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Paralegal Specialist

Office of Naval Research See More Job Openings by This Employer

Full Time
$84,655/year

Naval Research Laboratory, District of Columbia

September 17, 2026 Paralegal

Job Description

Summary

You will serve as a Paralegal Specialist in the Office of Commanding Officer Division, Code 100810 of NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY.

Duties

You will negotiate and interact with entities outside of NRL on matters than often entail revision to NRL processes and practices for NRL program.
You will analyze and apply relevant regulatory and legal precedents to problem solving and task accomplishment.
You will perform legal services provided by the NRL Office of Counsel.
You will provide assistance regarding personnel law cases before the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Technology Transfer issues, and protests before the Government Accountability Office.
You will negotiate and draft numerous non-FAR contractual agreements generating millions of dollars of revenue.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Must be a US Citizen.
Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.

Qualifications

Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS 5-10) or pay band (NO-02) in the federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector as a Paralegal Specialist, performing most or all of the following duties:
1) Conducting high-level legal research and assisting in drafting formal memoranda regarding technology transfer, procurement policies, and the application of administrative law; 2) Maintaining specialized legal databases and tracking systems to ensure agency compliance; 3) Negotiating and drafting complex, non-FAR contractual agreements; and 4) Resolving substantive legal matters involving Intellectual Property (IP) rights, indemnification demands, and the interpretation of federal statutory guidelines.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management web site: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

In lieu of specialized experience, you may qualify with the following education or combination of both education and experience:

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree

A combination of education and experience is also qualifying for grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if qualifying using education. See Required Documents for additional information.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf

Only Military Spouse Preference/PPP applicants currently occupying positions for which a comprehensive training plan has been developed and authorized are entitled to exercise their priority status for this announcement. The most common formal training positions are apprentices, formal interns, and scientist and engineering interns. Upward Mobility Positions that have equivalent training plans are also included when the positions have been pre-identified in an Affirmative Action or similar plan. You must provide documentation supporting you are in a formal training plan (e.g., SF50 and official signed training agreement between you and your command).

PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.

ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

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.

Salary

$84,655/year

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