Information Technology Specialist (Performance Test Engineer)

Summary WHAT IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ? A description of the business units can be found at: Position(s) are to be filled in following area(s): IT - Filing Season and Legislative Delivery - Filing Season & Legislative Delivery REVIEW THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BELOW FOR FURTHER DETAILS Learn more about this agency Duties Help The following are the duties of this position at the full working level. If this vacancy includes more than one grade and you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform these duties and receive training to help you grow in this position. Leads the design, development, and execution of performance, load, and stress testing strategies for enterprise applications and systems. Develops performance test plans, scripts, and scenarios using industry-standard tools such as LoadRunner and JMeter, and demonstrates proficiency in Java, Python, and C to support script development, execution and test automation across complex systems. Establishes performance testing frameworks integrated into Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using platforms such as GitHub to support continuous delivery and system validation across cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure. Serves as a technical expert and advisor on performance testing methodologies, tools, and best practices, evaluating emerging technologies and advising leadership on their applicability and effectiveness. Translates complex technical and non-functional requirements, including response time, throughput, scalability, and resource utilization, into actionable performance test strategies aligned with federal engineering standards. Leads the full lifecycle of performance testing solutions, including planning, design, development, documentation, implementation, integration, and maintenance. Develops technical documentation, including Performance Engineering Models, test strategies, and performance testing reports. Executes performance tests using industry-standard tools and monitoring platforms (e.g., AppDynamics and Splunk), analyzes results, identifies bottlenecks, and publishes detailed metrics and reports. Ensures performance validation is embedded within Agile and DevSecOps processes through automated testing and continuous monitoring, while identifying risks, addressing performance constraints, and providing technical leadership on complex, enterprise-scale systems to ensure compliance with performance and government standards. Collaborates with developers, architects, and infrastructure teams to ensure systems meet defined performance and scalability requirements. Works closely with stakeholders to define performance criteria and ensure alignment with mission objectives. Supports cross-functional teams in interpreting test results and implementing improvements. Develops and manages project scope, including objectives, timelines, resources, and risk strategies related to performance testing efforts. Serve as a technical point of contact for stakeholders, resolving performance-related issues and ensuring clear communication of testing outcomes. Prepare and present technical reports, dashboards, and briefings to leadership on system performance, risks, and recommendations. Requirements Help Conditions of employment Probationary Period - All newly appointed employees to the competitive (or excepted) service are subject to a probationary (or trial) period. During this time, your performance, conduct, and suitability for continued employment will be evaluated. You will not automatically convert to permanent status at the end of the probationary (or trial) period. Your supervisor must affirmatively determine that continued employment is in the best interest of the Federal service. If no certification is made before the probationary (or trial) period ends, your appointment will be terminated. You are encouraged to actively engage with your supervisor, seek feedback, and understand role expectations. Additional guidance and support will be provided during onboarding. Probationary Period - A person who is required to go through a probationary period and then is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned before he or she completes such period is required to complete the remainder of the probationary period in the new position Government Credit Card - Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel. Key Eligibility Requirements: U.S Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen or National and provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. Selective Service Registration - Males born after December 31, 1959 are required to be registered with the Selective Service System or prove they are exempt from having to do so. Personal Identity Verification (PIV) - Must provide 2 forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S. These documents must be unexpired original or certified copies . ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS SHOWN IN QUALIFICATIONS OR ADDTIONAL INFORMATION SECTIONS Qualifications Federal experience is not required. Experience may have been gained in the public sector, private sector or through Volunteer Service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-timework is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week, on your resume. You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement. QUALIFICATION REQUIRMENTS: To qualify for this position, you must meet the qualification requirements outlined below: MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR GRADE 12 LEVEL UP (GS or Equivalent): To be eligible for this position, you must have at least one (1) year Information Technology related experience demonstrating each of the following nine competencies: 1) Attention to Detail, 2) Customer Service, 3) Decision Making, 4) Information Management, 5) Interpersonal Skills, 6) Oral Communication, 7) Problem Solving, 8) Teamwork and 9) Technical Competence. