CIA organizational psychologist jobs pay $179,891 to $191,886 a year (GS 14 to 15) for work in the Washington, DC area. Applications close January 31, 2027. This guide also explains what the job involves, who qualifies, and how to apply through the CIA careers site.
Can Pakistanis apply? No. This role requires United States citizenship. Dual-national United States citizens are eligible, but Pakistani citizens without United States citizenship cannot apply.
CIA organizational psychologist jobs work as internal consulting. Psychologists sit with stakeholders across the Agency, find out what those teams need, and then design applied research that answers the question. The findings must lead to action, not just a report on a shelf.
- Role: Organizational Psychologist, Central Intelligence Agency
- Location: Washington, DC (on-site)
- Pay: $179,891 to $191,886 a year (GS 14 to 15)
- Closes: January 31, 2027
- Opened: September 1, 2026
- Citizenship: United States citizenship required
- How to apply: through the CIA careers site, then MyLINK
By the ixjob.pk editorial team. Last verified November 3, 2026, against the official USAJOBS posting and the CIA careers pages, so every fact above traces to an official source.
This page explains the official posting in plain words, so you can check the facts fast. ixjob.pk is not affiliated with the CIA.
CIA organizational psychologist jobs at a glance
| Detail | What the posting says |
|---|---|
| Agency | Central Intelligence Agency |
| Unit | Applied research and consulting teams |
| Location | Washington, DC (on-site, no remote work) |
| Pay | $179,891 to $191,886 a year (GS 14 to 15) |
| Opened | September 1, 2026 |
| Closes | January 31, 2027 |
| Citizenship | United States citizenship required |
| Job series | 0180 Psychology |
| Security clearance | Sensitive Compartmented Information |
| Service type | Excepted Service, not represented by a union |
| Drug test | Yes |
| Financial disclosure | Required |
| Relocation | Relocation expenses reimbursed: Yes |
| Education | Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Applied Psychology, or a closely related field |
| Experience | Five years of post-ABD relevant work experience |
| Job type | Permanent, full-time |
| Travel | Occasional travel |
Five terms to know.
- I-O psychology: Industrial-Organizational psychology, the study of people and performance at work.
- Post-ABD: after completing all but the dissertation stage of a doctoral program.
- Psychometrics: the science of measuring mental traits, such as ability and personality, with tests.
- Applied research: research done to solve a real problem, not just to add theory.
- MyLINK: the CIA system where you submit your resume and rank the jobs you want.
What a organizational psychologist actually does
As an organizational psychologist, you serve as an internal consultant. You work directly with stakeholders across the Agency to identify operational needs, design and conduct applied research, and deliver findings that leaders can act on. Your work spans many research areas, and each one ties back to people and performance.
The research covers how the Agency collects and analyzes operational data, how organizational change and climate affect workforce outcomes and mission results, and whether employees hold the resources and training they need. You also test which traits predict success in specialized or non-traditional roles, build metrics that improve efficiency, measure stakeholder satisfaction, and check whether programs achieve their aims.
A normal week mixes consulting, analysis, and reporting. You meet stakeholders who differ widely in technical background and role, and you turn their vague problem into a clear research question. Then you design a survey or an experiment, run advanced statistics, and build a visual report that a non-expert can follow.
The role runs on a rotation model, so you should expect several roles across your career, with shifting duties, settings, and tempo as assignments change. Professional development follows too, in core psychological disciplines and in adjacent technical areas as needed.
Pay for CIA organizational psychologist jobs
The posting lists pay from $179,891 to $191,886 a year (GS 14 to 15). That is a senior range, and it matches the PhD plus five years of post-ABD relevant work experience that the posting asks for. Your exact step also depends on experience, so two hires can sit at different points inside the same range.
The CIA role pages describe benefits that support health and wellness, time off, family, finances, and continuing education. Their programs include government health benefits, flexible schedules, sick leave, and childcare. In some cases, the Agency also offers sign-on incentives and covers moving expenses if you relocate. The posting itself gives no figures for bonuses or allowances, so this guide gives none either.
Requirements for CIA organizational psychologist jobs
CIA organizational psychologist jobs set a short list of hard conditions. Miss one, and the application stops there. Run through each item first, then check your own record against it before you spend time on the rest. Every item below comes from the official posting for CIA organizational psychologist jobs.
- Be physically in the United States or one of its territories when you submit your resume through MyLINK.
- Be a United States citizen and at least 18 years old. Dual-national United States citizens are eligible.
- Register for the Selective Service, if that applies to you.
Two more conditions complete the list, so read them too.
- Be willing to move to the Washington, DC area.
- Pass a thorough medical and psychological exam, a polygraph interview, and a comprehensive background investigation.
Education and experience for CIA organizational psychologist jobs
Education is strict. You need a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Applied Psychology, or a closely related field from a regionally accredited, research-focused doctoral program.
The posting states no GPA rule, so this guide states none either. The posting lists no upper age limit, and the only age rule is 18 or older.
On experience, the posting states exactly: five years of post-ABD relevant work experience. That experience can come from the Intelligence Community, the federal government, private-sector consulting, or academic research with strong applied parts. The posting also asks for strong expertise in applied behavioral science research, research methodology, and statistics, plus skill in personnel selection and assessment, job performance measurement, motivation and work attitudes, organizational effectiveness, and psychological measurement theory.
Desired qualifications for CIA organizational psychologist jobs
These extras can strengthen an application, so show them clearly when you have them.
- Experience consulting for stakeholders who do not hold an applied psychology background.
- Advanced skill in several statistical programming languages or packages, such as R, Python, STATA, SPSS, or SAS.
- Advanced analytics skill, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, or large language model applications.
