An official website of the United States government
This position is located in Imperial, California. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca
As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
For more information on the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Offices, visit https://www.justice.gov/careers.
03/21/2025 to 04/11/2025
$86,198 - $195,100 per year
AD 21
No
No
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Yes—Eligible relocation costs of up to $15,000 may be authorized for permanent transfers only.
Permanent
Full-time
Excepted
29
No
Yes
25-SDCA-12715325-AUSA04
834034300
Overview of the United States Attorney's Office - Southern District of California
The Southern District of California (SDCA) includes San Diego and Imperial Counties. The main office is headquartered in the city of San Diego, in San Diego County. The District's branch office is located in Imperial, California and borders both the State of Arizona and the Republic of Mexico. Imperial, California borders the Colorado River to the east, the Salton Sea to the west, and Mexico to the south. The city blends rich cultures from both the United States and Mexico. The modern city is home to retail, transportation, wholesale, and agricultural industries. There are also two international border crossings nearby for commercial and noncommercial vehicles. Of interest is the Algodones Dunes which is a large sand dune field said to be the largest in the United States and drawing thousands of visitors each year, mainly for off-road driving. Water enthusiasts head to the nearby Colorado River which is located 50 miles to the east near Yuma, Arizona. The Naval Air Facility is home to the Blue Angels flight maneuvering event. The Mexican border city, Mexicali is a major manufacturing destination and tourist destination approximately and offers big city amenities like museums, a zoo, and a sports/convention center.
The Southern District of California (SDCA) is one of the largest United States Attorney's offices in the country. The office prosecutes federal crimes and defends the interests of the United States Government in civil cases. The SDCA encompasses San Diego and Imperial Counties and includes a branch office located in Imperial, California. This position is located in the Criminal Division, Central Prosecutions Section, Intake, Imperial County Office.
Duties of Criminal Assistant United States Attorneys
The Criminal Division is organized into eight sections: Central Prosecutions Section to include the Imperial County Office, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, Violent Crimes ad Human Trafficking, Major Frauds and Public Corruption, National Security, General Crimes, Appellate, and Asset Recovery. (See the San Diego U.S. Attorney's website www.justice.gov/usao-sdca for a detailed description of each section).
The Central Prosecutions Section handles a large volume of reactive cases that arise from policing the 141-mile long border between California and Mexico, six Ports of Entry, and the roughly 70 miles of coastline stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border to the northernmost tip of San Diego County. Cases commonly include illegal entry and reentry, drug importation and alien smuggling prosecutions. This section consists of an Intake Unit and Fast-Track Unit. Central Prosecutions Section attorneys try a large number of cases and often oversee the use of investigative tools like search and tracking warrants, undercover operations and confidential sources.
Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.
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 https://www.sss.gov/.
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree
Salary Information: Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $86,198.00 to $195,100.00 which includes 36.47% locality pay.
Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Benefits link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal Employees.
Relocation Expenses: Eligible relocation costs of up to $15,000 may be authorized for permanent transfers only.
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This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information.
Travel: Occasional, as necessary.
Type of Position: All initial attorney appointments to the Department of Justice are made on a 14 month (temporary) basis pending favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances.
Political Appointees (Current and Former): Political Appointees (Current or Former): The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
EEO Statement: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Evaluation Method: Once your complete application package is received, it will be reviewed to ensure you meet all job requirements. An attorney interview panel will then review all qualified applicants and make recommendations for invitation to interview. You will be notified if selected for an interview.
The Occupational Questionnaire will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Department of Justice considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference must indicate their preference in response to the appropriate question in their assessment questionnaire (it is also recommended that information is included in their cover letter or resume) and they must submit supporting documentation (e.g., DD 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty and other supporting documentation) which verifies their eligibility for preference. Although the "point" system is not used, per se, applicants eligible to claim 10-point preference must submit Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, and submit the supporting documentation required for the specific type of preference claimed (visit the OPM website, http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf for a copy of SF 15, which lists the types of 10-point preferences and the required supporting document(s). Applicants should note that SF 15 requires supporting documentation associated with service-connected disabilities or receipt of nonservice-connected disability pensions to be dated 1991 or later except in the case of service members submitting official statements or retirement orders from a branch of the Armed Forces showing that retirement was due to a permanent service-connected disability or that they were transferred to the permanent disability retired list (the statement or retirement orders must indicate that the disability is 10% or more).
Reasonable Accommodations: This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
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.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 04/11/2025 to receive consideration.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.)
3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. However, should you not be able to apply online, please contact Southern District of California at 619-546-9273 or email at nitza.williamson@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.
We will notify you of the outcome after each step of the recruitment process has been completed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation, to include a credit and tax checks, and a drug test by urinalysis. We expect to make a final job offer within 120 days after the closing date of the announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/834034300. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.