Wildland Firefighter (Hotshot Squad Boss)

About the role

This is a Direct-Hire advertisement. Veterans preference is not applicable to this advertisement.

Learn more about this authority at: Direct Hire Authority These Wildland Firefighter (Hotshot Squad Boss) positions are with the US Wildland Fire Service, GW-0456-5/6/7 working in the listed locations: In order to be considered for any duty location, ensure desired locations are selected. Applicants will not be considered for locations not selected.

What you will do

• Serves as a squad leader of a hotshot crew.
• Directs the work of a small crew of firefighters in building firelines, burnout, mopping up, and patrolling firelines.
• Applies an understanding of firefighter safety, fire behavior, topography of the area, weather, fuels, and training in fire management.
• May be required to use/operate specialized firing equipment.
• Directs assigned suppression operations and recommends and implements tactical strategies on fires.
• Duties listed are at the GW-07 full performance level.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Suitability for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• You will be required to submit to a drug test and receive a negative drug test result prior to appointment.
• In addition, this position is subject to random testing for illegal drug use.
• Selectees must pass a pre-employment medical examination and may be subject to post-employment medical examinations to determine if they are maintaining the fitness standards for this position.
• You must also pass the work capacity test for arduous positions.
• This position requires the incumbent to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of their official duties.
• Selectee must hold and maintain a valid state driver's license throughout their employment in this position.
• Position may require the incumbent to obtain and maintain a commercial driver's license (CDL), depending on location.
• A condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.
• Under completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• Individuals assigned male at birth after 12-31-59 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• To verify registration visit SSS.gov.
• You must be 18 years of age or older to be assigned to a hazardous position.
• Must meet the maximum age requirement.
• See qualifications section for more information.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• Subject to frequent extended travel up to 75% of the time, particularly during fire season, and you must obtain a government charge card for travel.
• You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Education

IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: Information below applies to the GW-05 grade level only. There is not an option to qualify for the 0456 series utilizing education at the GW-06 and GW-07 grade levels.

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name.

If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units.

Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis.

If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

How you will be evaluated

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible.

All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the minimum qualification requirements of this position.

Once the job opportunity announcement closes, your resume and all supporting documents will be reviewed by HR to determine if you are minimally qualified for the position.

If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.

Due to this vacancy being filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to positions filled under this announcement.

Applications received as a result of job fairs, recruitment events, and emergency hiring mechanisms in support of this hiring initiative will also be accepted during the duration of the announcement. All minimally qualified candidates will be referred for consideration. Please note that the hiring office may conduct interviews at their discretion.

Interviews may be conducted on a pass/fail basis.

Documents you must provide

• You must submit a complete application package.
• The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/15/2026.
• Resumes must show relevant experience and other information.
• Your resume MUST list your education and/or work experience including (1) the dates that include month/year (mm/yy) of each employment, along with (2) the number of hours worked per week, and (3) work experience duties listed under each job entry.
• If experience is for a career ladder position, please ensure to clearly show how long you were working in each grade level.
• Your resume will be used to validate your responses to the assessment tool(s).
• Failure to provide required information will result in loss of eligibility.
• No assumptions will be made about your experience and/or education.
• You are welcome to submit a cover letter.
• Resumes must also include name and how to best contact you, including email address and phone number.
• Do not include the following types of information in your resume: Classified or government sensitive information Social Security Number (SSN) Photos of yourself Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc. Encrypted and digitally signed documents.
• In describing your experience, please be clear and specific.
• Visit the USAJOBS Help Center for more information on What should I include in my federal resume and/or OPM Resume Writing Tips.
• In addition to the online application (resume and responses to the questionnaire), you are required to submit the following supplemental documentation as applicable: College Transcripts (For the GW-05 grade level ONLY): If you are qualifying with education, you must provide copies of all your official or unofficial transcripts for verification from an accredited U.S. college/university by the closing date.
• Transcripts must include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average, or class ranking, institution name, and student name. from an accredited U.S. college/university by the closing date.
• If your degree is from a Foreign Institution, See Foreign Education.
• All selections and tentative offers of selection are contingent upon submission and verification of 'official' transcripts.
• IFPM Requirement for the GW-06 and GW-07 grade levels ONLY: You must provide a copy of your Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS) Master Record or other equivalent documentation which verifies you meet the required NWCG minimum qualifications for this IFPM position.
• Failure to provide this documentation will result in you being rated as not qualified.
• CTAP/ICTAP Documentation: documentation verifying your CTAP/ICTAP eligibility - this includes a copy of the agency notice and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level and duty location.
• Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package.
• It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.
• Proof of Age - Required for ALL grade levels: As this is a covered primary fire position, your application package MUST include official government issued documentation (SF-50, driver's license, etc) indicating your date of birth.
• If over the maximum entry age (MEA), and you are not a Veteran, proof of prior covered service must be submitted (i.e. initial primary covered SF-50, copies of approved coverage letters based on individual claims, and any additional SF-50s showing beginning and ending dates of covered/creditable appointments if a break occurred).
• If over the MEA and you are a Veteran, you must supply a copy of your Defense Department Form 214 (DD-214) along with Standard Form 15 (if applicable) and any associated documentation.
• Failure to submit required documentation may result in loss of consideration.

What to expect next

Once you submit all the required documents and the online application in USAJOBS, you will receive an acknowledgement email that your submission was successful. After the evaluation process is complete, you will be notified of your status and/or referral to the hiring official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted by the hiring official.

You will be notified if this job is filled or canceled. Timelines for this process vary widely. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging in to your USAJOBS account as we will not be responding to inquiries about the status of applications as long as the system has been updated.

If you were not referred and/or have questions or concerns regarding your rating determination or referral status, in the interest of time, please submit your inquiry in writing within seven (7) calendar days of receiving a Notice of Results and Referral notification email. Inquiries may be submitted to contact listed on this announcement.

Be sure to include the announcement number to assist our team in reviewing your inquiry.

Additional information

Career-Seasonal employees must work a Tour-of-Duty of at least six months and no more than eleven and a half months each year; for the remainder of the year you will be placed into non-pay status. Hiring managers will provide applicants with tour-of-duty information specific to each duty location during the hiring process.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Department of Interior (DOI) Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) procedures apply in filling this vacancy.

These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed.

To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) be rated well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements) for the position and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. For more information visit: ***

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GW-07. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work.

Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied. Reemployment Priority List (RPL): The RPL is the mechanism agencies use to give reemployment consideration to their former competitive service employees separated by a RIF or who have fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than one year.

If you are currently on an RPL, you may be given priority consideration.

PCS Information: -Yes, depending on location, entitlements for payment of basic moving expenses, as required and to the extent allowed by the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) 302-3.101, MAY BE authorized for eligible applicants changing duty station when the change meets the distance tests as provided in FTR 302-1.1 and 302-2.6. All moving expenses are taxable.

Incentives: If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. Telework: This position is suitable for telework only in an emergency or natural disaster.

Additional Vacancies: One or more positions may be filled from applications received under this announcement in the advertised office or other U.S. Wildland Fire Service offices in the local commuting area. Reasonable Accommodation: The USWFS provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.

Please visit USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process.