The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York (NDNY) serves an area comprised of 32 counties in upstate New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney's (AUSAs) are staffed in Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, and Syracuse, and appear before federal judges there and in Utica. Approximately 55 attorneys and 51 support personnel work in NDNY, along with several subject-matter specialist contract personnel. Find additional information about the NDNY at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny
Duties
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York (NDNY) is seeking Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) to work in the Criminal Division in its Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, or Syracuse, New York office. These AUSA positions are in NDNY's Criminal Division, which is comprised of approximately 39 attorneys who are responsible for prosecuting federal crimes, including offenses involving: drug trafficking and smuggling; child exploitation; gang activity and violence; illegal immigration; national and border security; and fraudulent and/or corrupt conduct in government, health care, banking, securities and corporate activity, federal procurement, bankruptcies, and federal taxation. More specifically, the selected AUSAs for these positions will focus on criminal casework involving violent crime, drug smuggling, public corruption, white collar crime, immigration, and the opioid epidemic. The selected AUSAs will work with law enforcement agencies to investigate such crimes, research and brief legal issues, and represent the United States before grand juries and in hearings, trials, and appeals. Day-to-day responsibilities may include working with law enforcement agencies and others to investigate such matters, researching legal issues, drafting motions or motion responses, drafting search warrants, appearing before grand juries, and other litigation related duties. Responsibilities will increase and assignments will become more complex as 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. Selective Service Requirement: 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. Residency Requirement: 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. Travel Requirement: Employment will require occasional travel to court at one of the designated District sites, namely Albany, Auburn, Binghamton, Malone, Plattsburgh, Syracuse, Utica, and Watertown. Other occasional travel within and/or outside the District may be required.
Salary
Qualifications
Required Qualifications: Applicants must possess a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree (or equivalent), be an active member in good standing of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction), and have at least 1-year post-J.D. (or equivalent) legal or other relevant experience. Applicants must hold United States citizenship. Preferred Qualifications: The ideal candidates will: Have at least 3 years of post-J.D. experience that provided significant opportunity to develop strong legal writing, oral advocacy, and courtroom litigation skills; Demonstrate facility with federal criminal practice; Be comfortable with all aspects of electronic discovery and litigation; Collaborate effectively with others, including AUSAs, law enforcement, support staff, and court personnel; Possess impeccable integrity; and Be self-motivated, justice-oriented, organized, and courteous. Applicants must meet all qualification requirements upon closing date of this announcement. 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. The staffing of these positions is subject to the availability of funds. As needed, additional positions may be filled using this announcement.
Education
Applicants must possess a J.D. Degree.
Required Documents
You must provide a complete Application Package, which includes the following information/documents in the format specified: Required: Your responses to the Online Occupational Questionnaire (This is completed automatically during the apply online process). Required: A cover letter not-to-exceed one page addressed to the First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, describing your qualifications, interest in NDNY, and desired office location(s) to include Albany, Binghamton, Plattsburgh, and/or Syracuse. Required: Your resume not-to-exceed one page including relevant experience and dates of employment (include month/year) for each period (paid or volunteer), date J.D. was awarded (include month/year), and date of Bar Admission (include month/year). (Note: In general, resumes cannot exceed two pages. You will be deemed ineligible and receive no further consideration if your resume exceeds two pages.) Required: A writing sample representing written legal advocacy. Please include a cover letter to the writing sample with a short description of the source of the sample, the level of editing it received, and the degree of original work. Required, if applicable: A recent copy of an SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action), showing title, series, grade, and current salary; and a copy of your most recent performance appraisal. Required, if applicable: To get Veterans' Preference, 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 Veterans' Preference documentation. It is also recommended that you include veterans' preference information in your cover letter or resume. Department of Justice Policies 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. Suitability and Citizenship: It is the policy of the Department to achieve a drug-free workplace and persons selected for employment will be required to pass a drug test which screens for illegal drug use prior to final appointment. Employment is also contingent upon the completion and satisfactory adjudication of a background investigation. Congress generally prohibits agencies from employing non-citizens within the United States, except for a few narrow exceptions as set forth in the annual Appropriations Act (see, https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). Pursuant to DOJ component policies, only U.S. citizens are eligible for employment with the Executive Office for Immigration Review, U.S. Trustee's Offices, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unless otherwise indicated in a particular job advertisement, qualifying non-U.S. citizens meeting immigration and appropriations law criteria may apply for employment with other DOJ organizations. However, please be advised that the appointment of non-U.S. citizens is extremely rare; such appointments would be possible only if necessary to accomplish the Department's mission and would be subject to strict security requirements. Applicants who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country will be considered on a case-by-case basis. All DOJ employees are subject to a residency requirement. Candidates who have lived outside the United States for two or more of the past five years will likely have difficulty being approved for appointments by the Department Security Staff. The two-year period is cumulative, not necessarily consecutive. Federal or military employees, or dependents of federal or military employees serving overseas, are excepted from this requirement. 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 Human Resources 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 09/08/2026 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 Maria Farrell at 315-448-0963 or email at maria.farrell@usdoj.gov, prior to the closing date of this announcement to request an alternate method of applying.
