Security Engineering Officers serving at Engineering Services Centers are assigned responsibilities on a regional basis and support several countries. These assignments require frequent travel and some long duration temporary duty. The entry-level salary for Federal Civil Service employees appointed to the Foreign Service without a break in service will be set at the rate, within the Foreign Service grade to which they are appointed, that is nearest to the salary rate of their previous GS salary, provided the work performed in the previous position is relevant to Diplomatic Security Engineering activities. Salaries at the time of appointment may also be adjusted to include domestic locality pay. The actual differences in pay will be determined by the location of assignments.
Performance is evaluated in writing annually by a supervisor.
At the FP-04 level and beyond, positions of increasingly higher responsibility are achieved as a result of competing for promotions which are earned through quality performance. Security Engineering Officers at the FP-04 level and above are considered for promotion annually in competition with others in their specialty. A qualifications evaluation panel will review all applicant files and recommend only the most competitive applicants take a proctored examination that assesses the applicant's writing skills. The ability to draft an essay demonstrating a strong command of English grammar, spelling and punctuation is essential. A passing grade on the written essay allows the applicant to proceed to the personal interview and oral assessment portion of the candidate selection process.