IT Specialist (SYSTEMSANALYSIS) - DIRECT HIRE

Summary

This position serves as the Product Owner for key academic and administrative platforms, responsible for end-to-end product lifecycle management, including requirements elicitation, backlog prioritization, solution validation, and delivery of mission-aligned outcomes.

Duties

The IT Specialist (SYSTEMSANALYSIS): Operates at a strategic level, ensuring technology solutions align with institutional priorities, federal governance requirements, and user needs. This role requires active participation in solution design, deep collaboration with technical teams, and accountability for delivering measurable business value. Serves as the Product Owner responsible for managing the lifecycle of enterprise academic and administrative applications, including gathering and analyzing business needs, defining functional requirements, and overseeing delivery of system capabilities that support institutional objectives. Leads the development and refinement of detailed functional requirements and specifications by working directly with stakeholders to clarify needs, resolve ambiguities, and ensure requirements are complete, accurate, and suitable for technical implementation. Establishes and maintains a prioritized body of work for assigned systems, making day-to-day decisions regarding scope, sequencing, and tradeoffs to ensure efficient delivery and alignment with organizational priorities. Collaborates closely with technical teams and vendors throughout development and implementation, providing clarification, resolving issues, and contributing to solution decisions to ensure systems are functional, maintainable, and aligned with requirements; oversee vendor-supported work to ensure expectations are met and deliverables align with agreed outcomes. Reviews and evaluate completed system functionality to confirm alignment with defined requirements and business intent, ensuring issues are identified and addressed prior to user validation and release. Monitors system usage, performance, and user feedback to identify opportunities for improvement and modernization, supporting ongoing enhancements that maintain system effectiveness and align with evolving institutional needs and emerging technology capabilities. The ideal candidate for this position is an experienced and highly engaged Product Owner who takes ownership by turning business needs into clear, actionable solutions. They are an active listener who can quickly understand complex problems, ask the right questions, and propose practical, well-reasoned approaches that move work forward. This individual is a collaborative partner who can work effectively with stakeholders at all levels, including users with varying technical knowledge, competing priorities, and different communication styles, while building trust and driving alignment. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who operate independently with minimal direction, manage multiple priorities with discipline, and takes initiative to keep work progressing. At the same time, they demonstrate sound judgment in knowing when to seek input, raise risks, or escalate issues to ensure successful outcomes. The successful candidate is not a passive intermediary, but a hands-on product leader who stays engaged throughout delivery, contributes meaningfully to solution discussions, and is accountable for ensuring the end result meets user needs and organizational goals. Requirements

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: 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 the 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. SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements. To qualify for the Grade 13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include: Experience leading requirements gathering, managing product backlogs, partnering with developers on technical integrations, validating deliverables, and supporting enterprise platforms. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Product Ownership & Decision-Making: Ability to make informed product decisions, prioritize competing demands, and balance mission value, risk, and technical constraints in a complex, multi-stakeholder environment. For all types of consideration, experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4 All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

For this announcement, applications will be reviewed to determine if the applicant meets the basic qualifications for this position. The applications of individuals who meet the basic qualifications will be assessed to validate that the applicant possesses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) at the level of proficiency needed to perform the job successfully. Applicants who are found to possess the necessary KSAs to perform the job may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. To receive full credit during evaluation, your assessment responses must explicitly point back to your resume, as HR cannot make assumptions about your experience. You must write your narrative answers in full paragraph format, beginning each response with the exact position title, organization, employment dates (MM/YYYY–MM/YYYY), full-time/part-time, average hours worked per week, and federal series/grade (if applicable) as listed on your resume. Within the paragraph, clearly describe your specific individual duties, actions taken, tools used, and measurable outcomes to prove your level of expertise. HR will cross-check your narrative against your resume; if your resume does not fully support every detail and timeframe claimed in your written response, the claimed experience will be disallowed, which may result in an ineligible determination. You will not be considered for the position if any part of the application or supporting documentation is incomplete. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or adverse action after hiring. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. You may preview questions for this vacancy. Other Information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, [email protected]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation