Senior Attorney Advisor, Operations, Space and Intelligence Law

United States Space Force•Vandenberg — 747 Nebraska Ave, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA 93437, US• Temporary

Posted 6 hours ago• Legal & Compliance

Compensation

$146,632–$197,200/year

Job Description

Summary

Do not email applications. To submit your resume for this Direct Hire opportunity click here.

For additional information on other USSF direct hire opportunities visit the Air Force Civilian Careers Space Force website and follow USSF on LinkedIn.

Accepting applications

Open & closing dates

03/17/2026 to 03/24/2026

Salary $146,632 to - $197,200 per year

Salary is dependent upon duty location, grade, step and locality pay. Equivalent to GS-14/15.

Pay scale & grade NH 4

Location

Duties

The United States Space Force (USSF) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA is searching for a Senior Attorney Advisor, Operations, Space and Intelligence Law (NH-0950-04, GS-14/15 Equivalent).

Description:
Come join our legal team! U.S. Space Forces - Space (S4S) is searching for a well-qualified candidate to join the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate and fill the Senior Attorney, Operations, Space and National Security Law position located at Vandenberg SFB, CA.
S4S's mission is to plan, integrate, conduct, and assess global space operations to deliver combat relevant space effects, in, from, and to space, for Combatant Commanders, Coalition partners, the Joint Force, and the Nation. In doing so, S4S protects the joint warfighter from space-enabled attack, defends on-orbit assets, delivers combat relevant space effects to the joint warfighter and connects partners and allies to maximize resources and enhance resiliency in the space domain. Our mission is to plan, integrate, conduct, and assess global space operations to deliver combat relevant space effects, in, from, and to space, for Combatant Commanders, Coalition partners, the Joint Force, and the Nation. In doing so, S4S protects the joint warfighter from space-enabled attack, defends on-orbit assets, delivers combat relevant space effects to the joint warfighter and connects partners and allies to maximize resources and enhance resiliency in the space domain.

Ideal Candidate:
Serves as the Senior Attorney, Operations, Space and National Security Law for Commander, Space Forces - Space (S4S/CC) and Combined Joint Force Space Component Commander under the authority and direction of the S4S Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) located at Vandenberg SFB, California.
- Provides legal advice and support to HQ S4S and its five geographically dispersed operations centers relevant to S4S mission areas including, space object identification, spectrum characterization, on-orbit protect and defend missions, launch/ re-entry warning, orbital warfare, MILSATCOM, NAVWAR and execution of contingency operations.
- Renders legal opinions on the legality of intelligence collection activities and resulting products that may be generated by the Commands' normal operations and on the legal aspect of intelligence oversight as well as counsels operators on legitimate methods of monitoring, detecting, collecting and disseminating information.
- Ensures coordination of and consistency in legal advice with S4S/JA on all legal matters, to include space and operations law, international law, intelligence oversight, national security law, adverse actions, fiscal law, civil law, and ethics.

Requirements

Must be a U.S Citizen.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance.
Safeguards classified or sensitive budget-related information and/or files.
May be required to work overtime on an unscheduled or emergency basis.
Eligible for situational telework only, including Emergency and OPM prescribed “Unscheduled Telework”.
This position will close after 5 business days or 75 applications, whichever comes first.
Employee may be required to perform travel by military or commercial passenger aircraft in the performance of temporary duty assignments.
PCS / relocation funding is authorized.
Required to handle and safeguard sensitive and/or classified information in accordance with regulations to reduce potential compromise; employee must obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance.
Candidates are required to disclose any pending or other judicial or miscellaneous allegations under review, including any adverse findings by a state bar or disciplinary committee.
This position is designated as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) under the Air Force Civilian Drug Testing Program.
A Doctor of Law (Juris Doctor) degree from an ABA accredited law school institution is required.
Subject to Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY): 30 days a year.
A Masters of Law (LL.M.) or higher degree in Air and Space Law, National Security Law, and/or Cyber Law is preferred.
Employee must, at all times, be an active (or equivalent) member, in good standing, of the bar of the highest court of a state, US commonwealth, US territory, or the District of Columbia.

The 0905 series does have an individual occupational requirement that must be met.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies as related to the series and grade of the position being filled. Final qualifications determinations will be assessed based on OPM's General Schedule Qualifications Standards found here:

Interviews: You will be contacted by e-mail and/or telephone if your application is identified as qualifying for a position being filled. An interview may be conducted. If interviewed, you will be asked to address the same knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies used to initially qualify your application for the position.

Required Documents

Resume:You must submit a resume that may NOT exceed two pages, and the font size should not be smaller than 10 pts. You will not be considered for this vacancy if your resume exceeds two pages or is illegible/unreadable. Do NOT include photographs, inappropriate material, inappropriate content, nor personal information such as age, gender, religion, social security number, etc., on your resume. If the resume you submit contains such information you will not be considered for this vacancy. Your resume must provide:

Personal information - your full name, email and mailing addresses, phone number
Education information - the name of the school and the dates you attended
Work experience - paid and unpaid work with the following information:
- Job title
- Detailed duties and accomplishments
- Employer's name and address
- Supervisor's name and phone number
- Starting and ending dates (If actual dates are not known, provide your best-estimated timeframes.)
- Hours per week
- Salary, if applicable
Other qualifications - skills, certifications/licenses, honors, awards, special accomplishments, and job-related training courses

College Transcripts (if applicable): Please see the Education section of this announcement for detailed information about transcripts.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.