Opportunities for technologists at the CFPB

Advanced technologies and automated systems are changing how existing financial products and services work or creating entirely new ones. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is charged with ensuring that consumer financial markets are fair, transparent, and competitive. At the CFPB, technologists work alongside attorneys and policy experts to hold companies accountable for the misuse of technology and ensure the marketplace is fair for all Americans. As a technologist, you can apply your technical expertise to examine the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in lending, ensure compliance with federal laws, identify deceptive dark patterns, and more.

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The CFPB is working to be a leader in building agency capabilities to address transformative technologies. Our technologists can be experts in any of the following areas:

• Product design and user experience - Experience understanding the needs, behaviors, and attitudes of users and applying modern design techniques to the design and development of products or services. Experience with how certain UX techniques can be harmful to users. History of analyzing data about users through various methods such as surveys, interviews, and usability testing.
• Research, Tech Policy, Investigative Research - Expertise in public policy, tech policy, and/or digital markets. Experience monitoring markets and developing environmental analyses to understand and summarize economic, social, and financial product research on issues affecting consumers' everyday decision-making.
• Software engineering - Expertise with front-end, back-end, and full-stack engineering, DevOps, modern development process, architecture, and/or security. Knowledge of programming languages, such Python, SQL, R, Java, JS, Go, Scala, C, C++, Julia, or MatLab. Experience spotting vulnerabilities like identity theft, cyber fraud, and system breaches.
• Data science and strategy – Experience examining large datasets using scripting languages and computational languages (e.g., Python, R, SQL). Ability to apply expertise to matters involving data privacy, AI/ML, algorithmic discrimination, and secure data systems.
• Product management - Expertise in overseeing product-related activities along every stage of the product lifecycle - product development, product strategy, product growth and maturity, building roadmaps and feature definition, etc. Expertise using agile or lean methods to align cross-functional teams around a shared vision, strategy and user needs.

What we’re looking for in our technologists

We want people who are passionate about the CFPB's mission and excited to use their expertise to help the American public. We want people who are curious and can thrive in both structured and ambiguous environments, who love working with their colleagues to sort out hard as well as soft problems, and who are eager to help the government keep pace with the private sector.

We are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, minorities, people with disabilities, system-impacted people, veterans, and people of all ages to apply.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion

Apply to work at the CFPB

The following positions will be available soon. For more information about the qualifications for each position, please refer to the job postings once they’re published or email technologists@cfpb.gov. You can also sign-up to be notified when the jobs are available.

• Technologist (Analyst, CN 40-52) – Support investigatory teams through data analysis, research, outreach with industry experts and consumers, and other CFPB stakeholders.
• Technologist (Associate, CN-53) – Work on small, cross-functional teams to perform investigative research and think strategically about opportunities for the CFPB to prevent consumer harm.
• Technologist (Program, CN-60) – Help lead the work of small, cross-functional investigatory teams and monitor new entrants in financial markets.
• Technologist (Senior, CN-71) – Serve as a principal, technical expert for the agency and partner with leadership to further strategic investigative and policymaking goals.
• Supervisory Technologist (Senior, CN-72) - Serve as a principal, technical expert for the agency and support technologists across a variety of expertise to further strategic investigative and policymaking goals.

The application process can be tricky and takes longer than private sector hiring. Learn how the application process works.

Prepare your federal resume

Government resumes are typically different from private sector norms and can be as long as five pages. Your resume should include a bit more narrative than what you may be accustomed to — tell the story and detail how you meet the required specialized experience. For example, don’t just list your tech stack or design approaches, but say what you did with them and what the outcomes were. We want to see your full breadth and depth of experience right away as we consider you through the application process.

If something is listed under “minimum qualifications required,” your application must demonstrate that you have experience relevant to that qualification. It is also important that you do not make assumptions about what qualifies. If the announcement says a particular type of experience is required, do not list a similar but different type of experience without explaining how it meets the qualification. If you have that exact experience, always state it.

If this is your first time applying for a federal job, read our tips to help you navigate the process.

Other opportunities to use your technical expertise in government

Federal Trade Commission

The FTC is seeking talented technologists to be part of a growing team of world-class technologists who will help the FTC ensure a vibrant technology marketplace and keep pace with tech developments in today’s economy, by strengthening and supporting law enforcement investigations and actions, advising and engaging with staff and the Commission on policy and research initiatives, and engaging the public and relevant experts to understand trends and to advance the Commission’s work. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis. Apply to be a Technologist at the FTC .

If you work for the state, local, or federal government and are interested in hiring technologists to protect consumers, we have resources that can help.

Stay connected

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Witness a violation while working for a company?

You can report a tip to us, through a separate process if you are a current or former employee of a company that has violated federal consumer financial laws or if you are an industry insider who knows about such a company.

Alert us of a potential violation.