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PSYCHOLOGIST

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency · Department of Defense · San Diego, California

Federal agencyGG-13
At a glance

A job with Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency in San Diego, California. It pays $115,711$158,062 per year at grade GG-13. Applications close on Sep 17, 2026 — 1 day left.

Working pattern
Telework eligible
Who can apply
National Guard and reserves, Special authorities, Open to the public
Clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information

Main duties

  • As a PSYCHOLOGIST you will be responsible for the following duties: 1.
  • Independently conducts high-volume psychological evaluations (averaging at least 150 annually) for national security and suitability purposes, utilizing clinical interviews and behavioral health records to identify potential security, counterintelligence (CI), or insider risk concerns.
  • 2.Consults and communicates directly with other psychologists, personnel security adjudicators, attorneys and supervisors on psychological conditions and behaviors of concern which may be relevant to personnel security.
  • Reviews reports created by the evaluating health care professional to ensure these reports meet adjudicative readiness, communicating directly with medical professionals to collaboratively resolve ambiguities or lack of specificity in received work products.
The original posting

Full details

About the role

Trust Decision's Behavioral Science Division is seeking an experienced psychologist to advise personnel security specialists on psychological conditions/substance use. You will conduct psychological evaluations, prepare specialized consultations for adjudicative staff, and serve as a technical expert on risks for espionage, sabotage, or directed violence.

This is a unique opportunity for clinical/forensic psychologists with extensive knowledge of personnel security issues.

What you will do

  • As a PSYCHOLOGIST you will be responsible for the following duties: 1.
  • Independently conducts high-volume psychological evaluations (averaging at least 150 annually) for national security and suitability purposes, utilizing clinical interviews and behavioral health records to identify potential security, counterintelligence (CI), or insider risk concerns.
  • 2.Consults and communicates directly with other psychologists, personnel security adjudicators, attorneys and supervisors on psychological conditions and behaviors of concern which may be relevant to personnel security.
  • Reviews reports created by the evaluating health care professional to ensure these reports meet adjudicative readiness, communicating directly with medical professionals to collaboratively resolve ambiguities or lack of specificity in received work products.
  • Creates concise and informative reports for personnel security professionals, insider risk professionals, and security leadership based on an expert level knowledge of psychological principles.
  • Reviews work products of allied professionals, such as personnel security specialists and consulting and embedded psychologists for technical accuracy and professional sufficiency; works with leadership to rectify defects and ensure contract compliance.
  • Provides trainings, research presentations, or orientations to work groups within Trust Decision Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Department of War and other United Stated Government and professional agencies, alone or in coordination with personnel security specialists.
  • Provides professional support to ensure branch-wide productivity of adjudicators, psychologists and other branch members meet Trust Decision (Adjudications) and DCSA standards

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the SME Resume Panel review.

Application Questionnaire: Applicants must complete a screen out questionnaire as part of the application process. Applicants identified as meeting the basic education requirement and minimum qualifications for the position may move on to the SME Resume Panel review.

EXCEPTED SERVICE PILOT REVIEW: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Competencies: Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Teamwork, Problem Solving, and Attention to Detail You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Top ranked candidates will be referred to the selecting official for further review and consideration. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job.

