Summary 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. Responsibilities 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. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Resumes exceeding two pages in length will not be considered, please visit the new resume guidance for more information. 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. 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. Minimum Qualifications: Grade 14 To qualify at the GS-14 level, you must have specialized experience at the GS-13 level, or equivalent, 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 To qualify at the GS-15 level, you must have specialized experience at the GS-14 level, or equivalent, 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. You may be asked to take a Code Signal online assessment. 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/ Education 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 www.sss.gov. 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.