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POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT 26-22

NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT

IT SECURITY SPECIALIST

Office of the Federal Public Defender

Western District of Texas (San Antonio)

THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Western District of Texas is accepting applications for the position of IT Security Specialist, National Information Technology Operations and Applications Development (NITOAD), in San Antonio, Texas. The NITOAD branch supports the federal defender program's staffed offices in 204 locations throughout the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. The federal defender program operates under authority of the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. 3006A, to provide defense services in federal criminal cases and related matters by appointment from the court to individuals unable to afford counsel.

Requirements. To qualify for the IT Security Specialist, a person must be a high school graduate or equivalent and have at least three years of general experience plus three years of specialized experience. Specialized experience should include hands-on administration of SIEM, EDR/XDR, vulnerability management, or enterprise security platforms. Some higher education may be substituted for experience. A bachelor's degree is preferred. Must be able to work independently, take initiative, multi-task between different roles within a fast-paced office environment, and communicate technical findings to IT and non-technical stakeholders. Able to lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or be eligible to work for the federal government.

This is a public trust position and as a condition of employment, the selected candidate must successfully complete a ten-year background investigation with periodic updates every five years thereafter. Employment will be considered provisional pending the successful completion of the initial ten-year background investigation and a favorable suitability determination.

Duties. The IT Security Specialist serves as a primary security platform administrator and detection engineer supporting the enterprise. The position is responsible for engineering, maintaining, and continuously improving enterprise security controls and monitoring systems. The IT Security Specialist also participates in incident investigation, containment, and post-incident analysis, as needed. The position is located on-site in San Antonio, Texas and requires occasional travel (up to 25%). The IT Security Specialist also performs these tasks.

• Develop and tune SIEM correlation rules and detection logic across multiple log sources.
• Administer and optimize EDR/XDR platforms, including policy design and device lifecycle management.
• Manage Microsoft Defender security controls for email, identity, and collaboration platforms.
• Configure and maintain URL filtering, application control, SSL/TLS inspection, malware scanning, and DLP policies.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments and coordinate remediation efforts.
• Maintain enterprise security documentation and standards.
• Provide technical guidance to distributed IT personnel.
• Engineer and maintain security detection and prevention controls.
• Manage end-to-end incident response activities, investigating, containing, eradicating, and supporting recovery from security incidents.

Salary and Benefits. The starting salary of the IT Security Specialist will be commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the applicant, within a range from JSP-11, Step 1, to JSP-13, Step 1, and currently yielding $75,278 to $108,001 per annum. The position is in the excepted service and does not carry the tenure rights of the competitive Civil Service. The position offers federal government employee benefits, including health and life insurance programs, retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan. Salary is payable only by Electronic Funds Transfer (direct deposit).

How to Apply. Qualified people may apply by sending a letter of interest addressed to Federal Public Defender Maureen Scott Franco (mentioning announcement number 26-22), a rsum, and three professional references. Experience should be described in detail. Send all required documents in a single PDF document named with applicant's last name, first name-Announcement 26-22 IT Security Specialist by email. Electronic submissions sent directly to the Defender will not be considered. For applicants with disabilities, this organization provides reasonable accommodation, which is decided case by case. To request reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or interview process, contact personnel administrator Victoria B. Longoria at (210) 981-2081. More than one position may be filled from this announcement. Position announced February 27, 2026, subject to the availability of funds; open until filled.

The Federal Public Defender is an equal-opportunity employer.