Assistant United States Attorney

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington is currently seeking an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) for the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture Unit. This position is located in Seattle, Washington. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.

Duties

The position will be located in the Criminal Division's Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Western District of Washington. Asset Forfeiture Unit attorneys participate in investigations to identify assets tied to federal crimes, assist prosecutors in the forfeitures associated with criminal cases, and bring appropriate civil actions against assets that constitute the proceeds of, or that were used to facilitate or conceal, those crimes, including handling the litigation of all third-party claims of ownership of assets forfeited from the defendant.

Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as your training and experience progress.

Security Requirements: Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. In addition, continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.

Residency Requirements: Assistant United States Attorneys generally must reside in the district to which he or she is appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district-specific information.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.

Salary

• $86,261 - $197,100/year

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a United States Citizen or National.
• Initial appointment is conditioned upon a satisfactory preemployment adjudication. This includes fingerprint, credit and tax checks, and drug testing. Continued employment is subject to a favorable adjudication of a background investigation.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable.
• J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction) required.
• Must reside in the district to which appointed or within 25 miles thereof. See 28 U.S.C. 545 for district specific information.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree, be an active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least two (2) years of post J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience.

United States citizenship is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

Ideal qualifications include at least five (5) years of post-J.D. litigation experience, and experience in the field of asset forfeiture and/or financial investigations involving money laundering.

Applicants must demonstrate a quick analytical ability and an ability to synthesize a wide range of data, help direct an investigation and have the ability to accurately and precisely articulate the critical issues in a case. Applicants must demonstrate superior oral and writing skills, strong research and interpersonal skills, and good judgment. Applicants must possess excellent communication and courtroom skills, and exhibit the ability to work in a supportive and professional manner with other attorneys, support staff and client agencies. Applicants must have a demonstrated capacity to function, with minimal guidance, in a highly demanding environment and in the highest ethical manner.

Applicants will be expected to do their own legal research and writing, and will be substantially self-sufficient in preparing day-to-day correspondence and pleadings. Applicants also must demonstrate excellent computer literacy skills.

You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.

Education Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree Other Information Salary: Assistant United States Attorney's pay is administratively determined based, in part, on the number of years of professional attorney experience. The range of basic pay is $86,261 to $197,100, which includes 31.57% locality pay. Other Benefits: The Department of Justice offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation; sick leave; holidays; telework; life insurance; health benefits; and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. The Benefits link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal Employees. Relocation Expenses: Relocation expenses will not be authorized. A relocation incentive may be considered as appropriate based on qualifications. * * * This and other vacancy announcements can be found under Attorney Vacancies and Volunteer Legal Internships. The Department of Justice cannot control further dissemination and/or posting of information contained in this vacancy announcement. Such posting and/or dissemination is not an endorsement by the Department of the organization or group disseminating and/or posting the information. Travel: Occasional travel within and outside the District will be required. Applicants should familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible conflicts of interest in connection with their applications. In particular, please notify this Office if you currently represent clients or adjudicate matters in which this Office is involved and/or you have a family member who is representing clients or adjudicating matters in which this Office is involved so that we can evaluate any potential conflict of interest or disqualification issue that may need to be addressed under those circumstances. Political Appointees (Current and Former): 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 or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service. EEO Statement/Policy: The United States government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service or other non-merit factor. More information can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/jmd/media/1425556/dl?inline. Required Documents

You must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

- Required: Your responses to the OnlineOccupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process).
- Required: Cover Letter referencing vacancy announcement 26-WAW-13046786-AUSA. Candidates for the position are requested to address the following in their cover letter and/or resume, to the extent applicable:

• Experience in asset forfeiture matters;
• Commitment to/interest in Asset Forfeiture;
• Experience working on complex civil litigation including:
  • Managing or organizing teams in litigation, including supervision of paralegals as part of litigation team
  • Working on civil discovery, including taking depositions, drafting and responding to discovery requests
• Experience in conducting or overseeing financial investigations;
• Experience in white collar criminal cases, including investigations/cases involving money laundering.

- Required: Your resume cannot exceed two pages - you will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages - see USAJOBS for formatting requirements. Include relevant employment history as outlined below for each job:

• Official position title (if Federal, include series/grade),
• Employer name and contact information,
• Start and end dates (for full consideration you must include month, day, and year),
• Indicate full-time or number of hours worked per week if part-time, and
• A list of duties performed and accomplishments.

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 can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

- Required: Writing Sample. Include a sample of your legal writing, such as a portion or all of an appellate brief, memorandum of points and authorities, or opinion letter. The writing sample should be a recent example of your work and demonstrate your ability to analyze legal issues and present that analysis in written form. The sample should be predominantly your own work. If the document was edited by others, include a cover memo that briefly describes the level of editing that occurred. Please limit your writing sample to 10 pages.

- Optional: Current DOJ Employees are encouraged to include a copy of their most recent annual performance evaluation.

- Required, if applicable: To get Veterans' Preference (VP), you must indicate your preference in response to the appropriate question in your assessment questionnaire and you must submit the appropriate supporting documentation. See the "How you will be Evaluated" section for details regarding what is appropriate VP documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume.

Current or Former Political Appointees: 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 HR Office by providing a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

• Position title;
• Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
• Agency; and
• Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/09/2026 to receive consideration.

1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.

2. Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package. (It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation are submitted prior to the closing date.)

3. To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.

To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. However, should you not be able to apply online, please contact Western District of Washington at 2065534200 or email at mara.montes@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.

Outreach and Recruitment for Qualified Applicants with Disabilities: The Department encourages qualified applicants with disabilities, including individuals with targeted/severe disabilities to apply in response to posted vacancy announcements. Qualified applicants with targeted/severe disabilities may be eligible for direct hire, non-competitive appointment under Schedule A (5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)) hiring authority. Individuals with targeted/severe disabilities are encouraged to contact one of the Department's Disability Points of Contact (DPOC) to express an interest in being considered for a position. See list of DPOCs.

The Point of Contact for this vacancy announcement is Western District of Washington who can be reached at 2065534200 or mara.montes@usdoj.gov