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Documents you must provide

  • The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc.).
  • Your complete application includes your COMPLETE resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply.
  • If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
  • The following documents are REQUIRED: 1.
  • Your resume: IMPORTANT UPDATE: Your resume must not exceed two (2) pages.
  • If your resume exceeds the two-page limit, you will be removed from consideration for this announcement.
  • The resume and required supporting documentation should provide the minimum qualifications and relevant experience for the announced position.
  • Must include the work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment, and duties performed.
  • If multiple resumes are submitted by an applicant, only the last resume submitted will be reviewed for qualifications and referred for selection consideration, if eligible.
  • The resume must not be more than 5MB and should be saved and uploaded as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages.
  • We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX).
  • We do not accept PDF portfolio files.
  • Page margins should be 0.5 inches, and font styles must be legible.
  • Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text.
  • We recommend using a font like Lato, if available.
  • Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans.
  • Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
  • The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
  • If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed.
  • The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent." If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy.
  • Narrative responses in the assessment questionnaire do not replace content in your resume or vise a versa.
  • Experience must be described in both places for qualification determinations.
  • Resumes should NOT include: Classified information/SSN/Photo of yourself/personal information (gender, religion, affiliation etc., Encrypted digitally signed docs).
  • Resumes with this prohibited information will be automatically ineligible for consideration.
  • For qualifications determinations your resume must contain the dates of employment (i.e., Month/Year to present.
  • If your resume does not clearly outline details for each position as noted, you may be deemed "not referred" for this position.
  • Additional guidance on writing a federal resume can be found at: USAJOBS Help Center - How do I write a resume for a federal job?
  • The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.
  • Transcripts: This position has a degree or education requirement so you are required to submit a copy of your transcript.
  • We accept unofficial transcripts, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree that was awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned.
  • College transcript (s), required if qualifying based on education.
  • We accept unofficial transcripts, as long as they contain your name, the name of the school, the date and degree that was awarded, and the list of classes and credits earned.
  • SF50: All current and former civilian Federal employees must submit a copy of your MOST RECENT SF50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your tenure, grade and step, salary, and type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive); or similar Notification of Personnel Action documentation, i.e., Transcript of Service, Form 1150, etc. Failure to provide latest SF50 may result in you being rated ineligible for this position.
  • Veteran's Documents: If applying using veteran's preference or under a Veteran's hiring authority you must submit the following documents: DD214 showing character of service, SF-15 Form and VA letter showing final percentage, or certification of expected discharge or release from active duty.
  • NOTE: Active duty military members are not eligible for appointment unless currently on terminal leave.
  • PLEASE REVIEW THE BELOW LINK FOR OTHER SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS needed for proof of eligibility: ***

What to expect next

Once you successfully complete the application process, you will receive a notification of receipt. Your application package will be reviewed to ensure you meet the basic eligibility and qualifications requirements, and you will receive a notification. A review will be made of your online questionnaire and the documentation you submitted to support your responses.

A list of qualified applicants will be created and sent to the selecting official. All applicants reviewed and/or referred will receive a notification letter.

The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews, and once the selection is made, you will receive a notification of the decision. *NOTE: If you submit a resume but no questionnaire, you cannot be considered for the position. If you submit a questionnaire but no resume, you cannot be considered for the position.

Your application will be appropriately documented and you will be removed from further competition against this announcement. REGARDING INTERVIEWS: Interviews may be required for this position. Accommodations may be made to conduct telephonic interviews to preclude travel hardships for applicants.

Note: Declining to be interviewed or failure to report for a scheduled interview will be considered as a declination for further consideration for employment against this vacancy. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the point of contact for this job announcement. Your requests for reasonable accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. This announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Additional information

VETERANS PREFERENCE/CURRENT OR FORMER FEDERAL In accordance with DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, veterans preference is not required to be applied when considering candidates with prior Federal competitive or excepted service who have completed a probationary or trial period and have not been separated for cause.

Therefore, veterans preference will not be applied to applicants with current federal service, or former federal civilian service meeting the above criteria. Re-employed Annuitant: This position does not meet criteria for re-employed annuitant.

The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at: *** Applicants selected from this announcement may be required to serve a two-year trial period.

If selected, Federal employees currently serving in the competitive service must acknowledge that they will voluntarily leave the competitive service by accepting an offer of employment for a DCIPS excepted service positions.

If selected, non-DCIPS candidates must acknowledge in writing that the position they have been selected for is in the excepted service and covered by DCIPS. All Defense Intelligence positions under the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) are in the excepted service by specific statue, 10 U.S.C. 1601.

This position is in the excepted service and does not confer competitive status. For more information on the DCIPS occupational structure click here. For more information about career advancement in DCIPS click here.

This position is subject to an initial drug screening, and random testing thereafter. A negative drug test result must be received by HR within 30 calendar days after the EOD (i.e., start date).

The selectee's inability successfully pass; or refusal to conduct the test may result in: 1) the tentative or FJO being withdrawn during the recruitment process; or 2) subsequently being removed from Federal service for failure to meet a condition of employment. You may be required to sign a "Drug Test Statement of Understanding" if you are selected for this position.

As required by 5 C.F.R. § 302.106., DLA will provide Section 508 conformant ICT to employees with disabilities. All ICT interfaces with the public related to vacancy announcements and career transition opportunities must conform to the applicable requirements in the current ICT Standards and Guidelines (36 C.F.R. § 1194).

How to apply

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Details on this page reflect the source posting as of Sep 15, 2026. Closing dates and salary ranges can change without notice — the official listing is always authoritative. How our coverage works.

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