IT Specialist (APPSW)

Federal Emergency Management Agency•Washington, DC

About The Position

This IT Specialist position is in the Resilience-FIMA Federal Insurance Ins Acquisition & Tech Div. The role supports innovation and modernization of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) operations and services by researching emerging technologies and prototyping low-code tools, AI workflows, dashboards, and scripts. The position helps identify automation and AI opportunities across NFIP business operations, customer-facing services, map modernization support, underwriting, and other program areas. It supports the configuration, prototyping, and testing of solutions using approved enterprise platforms and helps turn approved business and user requirements into technical implementations and handoff materials. The role also researches technology and policy trends and evaluates prototypes and AI-enabled workflows for feasibility, usability, accuracy, operational fit, and governance alignment. FEMA employees have regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities. Positions may be subject to recall around the clock, including irregular hours and duties or work locations outside the official duty station. Emergency operations may involve extensive travel with little advance notice and deployment for weeks or months to physically austere and operationally challenging locations. The employee must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period. If selected, the employee must attend a three-week, in-person training course in Emmitsburg, Maryland, within six months of onboarding; FEMA covers travel expenses.

Requirements

U.S. citizenship is required.
Must successfully pass and maintain a High Risk background investigation; the investigation may include a credit check and review of financial issues, certain criminal offenses, and illegal drug use or possession.
Selective Service registration is required, if applicable.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
Must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period.
Experience must be IT-related; qualifying experience may be paid or unpaid, or demonstrated through appropriate intensive training such as IT certification.
For GS-13 qualification, one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal government is required, demonstrating experience configuring, prototyping, and testing technical solutions using approved technology platforms; developing workflow automations, AI-enabled workflows, or scripts to support business processes; and translating business or user needs into technical requirements, workflow logic, data inputs and outputs, or implementation documentation.
Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in Federal service and must meet time-in-grade requirements.
Must demonstrate attention to detail, customer service, decision making, information management, interpersonal skills, oral communication, problem solving, teamwork, and technical competence.
A one-year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
Selected applicants who are current or former political appointees in specified Executive Branch positions within the last five years must disclose that information to Human Resources.

Responsibilities

Support identification and analysis of opportunities for automation and AI-enabled workflow improvement across NFIP business operations, customer-facing services, map modernization support, underwriting, and other program areas, coordinating with business SMEs, analysts, UX, engineering, and data stakeholders.
Assist in configuring, prototyping, and testing low-code/no-code solutions, AI agents, workflow automations, dashboards, forms, lightweight applications, and scripts or utilities to query, transform, create, or validate data and workflow outputs.
Use approved enterprise platforms such as Power Platform, GCP-enabled tools, DHSChat, Python libraries, or similar technologies to develop and test solutions.
Help translate approved business and user requirements into technical implementations, including workflow logic, automation and AI agent configuration, data input and output definitions, integration analysis, prototype documentation, and technical handoff materials.
Conduct market, technology, and policy research on automation, artificial intelligence, digital services, geospatial technology, insurance technology, and AI governance trends.
Support evaluation of prototypes and AI-enabled workflows for feasibility, usability, accuracy, operational fit, and governance alignment through functional testing, user feedback, AI output review, exception testing, and human-in-the-loop validation.
Coordinate prototype evaluation and responsible AI practices with engineering, cybersecurity, data, UX, geospatial, and business teams.
Carry out regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities and be available for emergency recall and deployment as required.
Attend a three-week in-person training course in Emmitsburg, Maryland, within six months of onboarding.