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Opm Investigator Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Investigator

Washington, DC · On-site +1

$121K - $158K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former ... Applying investigative techniques implementing, laws, pertinent statutes, regulations, policies ...

OPM-MEG Technician Apply now Back to search results Job no: 535049 Work type: Staff Senior ... investigators using the technology as a part of the grant aims. The technician/engineer will be ...

Compliance Investigator

Helena, MT

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

OPM's wage-and-hour investigation standard recognizes qualifying experience from compliance, audits, records review, policy application, and related operational work. * Work in a supportive culture:

Compliance Investigator

Helena, MT

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

OPM's wage-and-hour investigation standard recognizes qualifying experience from compliance, audits, records review, policy application, and related operational work. * Work in a supportive culture:

New

Compliance Investigator

Helena, MT · On-site

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

OPM's wage-and-hour investigation standard recognizes qualifying experience from compliance, audits, records review, policy application, and related operational work. * Work in a supportive culture:

New

Compliance Investigator

Helena, MT

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

OPM's wage-and-hour investigation standard recognizes qualifying experience from compliance, audits, records review, policy application, and related operational work. * Work in a supportive culture:

New

Criminal Investigator

Anchorage, AK · On-site +1

$106K - $158K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Performing the investigative, intelligence, security, and law enforcement missions of CGIS ... See OPM Retirement Handbook for further details. The Maximum Entry Age requirement may be waived ...

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Opm Investigator information

See salary details

$32K

$75.3K

$131K

How much do opm investigator jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for opm investigator in the United States is $75,325.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $52,500.00 and $98,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What skills and qualifications are needed to be an OPM Investigator?

To thrive as an OPM Investigator, you need strong analytical abilities, attention to detail, and knowledge of background investigations, often supported by a bachelor's degree and relevant government clearances. Familiarity with case management systems, secure data handling protocols, and federal investigative standards is essential. Excellent interpersonal skills, professionalism, and effective written and verbal communication help build rapport and document findings clearly. These competencies are vital to ensure accurate, unbiased investigations and uphold national security and trustworthiness in federal hiring processes.

What is an OPM Investigator?

An OPM Investigator, also known as a Background Investigator, conducts security clearance investigations for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). They interview candidates, review records, and compile reports to assess suitability for government employment or security clearances. The role requires attention to detail, strong communication skills, and adherence to federal guidelines. Investigators often work independently and may travel to conduct interviews.

What does an OPM Investigator do?

A typical day for an OPM Investigator involves conducting interviews with subjects, references, and employers, reviewing documents, and compiling detailed reports on findings. You'll spend time both in the field and at your computer, balancing independent investigation with collaborating closely with supervisors and other investigators. Investigators must manage multiple cases at once and adhere to strict federal deadlines. This role requires adaptability, as you may travel to various locations and adjust your schedule based on case needs. Your work is critical in helping federal agencies make informed security clearance and suitability decisions.

How to become a federal background investigator?

To become a federal background investigator, candidates typically need a bachelor's degree, relevant work experience, and must pass a background check. The role often requires strong communication skills, attention to detail, and familiarity with investigative tools and procedures. Applying through USAJOBS and completing agency-specific training are also necessary steps.
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What cities are hiring for Opm Investigator jobs?

Cities with the most Opm Investigator job openings:

What are the most commonly searched types of Opm Investigator jobs?

The most popular types of Opm Investigator jobs are:

What states have the most Opm Investigator jobs?

States with the most job openings for Opm Investigator jobs include:

Infographic showing various Opm Investigator job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 91% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 94% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $75,325 per year, or $36.2 per hour.