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE GS-14: To be eligible for this position, you must have one (1) year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: Leading or coordinating IT projects, application-related efforts, operational initiatives, or system-related activities that affect multiple users, teams, programs, or business processes. Applying advanced IT principles, concepts, methods, and practices to evaluate requirements; resolve technical issues; guide system, application, or code testing and configuration decisions; and ensure technical documentation and federal cybersecurity, privacy, or regulatory requirements are addressed. Engaging customers, stakeholders, users, product or business owners, and technical teams to define business or technical requirements, communicate technical impacts, and guide delivery of secure, reliable, scalable IT solutions. Evaluating system, service, or application performance, availability, reliability, security controls, usability, and operational effectiveness; identifying risks, issues, defects, or gaps; and leading corrective actions or improvement efforts. Analyzing competing technical approaches and providing authoritative recommendations to management, stakeholders, or IT specialists on the selection, design, configuration, implementation, or improvement of IT solutions with organizational impact. Experience developing and executing performance, load, and stress testing strategies to evaluate application performance, scalability, reliability, and system behavior under varying workload conditions. Experience designing, developing, and maintaining performance test frameworks, test scripts, and test scenarios used to validate system performance requirements. Experience conducting performance analysis by evaluating response time, throughput, resource utilization, capacity, and system behavior to identify performance limitations and improvement opportunities. Experience implementing automated performance testing processes within software development pipelines to support continuous system validation and delivery. Experience performing root cause analysis of performance issues by reviewing testing results, application behavior, monitoring data, and system performance metrics. AND You must also meet the following requirement(s): PERFORMANCE RATING: Current federal employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration. TIME AFTER COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENT (TACA): By the closing date (or if this is an open continuous announcement, by the cut-off date) specified in this job announcement, current civilian employees must have completed at least 90 days of federal civilian service since their latest non-temporary appointment from a competitive referral certificate, known as time after competitive appointment. For this requirement, a competitive appointment is one where you applied to and were appointed from an announcement open to "All US Citizens" TIME IN GRADE (TIG): Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements. For positions above the GS-05,applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year (52 weeks) at the next lower grade level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the grade you are applying for. For positions at the GS-05, you cannot advance to the GS-05 if you have held a GS-02 in the past 52 weeks. There is no TIG restriction for GS-02, 03, or 04 positions. For more information on qualifications please refer to OPM's Qualifications Standards . Education A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page. FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. Click here (Section 3, Explanation of Terms) or here for Foreign Education Credentialing instructions. We recommend choosing an evaluator from a member organization of one of the following national associations of credential evaluation services: National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) or Association of International Credentials Evaluators (AICE). Additional information Consider each location carefully when applying. If you are selected for a location, that location will become your official post of duty. In the event that a building is closed due to rent management, new hires may be placed in a local commuting location. Additional jobs may be filled from this announcement or any other source to fill these vacancies. Alternative work schedule, staggered work hours may be available. Salary: General Schedule (GS) Locality Pay tables may be found under Salaries & Wages. Cost-of-Living Allowances (COLA): AK3237, HI6575, HI8469, HI6993, PR4066, PR4064, PR3930, PR4001, PR4065, PR4047, PR4070, PR4062, VI0007 includes COLA. See COLA Rates 2026. Formal Development Plan - If this position is covered by a formal development plan, pay retention will be offered where applicable based on law and regulation. This job will close when we have received 200 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Suitability Requirements: Prior IRS Employment - Former employees will be subject to a screening of their prior conduct with the Service. The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, 26 U.S. Code 7804, prohibits the IRS from rehiring certain former employees who were removed from service. Tax Check - Must undergo a review of income tax verification. To check the status of your tax record go to: ( If you are not in compliance, you will be determined unsuitable for employment with IRS. Fingerprint/Criminal History Check - This position requires that the successful candidate undergo personnel vetting, which includes a background investigation and enrollment upon onboarding into "Continuous Vetting." Enrollment in Continuous Vetting will result in automated record checks being conducted throughout one's employment with Treasury. The successful candidate will also be enrolled into FBI's Rap Back service, which will allow Treasury to receive notification from the FBI of criminal matters (e.g., arrests, charges, convictions) involving enrolled individuals in near real-time. For more information regarding your rights refer to Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights - FBI, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI, and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.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. Help Review our benefits