Office of the Secretary of Defense

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is the principal staff of the Secretary of Defense: the under secretaries and assistant secretaries for policy, acquisition and sustainment, research and engineering, personnel and readiness, intelligence and security, and the comptroller, together with their offices and the Secretary’s immediate staff. OSD sets Defense Department policy and oversees the military departments and defense agencies rather than running operations, so its civilian jobs lean toward policy analysis, program oversight, security, records and executive support, mostly at the Pentagon.

Recent listings have included a deputy chief information security officer, a staff director, a management analyst serving as program manager, an environmental protection specialist, a records management specialist, an export compliance officer and a detail to a strategic workforce acceleration team.

Applying tip: OSD positions almost always require a security clearance and many require Top Secret with SCI access, so expect that process; detail announcements are open only to current federal employees, usually with their home agency’s agreement. The security clearance guide explains what clearance levels mean and how they affect telework.