- Expertise in psychometric test development and validation.
- Expertise in personnel assessment and selection research, including job performance measurement and evaluation.
Clearance and checks
This role needs Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance, and the posting also requires a drug test and financial disclosure. You must pass a thorough medical and psychological exam, a polygraph interview, and a comprehensive background investigation. The posting lists no supervisory duties, and relocation expenses are reimbursed.
The checks run after the conditional offer, as part of the security and medical evaluations, so they come late in the process. That timing matters, because an early interview is not a job offer. A failed check at that stage ends the process, so be honest about your record from the start and keep it clean while you wait.
How CIA hiring works, step by step
Hiring takes time at the CIA, and the Agency warns applicants about that up front. No fixed timeline is published, so expect a long wait and plan around it. The eight stages below come from the CIA How We Hire page.
- Submit your resume through MyLINK.
- Receive an invitation to apply for a specific position.
- Complete screening, testing, and interviews.
- Receive a Conditional Offer of Employment.
- Complete and submit the conditional offer paperwork, including the SF-86.
- Complete security and medical evaluations as part of the clearance process.
- Receive the official job offer and onboarding information.
- Onboard.
Start on the CIA careers site, where you express interest in up to four jobs. Then move to MyLINK to submit your resume and rankings. The USAJOBS listing is for viewing only, so a resume sent anywhere else never reaches the hiring team.
When you are ready, use the official route below.
Search for this job title at CIA Careers
Who should apply and who should wait
Apply for CIA organizational psychologist jobs when you hold the PhD and the five years of post-ABD relevant work experience. You also need real skill in applied research methods, such as experimental design, survey design, and advanced statistics, plus the ability to explain results to stakeholders who vary widely in role and technical background.
Wait when the degree or the experience falls short. A master’s degree does not meet this posting, and neither does a PhD with no applied research record. Waiting also makes sense when you dislike consulting work, since the role asks you to serve many stakeholders, adapt to new assignments, and rotate across roles through your career.
Mistakes that cost applicants the role
The most common error is a thin applied record. The posting asks for five years of post-ABD relevant work experience, so academic work with no applied parts may not count. Show real projects, real clients, and real results in your resume.
A second error is weak communication. You must explain complex results to stakeholders who differ widely in technical background, so a resume full of jargon works against you. Write plainly, and show one example where your findings changed a decision.
A third error is treating the interview as the finish line. Screening and interviews sit in the middle of the process, and the background investigation, polygraph, and medical exams still follow the conditional offer. Plan for those steps too, and keep your record clean while you wait.
What a Pakistani reader can do instead
A Pakistani reader cannot apply for this role, but the skills still transfer. Industrial-organizational psychology grows fast in Pakistan too, in HR teams, consulting firms, and large employers. You can build the same base with a psychology degree, plus skill in statistics, survey design, and tools such as R or Python.
For practice, the psychometric assessment test page on ixjob.pk helps you learn how workplace tests work. For work in Pakistan, look at HR, consulting, and research roles in the private sector, and also at Pakistani government jobs. The International Jobs category also lists other roles open to international applicants.
Watch out for fake CIA job offers
Apply only through the official CIA careers site and MyLINK. No recruiter can sell you a place in the hiring process, and no agent can move your file faster for a fee.
The FTC job scams guide states that it is always free to apply for a federal job. Any message that asks for money, bank details, or gift cards in exchange for a CIA job is a scam. Check any unexpected job message against the official site before you reply, since a real CIA recruiter never asks for money.
Frequently asked questions
What does a CIA organizational psychologist do?
A CIA organizational psychologist serves as an internal consultant. Psychologists work with stakeholders across the Agency to identify needs, design and conduct applied research, and deliver findings that leaders can act on.
How much does a CIA organizational psychologist make?
A CIA organizational psychologist makes $179,891 to $191,886 a year on the GS 14 to 15 scale. The senior range matches the PhD and five years of post-ABD experience the posting asks for.
What degree and experience does a CIA organizational psychologist need?
You need a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Applied Psychology, or a closely related field. You also need five years of post-ABD relevant work experience. The posting states no GPA rule.
Is this a rotation role?
Yes. Organizational psychologists work within a rotation model and should expect to serve in multiple roles throughout their career. Assignments change in duties, settings, and tempo as the work shifts.
How long does it take to get hired by the CIA?
The CIA says its hiring process may be lengthy and gives no fixed timeline. The steps are a resume through MyLINK, an invitation to apply, screening, testing, and interviews, a conditional offer, paperwork, security and medical evaluations, and then onboarding.
Can a Pakistani citizen apply for CIA organizational psychologist jobs?
No. United States citizenship is required. Dual-national United States citizens are eligible, but Pakistani citizens without United States citizenship cannot apply.
Those answers cover the questions applicants ask most about CIA organizational psychologist jobs, so start there before you apply.
The bottom line
CIA organizational psychologist jobs suit a United States citizen with a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology or Applied Psychology and five years of post-ABD relevant work experience. The pay ranges from $179,891 to $191,886 a year (GS 14 to 15), and applications close January 31, 2027. Check the official posting before you apply, since the posting is the only source that counts.
Check the date first, then use the official route below.
Search for this job title at CIA Careers
Sources
Pay, dates, duties, and requirements above come from the official posting and the CIA careers pages linked here, so you can verify every fact.
- USAJOBS Organizational Psychologist posting: duties, requirements, PhD and experience rules, pay, and the January 31, 2027 closing date.
- CIA How We Hire: minimum requirements and the eight hiring steps.
- CIA Careers: the application route through MyLINK and the general benefits description.
- FTC Job Scams guide: how to spot fake federal job offers.
Related jobs: Psychometric assessment test online, International Jobs.