- U.S. Citizenship required
- Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
- Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required
- Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results
- Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period
- Relocation expenses will not be paid
- All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information.
Duties:
- Architect, develop, and maintain high-performance business applications using modern COBOL, CICS, JCL, DB2, VSAM, and IDMS on our enterprise server platform.
- Optimize SQL queries and data management for lightning-fast access and reliability in DB2 databases.
- Implement and support batch processing jobs, leveraging advanced job scheduling and monitoring tools.
- Engineer robust data storage and retrieval solutions using VSAM, ensuring integrity and speed.
- Utilize sophisticated file handling techniques for sequential, indexed, and relative files.
- Design and maintain data structures that support scalable, enterprise-grade applications.
- Build and support Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems using CICS and TSQ for real-time, high-volume transactions.
- Troubleshoot and resolve application issues to ensure maximum uptime and performance.
- Collaborate with business analysts, QA, and fellow developers to deliver innovative solutions.
- Prepare and maintain technical documentation, including program specifications, flowcharts, and user guides.
- Participate in code reviews and uphold best practices for quality and security.
- Support application testing, deployment, and post-implementation activities in a fast-paced environment.
- Identify and pursue opportunities to leverage AI-driven tools and technologies to improve development efficiency, automate processes, and enhance application capabilities.
- Stay informed about advancements in AI and related technologies and recommend ways to incorporate them into SSA's business systems where appropriate.
READ ALL SECTIONS OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL TO SUBMITTING A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION.
Applicants must qualify for the series and grade of the posted position. Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. Your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, abilities, and proficiency of any required competencies to perform the specific position for which you are applying.
To qualify for the 2210 IT Specialist series, the applicant must demonstrate the following competencies:
- Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
- Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; know about available products and services; and is committed to providing quality products and services.
- Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
- Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
Minimum Qualifications: Grade 13 (Bargaining Unit Position): Applicants must have specialized experience at the GS-12 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled, and has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position.
Such IT-related experience must include designing, developing, and maintaining mainframe applications using COBOL, CICS, VSAM, and JCL; supporting data integration and migration with DB2, SQL, and IDMS; and assisting in the architecture or modernization of legacy systems.
Minimum Qualifications: Grade 14: Applicants must have specialized experience at the GS-13 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled, and has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position.
Such IT-related experience must include designing, developing, and maintaining mainframe applications using COBOL, CICS, VSAM, and JCL; supporting data integration and migration with DB2, SQL, and IDMS; and assisting in the architecture or modernization of legacy systems. Experience must also include providing guidance to technical teams, preparing technical documentation, and collaborating with stakeholders to support modernization initiatives.
Minimum Qualifications: Grade 15: Applicants must have specialized experience at the GS-14 level, or equivalent, which is in or related to the work of the position to be filled, and has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position.
Such IT-related experience must include designing, developing, and maintaining mainframe applications using COBOL, CICS, VSAM, and JCL; managing data integration and migration with DB2, SQL, and IDMS; and architecting or modernizing legacy systems. Experience must also include leading technical teams, preparing technical documentation, and collaborating with stakeholders to support modernization initiatives.
PLEASE NOTE: This specialized experience is REQUIRED and must be explicitly documented/described in your resume, or you will be disqualified from further consideration.
Qualification standards and additional information for this position can be found here: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/2200/information-technology-it-management-series-2210-alternative-a/
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
See announcement cutoff dates below under How to Apply
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!
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.
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 www.sss.gov.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:
- Your resume showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed.
- Other documents supporting qualifications and/or preference, if applicable.
You must also submit ALL supporting documentation by the closing date of the vacancy announcement to claim certain types of preference.
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
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 http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp.
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.