$121K - $158K/yr

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Posted 8 days ago


Federal Emergency Management Agency rating

8.5

Company rating: 8.5 out of 10

Based on 18 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

217th of 846 rated public administrative organizations


Job description

Summary
This position is in the Office of the Chief Security Officer, Fraud and Internal Investigation Division. The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive law enforcement experience with a recognized local, state, or federal agency, with a primary focus on conducting, managing, leading, and directing criminal investigations. The incumbent will conduct administrative investigations of alleged fraud waste and abuse of federal disaster funds and allegations of employee misconduct.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
Help
What will I do in this position if hired?
In this position, you have extensive experience interviewing victims, witness and suspects involved in criminal activities. You will work under the direction of the Fraud Preventions, Investigations Branch Chief and performing a full range of duties to include planning, conducting and managing investigations of suspected fraud waste and abuse off federal disaster funds, allegations of employee misconduct or other criminal violations of Federal laws under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 93-288) as amended. Typical assignments include:
  • Conducting administrative investigations involving employee misconduct and investigations involving : disaster fraud, grant fraud, bribery, larceny, embezzlement, collusion, conflict of interest, false statements, and other Federal violations as they relate to FEMA's Operations, mission and goals.
  • Interviewing witnesses to identify elements of proof, develop investigative plans and strategics, identify and collect evidence, and prepare for and conduct witness and subject interviews.
  • Utilizing a variety of law enforcement databases to conduct e-search on subjects under investigation.
  • Presenting written material, and testimony in or at formal hearings, court and other legal proceedings.
  • Preparing reports of investigations to be used in criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings.
  • Reporting investigative findings as necessary; and assisting authorities in the development and execution of judicial and/or administrative actions.

What else do I need to know?
At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment
To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Secret as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs please visit OPM Investigations.
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, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
Please ensure you meet the qualification requirements described below.
Key Requirements:
  1. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  2. You must successfully pass a background investigation.
  3. Selective Service registration required.
  4. Current federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements.
  5. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government credit card.
  6. You must be able to deploy with little or no advance notice to anywhere in the United States and its territories for an extended period of time.
  7. Please review the Additional Information section for additional key requirements.

Qualifications
Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
To qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following:
  1. Applying investigative techniques implementing, laws, pertinent statutes, regulations, policies, guidelines, precedent court decisions regarding the admissibility of evidence, or related issues in the conduct of investigations; and
  2. Planning, conducting or managing complex investigations related to allegations of fraud or other criminal violations of Federal, State or local laws; and
  3. Compiling data utilizing methods of fact-finding, investigations and summarizing intelligence to identify and analyze relationships among organizational needs and objectives and costs.

Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application:
  • Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
  • Please limit your resume to two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages.
  • Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience.

Are you qualifying based on your work experience?
  • Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS online Resume Builder. If you choose to use your own resume, it must contain the following information organized by experience/position: (1) job title, (2) name of employer, (3) start and end dates of each period of employment (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY), (4) detailed description of duties performed, accomplishments, and related skills, and (5) hours worked per week (part-time employment will be prorated in crediting experience). Federal experience/positions must also include the grade level, occupational series and dates in which you held each grade level.
  • Are you a current or former FEMA Reservist/Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)? To accurately credit your experience from intermittent positions and Reservist Deployments, you must list the dates (from MM/DD/YY to MM/DD/YY) of deployments that are relevant to your qualifying experience, along with the job title and specific duties you were responsible for during each deployment.
  • Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information. Failure to provide the above information in your resume may result in your application being found "not qualified."
  • 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and provides valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

For additional information on crediting experience and/or education, please reference the OPM General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Education
No Educational Substitution: There is no educational substitution for this position, and you must meet the qualifications listed in the "requirements" section of this announcement.
Additional information
  • If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
  • The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to FEMA-Misconduct@fema.dhs.gov.
  • DHS uses E-verify, an internet based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
  • The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.
  • A one-year probationary period is required for new Federal competitive service employees and new supervisors and managers.
  • Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
  • During the application process you will have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
  • This is a Non-bargaining Unit position.
  • If this position has been identified as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) because of its security, public health, and/or public safety sensitivity, you are subject to random drug testing under FEMA's Drug-Free Workplace Plan (DWP). Refusal to be tested will result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service.

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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.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
DHS offers competitive salaries and an attractive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, life, and long-term care insurance; retirement plan; Thrift Savings Plan [similar to a 401(k)]; Flexible Spending Account; Employee Assistance Program; personal leave days; and paid federal holidays.
Other benefits may include flexible work schedules; tuition reimbursement; transportation subsidies; uniform allowance; health and wellness programs; and fitness centers. DHS is committed to employee development and offers a variety of employee training and developmental opportunities. For more information, go to the DHS Careers website and select "Benefits." Disabled veteran leave will be available to any federal employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service- connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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