Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See ***

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.

In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.