Personnel Research Psychologist

This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Human Resources Management, Personnel Research and Assessment Division.

Organizational

Location:

Washington D.C., Indianapolis, IN, Minneapolis, MN.

Salary: $ (GS‑13, Step 1) to $ (GS‑14, Step 10). Salary reflects the rest of U.S. scale and may be adjusted to meet locality pay or cost‑of‑living of the duty location upon selection.

• Planning and conducting job analysis studies that serve as the foundation for human resources programs, including development of tests and assessments for frontline hiring, promotion, and employee career paths.
• Solving organizational challenges through development and validation of selection tests and assessments such as biodata instruments, structured interviews, cognitive tests, and physical abilities tests, ensuring reliability, validity, and legal defensibility.
• Developing and validating surveys and organizational assessment tools such as climate surveys, organizational health assessments, gap analyses, and exit surveys.
• Using behavioral and organizational sciences as the basis for large‑scale organizational assessments and interventions.
• Leading the planning and management of significant CBP assessment and organizational research initiatives, which may be multi‑year and high‑visibility, including managing contract resources and serving as an expert on design, methodology, and interpretation of results.
• Participating in all phases of the research process—problem definition, planning, execution, statistical analysis, and interpretation using software such as R or Python—and reporting results.
• Preparing and presenting briefing materials that communicate technical information to non‑technical audiences, and documenting applied research methods and results in technical reports.

To be eligible, you must be a U.S. Citizen. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service. You must have primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years. All pre‑employment processes will be conducted in English. You may be required to pass a background investigation. CBP follows the DHS Drug‑Free Workplace Plan for drug‑testing procedures.

As an employee of CBP, you will be bound by federal ethics rules, conflict‑of‑interest statutes, and CBP‑specific regulations. Bargaining Unit:
This position is not covered under a bargaining unit.

Basic Education Requirement: Successful completion of a full 4‑year course of study at an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in psychology or an equivalent field.

Experience GS‑13: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Serving as a team member in conducting job analysis and test development in accordance with regulatory and statutory guidelines governing employee selection testing.
• Applying research techniques and measurement theories, principles, and practices to develop tools such as surveys or other assessments.
• Utilizing a major statistical analysis package (e.g., SPSS, SAS, R, or Python) to conduct statistical analyses.
• Conducting research and development independently or with others that contribute to the field of industrial/organizational psychology or an equivalent applied research field.

Experience GS‑14: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Leading a team in conducting job analysis and test development in accordance with laws and regulations.
• Leading others in applying research techniques and measurement theories, principles, and practices to develop tools such as surveys or other assessments.
• Utilizing a major statistical analysis package (e.g., SPSS, SAS, R, or Python) for descriptive, inferential, and multivariate statistical analyses.
• Developing new approaches, methods, techniques, and hypotheses related to assigned projects.
• Conducting research and development that contributes to the field of industrial/organizational psychology or an equivalent applied research field.

Your resume must explicitly indicate…