FEMA’s mission is growing. The agency currently responds to more than 300 disasters annually, a threefold increase over the previous decade. As climate change increases the risk to our communities, we are meeting needs for resilience, response and recovery at scale through technology and data.
We’re looking for mission-driven technologists from the private and public sector with specialties in software and data engineering, product management, user research and design, data science and geospatial analysis.
Check out the current job openings in FEMA technology roles.
Make a Real Impact
As a part of FEMA, you will solve tough problems, working directly with emergency management, subject matter and policy experts. Far beyond shifting a KR or KPI a fraction of a percentage, your work will help communities prepare for disasters and survivors recover from one of the worst days of their lives. See your skills bring complex, public facing, nationwide-scale systems to life.
Work at Scale
Technology at FEMA supports a staff of 20,000 covering response and recovery efforts across all 50 states as well as tribal and territorial governments. Our technology services cover everything from handling all public applications on DisasterAssistance.gov to managing the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System that alerts the public to approaching disasters.
Your work will help disaster response move faster. Leverage computer vision and machine learning with automated disaster assessments. Help survivors recover from a disaster by streamlining the individual assistance application or improving backend case and eligibility systems. Modernize the emergency alert system, depended on by millions of Americans to keep them safe.
Or work on projects that impact the whole agency: build infrastructure that allows all systems to scale and handle DR recovery seamlessly and effectively, code data pipelines that bring terabytes of FEMA data into a modern Spark environment for analysis by data scientists, or create statistical models that change how FEMA operates.
Types of Roles and Skills
FEMA is often hiring for roles across human-centered design and digital service delivery. If you are looking for one of these roles and they are not currently available, please submit your resume to be considered for future openings.
- Customer Experience: Develop and improve products and services for the American public, state, local and tribal governments, and internal FEMA stakeholders. Essential skills include user research, journey mapping, service design, prototyping, content design, and UX/UI design.
- Software Development: Software, data, and DevOps engineers are core to building and deploy modern, user-centered digital services at the agency. Candidates should have experience building and deploying web applications or data pipelines in the cloud at ca, using modern languages frameworks at scale.
- Product Management: Lead FEMA program leaders and product team members together in pursuit of a clear product vision and roadmap for modernized large-scale products. Be a strategic leader through the full product lifecycle -- from problem definition, ideation, and beyond the launch of software.
- Data science and geospatial analysis: Bring your SQL, Python/pandas, statistics, geospatial, and machine learning skills to build novel analyses, data visualizations, and data models that drive the agency.
The Work Ahead
Help research and map the recovery journey for disaster survivors and identify areas to create simple, seamless, and secure customer experiences for the American public. The President’s Management Agenda and FEMA’s Strategic Plan both emphasize the need to ensure FEMA customers have an experience on par with leading industry services.
Example: Streamlining Interagency Disaster Assistance
As part of the President’s Management Agenda’s initiative on Customer Experience, FEMA and the Small Business Association are working with Office of Management and Budget and the US Digital Service to explore ways to integrate the applications of direct assistance programs across the government. The goal is to reduce the burden of the initial application processes for survivors.
Salary and Compensation
Experience a fulfilling career with the FEMA. Our competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities both reward your dedication and provide stability.
Positions in technology are available across General Schedule (GS) Grade 12 to Grade 15 levels with additional locality pay adjustments based on location.
Also view the Cyber Talent Management System (CTMS) for some software, DevOps, and data engineering and data science roles.
Location Flexibility
Whether you hold a preference for remote work or thrive in a collaborative office setting, our versatile options empower you to elevate productivity while upholding the flexibility you seek. Potential benefits encompass a range of offerings, including adjustable work schedules, remote work, and telework opportunities.
Benefits Package
We provide our employees with a first-class benefit package, including health insurance, life insurance, retirement, at least 10 paid holidays per year, vacation time, and more.
Work-Life Balance and Wellness
We understand the balancing act between work and personal life. FEMA offers a host of family-friendly health and wellness benefits including flexible work schedules, telework policies, and remote work opportunities.
FEMA’s Hiring Process
Once you submit your application, we will assess your experience and training, identify the best-qualified applicants and refer those applications to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed.
We expect to make a tentative job offer within 30 days after the deadline for applications. If you are selected, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation. View more information on applying for federal employment.
Applying for federal jobs is a little different than private employment. Here are some resources to help you showcase your qualifications:
Once you submit your application through USAJOBS, we will assess your experience and training, and identify the best-qualified applicants to refer to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interviews. Interviews for software engineering, data engineering, and DevOps engineering will assess your ability to write code and design scalable systems. We will notify you by email after each of these steps has been completed.
Check out the current job openings in FEMA technology roles.