Park Ranger (Protection)

Park Ranger (Protection)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Los Alamos, New Mexico

Salary Range: $77581 - $100861 Per Year

Job Summary: Incumbent(s) serve as a commissioned primary law enforcement officer. Duties include investigation, apprehension, arrest, detention, and/or prosecution of persons and entities violating applicable laws, rules, and regulations enacted to protect and provide for the safe use of lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the Department of the Interior. For questions contact Dennis Milligan at dennis_milligan@nps.gov.

Major Duties:

• Serve as a senior uniformed, commissioned law enforcement officer performing duties for the protection, conservation, use, and management of natural and/or cultural resources. Plans, directs, or participates in emergency incidents which include search and rescue operations, wildland/structural fire, special law enforcement operations, and other major emergencies. Responsible for the development, revision and implementation of law enforcement planning documents and the development of park law enforcement policies and procedures. Serve as a FLETC certified training official or a project team leader for one or more functional area including emergency medical services, search and rescue, drug eradication, safety, aviation, or structural or wildland fire. Physical Demands: Strenuous exertion is frequently required in law enforcement, search and rescue, medical and related emergency activities. Lifting or carrying equipment weighing over 50 pounds, such as emergency equipment, or search and rescue equipment is required. There is a physical, mental, and emotional high-stress component to much of the incumbent's work assignment. Position is required to meet and continuously maintain the physical/medical standards as set forth in the requirements of D.O. #57. Work Environment: The work is performed at various hours of the day and night and for prolonged periods during emergency situations. The incumbent is frequently exposed to high-risk and potentially dangerous situations in law enforcement and emergency situations requiring use of a wide range of personal protective gear, adherence to specific safety procedures and other precautions. Area Information: Bandelier National Monument is comprised of over 32,817 acres, including a designated wilderness area of 23,267 acres and an 800-acre detached archeological section. The monument was created to preserve the numerous archeological and natural features that hold ancestral and traditional significance to 23 tribal nations. The monument's natural resources have been extensively surveyed and hold some of the most complete data sets for climate transition that exist in North America. Annual visitation exceeds 200,000. The monument is located 45 miles from Santa Fe, 32 miles from Espanola, and 12 miles from Los Alamos. Elevation ranges from 5,300 to 10,199 feet with headquarters located at 6,000 feet. Medical facilities, schools, and shopping are available in Los Alamos and White Rock. Los Alamos has one of the nation's best public-school systems. Cultural and recreational opportunities are abundant in Santa Fe and surrounding communities. Local cost of living is considered high. Government housing may be available. For more information, see the parks website: www.nps.gov/BAND

Qualifications: Requirements - Conditions of Employment Continued: Applicants must be at least 21 years old. Any individual who is currently holding, or has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet time-in-grade requirements (must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent in the Federal service). Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Prior to appointment, you must be determined physically fit by an authorized government physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties; and also pass a medical examination (which includes vision, hearing, cardiovascular, and mobility of extremities) given by an authorized government physician. You will also be required to undergo periodic medical examinations throughout employment. Prior to appointment, the people selected for these positions must be determined physically fit by an authorized physician to perform strenuous and physically demanding duties, pass a medical examination, and pass the Physical Efficiency Battery (PEB). The PEB is a fitness test consisting of five different components: 1) agility run - measures the ability to get up from the ground and sprint while changing directions; 2) bench press - measures upper body strength for one repetition; 3) 1.5 mile run - measures cardio/respiratory fitness; 4) sit and reach - measures flexibility in the lower back, legs and shoulders; and 5) body composition - measures body fat. Prior to appointment, selectees will be tested in all five components, and must pass the agility run, bench press and 1.5 mile run in the 25th percentile. Must possess or be able to successfully obtain and maintain Federal OR State Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Certificate within one (1) year of EOD. Must possess or be able to successfully obtain and maintain an Incident Command System (ICS) Training Certificate within one (1) year of EOD. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-04/03/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Selective Factors: Applicants must meet ALL of the following to qualify: National Park Service Type I Law Enforcement Commission: Must currently possess or previously held (within the past three years), a National Park Service (NPS) Type I Law Enforcement Commission. You must indicate your commission number and date, location and date of your last 40-hour refresher training, and the date of your last established proficiency in the use of firearms in your resume. You must also provide a copy of your Type I Law Enforcement Commission with Picture Blocked Out. Maximum Entry Age (MEA): This is a primary position covered by enhanced retirement provisions which stipulate mandatory retirement at age 57 after 20 years of service. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, and must not have reached their 37th birthday upon appointment to this position. Two exceptions are allowed: 1) an applicant has prior Federal service in a primary covered position sufficient to complete 20 years of service on or before the mandatory retirement age of 57; or 2) an applicant is a qualified veterans' preference eligible, in which case the MEA is waived and their corresponding retirement age may be higher than 57 after completing 20 years of service. - AND - Applicants must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS/GL-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience includes but is not limited to experience in a primary law enforcement position in the federal government, or equivalent experience outside the federal government. Extensive experience and skills in the full range of advanced law enforcement techniques and procedures: including patrol operations, law enforcement, and criminal investigations. Understanding of federal, state and local laws, regulations, relevant court decisions that relate to the management of public lands and their natural, cultural, and human resources. Knowledge of instructional methods and techniques to develop advanced law enforcement training materials and to plan and provide specialized situational and classroom training to agency. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least three full years of graduate level study leading to a Doctorate, Ph.D., or equivalent degree at an accredited college or university in directly-related fields such as natural resource management, natural sciences, earth sciences, history, archaeology, anthropology, park and recreation management; law enforcement/police science, social sciences, museum sciences, business administration, public administration, behavioral sciences, or sociology. You must include transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a COMBINATION of education and experience as described above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours or equivalent earned towards a graduate degree, in excess of 36 semester hours, and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. Then, take the number of months of experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts. Volunteer Experience: 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 04/03/2026. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12898715 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-03