Series 0856

Electronics Technical

Electronics technicians who test, install, maintain, and evaluate electronic equipment and systems using practical, hands-on knowledge. Most jobs are with the Navy and the Air Force.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0800 Engineering and Architecture Group · General Schedule

See open 0856 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 534
Open now: 15
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+14%)
Demand score: 84/100
Remote opportunity score: 40/100
Veteran opportunity score: 88/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-9 to GS-12

Most common promotion potential: GS-11

GS pay plan, used by 70% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$76,557 to $107,269 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: 33%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 67%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 57%
Telework eligible (open now): 40%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Navy (221)
Department of the Air Force (68)
Department of the Army (60)
Department of Justice (57)
Department of Veterans Affairs (45)

Top states

California (79)
Virginia (64)
Florida (37)
Texas (34)
Washington (28)

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 and November.

Typical postings for series 0856 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	8% below average
February	About average
March	25% above average
April	6% above average
May	5% below average
June	About average
July	About average
August	13% above average
September	About average
October	About average
November	12% below average
December	16% 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 0856 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	687
FY 2019	743
FY 2020	726
FY 2021	747
FY 2022	825
FY 2023	930
FY 2024	894
FY 2025	457
FY 2026	507

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0856 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	38
Jan 2026	33
Feb 2026	44
Mar 2026	54
Apr 2026	52
May 2026	48
Jun 2026	35
Jul 2026	55
Aug 2026	52
Sep 2026	52
Oct 2026	53
Nov 2026 (month to date)	18

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.