Instructional Systems Specialist
- Location:
- Virginia, Quantico
- Requires Relocation:
- Yes
- Start Date:
- 02/01/2026
- End Date:
- 12/01/2026
- Offering Type:
- Permanent
- Hiring Paths:
- Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) Federal employees - Competitive service Internal to an agency - appears on USAJOBS Land & base management Military spouses Veterans
- Service Type:
- Competitive
- Travel Percentage:
- Occasional travel
About Department of Defense Education Activity
Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), as one of only two Federally-operated school systems, is responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD). DoDEA is globally positioned, operating 160 accredited schools in 8 districts located in 11 foreign countries, 7 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. DoDEA employs approximately 15,000 employees who serve more than 72,000 children of active duty military and DoD civilian families. DoDEA is committed to ensuring that all school-aged children of military families are provided a world-class education that prepares them for postsecondary education and/or career success and to be leading contributors in their communities as well as in our 21st century globalized society. .
Job summary
About the Position: This position is located in Quantico, VA. The Quantico, VA area is defined by Marine Corps Base Quantico, a major training hub for the U.S. military and federal law enforcement (FBI, DEA), making it a hub for military and federal government activity. This position is not covered by a bargaining unit.
Major duties
Designs and develops high quality instructional resources for students and staff using Agency procured and approved digital authoring tools. Maintains online courses for the DoDEA Virtual High School. Applies relevant industry standards, laws, and regulations to ensure instructional resources are compliant and accessible. Serves as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and carries out all associated responsibilities for assigned Agency contracts. Develops Performance Work Statements, oversees product or service implementation, and monitors contractor compliance. Provides instructional design support for Agency initiatives, program compliance activities, and continuous improvement efforts as assigned. Performs additional duties as required.
Qualification
Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. Current Competitive Service Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Civilian Employee Current Permanent Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian Employee Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act People with Disabilities, Schedule A Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Basic Requirement: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours appropriate to the work of the position to be filled. The course work must have included study in at least four of the following five areas: (1) Learning theory, psychology of learning, educational psychology: Study of learning theories as they relate to the systematic design, development, and validation of instructional material. (2) Instructional design practices: Study of the principles and techniques used in designing training programs, developing design strategy and models, and applying design methods to the improvement of instructional effectiveness. (3) Educational evaluation: Study of the techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments. (4) Instructional product development: Study of the techniques appropriate for developing training materials, including identifying learner characteristics, specifying objectives, applying training strategy, validating training materials, and evaluating training. OR (5) Computers in education and training: Study of the application of computers in education and training, including selecting appropriate computer software. NOTE: You are required to submit ALL TRANSCRIPTS with at a minimum, your bachelor's degree. Your Master's, EDS, Doctorate etc. may need to be submitted as well if they must be used to meet the education requirement. If you do not provide this, your application WILL be rejected. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year of full-time specialized experience which includes: developing high-quality instructional materials within an educational environment; applying applicable industry standards, laws, and/or regulations to ensure resource compliance and accessibility; and contributing to program evaluation, compliance activities, or continuous improvement initiatives.This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service or equivalent (GS-12). NOTE: If your resume doesn't clearly describe this experience, your application WILL be rejected. One year is defined as 365 days or 52 weeks of full-time experience, whichever comes sooner. Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-12).
Education
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Evaluations
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the online assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.