Series 0854

Computer Engineering

Computer engineers who design, build, and test computer hardware and the software that runs on it, often for weapons, aircraft, and ship systems. Many jobs are with the Navy.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0800 Engineering and Architecture Group · General Schedule

See open 0854 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 369
Open now: 27
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+37%)
Demand score: 80/100
Remote opportunity score: 67/100
Veteran opportunity score: 89/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-7 to GS-15

Most common promotion potential: GS-13

GS pay plan, used by 32% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$115,475 to $172,578 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 46%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 54%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 44%
Telework eligible (open now): 67%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Navy (178)
Department of the Air Force (65)
Department of Defense (51)
Department of the Army (29)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (19)

Top states

Maryland (85)
California (62)
Florida (46)
Virginia (41)
District of Columbia (39)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings usually peak in March and August and are lowest in December.

Typical postings for series 0854 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	8% below average
February	6% above average
March	19% above average
April	7% above average
May	About average
June	About average
July	About average
August	11% above average
September	5% below average
October	About average
November	About average
December	18% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 0854 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	1,099
FY 2019	1,251
FY 2020	1,041
FY 2021	989
FY 2022	1,335
FY 2023	1,328
FY 2024	1,103
FY 2025	495
FY 2026	337

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0854 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	15
Jan 2026	22
Feb 2026	24
Mar 2026	42
Apr 2026	28
May 2026	34
Jun 2026	28
Jul 2026	32
Aug 2026	38
Sep 2026	54
Oct 2026	37
Nov 2026 (month to date)	15

0801 General Engineering 3,680 postings in 12 months
0810 Civil Engineering 1,496 postings in 12 months
0830 Mechanical Engineering 1,428 postings in 12 months
0850 Electrical Engineering 1,230 postings in 12 months
0802 Engineering Technical 1,075 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.