CIA Psychiatrist Jobs 2026: Pay, Role and Apply

CIA psychiatrist jobs pay $335,000 a year for work in Washington, DC and overseas. 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 psychiatrist jobs sit in the Center for Global Health Services, one of seven occupations in that center, alongside physicians, registered nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, preventative health officers, clinical psychologists, and organizational psychologists. Psychiatrists provide medical care and advice to Agency employees, dependents, and other Agency sponsored people, and they work in a primarily consultative model rather than a normal hospital ward.

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 psychiatrist jobs at a glance

Five terms to know.

• ABPN: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the body that certifies psychiatrists.
• Consultative model: a way of working where the psychiatrist advises and guides care, rather than running a ward.
• Center for Global Health Services: the CIA center that runs medical, health, and psychology care for the Agency.
• Overseas assignment: a multi-year posting abroad, which is where physicians spend most of their careers.
• MyLINK: the CIA system where you submit your resume and rank the jobs you want.

What a psychiatrist actually does

As a psychiatrist, you provide medical care and advice to Agency employees, dependents, and other Agency sponsored people. You use your medical expertise in a primarily consultative model, and you help advance the CIA mission where it meets psychiatric and broader behavioral issues. Variability of mental health resources around the world, access limits to care in different regions, and mission needs all shape your work, so no two assignments look the same.

You also work with a global set of United States government medical and psychiatric colleagues, and you deliver care and consultation in various countries under many clinical scenarios. That breadth is the point of the role. A psychiatrist here must judge well with limited resources, and must also give the best opinions possible in plain words to non-medical leaders.

Most of the career happens overseas. Physicians spend most of their careers serving in multi-year assignments in a variety of overseas locations, but some opportunities exist to serve in the Washington, DC area. You will receive excellent benefits and a variety of medical and non-medical training, and sign-on incentives and moving expenses are reimbursed. The capacity and commitment to serve globally is essential, so apply only if long overseas tours suit you and your family.

Pay for CIA psychiatrist jobs

The posting lists pay of $335,000 a year. That is a single figure, not a range, and the posting states no grade for this round. Your pay does not change with a grade step here, so compare the figure with your current practice income before you apply. Sign-on incentives also apply, and moving expenses are reimbursed.

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 other bonus figures, so this guide gives none either.

Requirements for CIA psychiatrist jobs

CIA psychiatrist 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 psychiatrist 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 psychiatrist jobs

Education and licensing are strict. You need an active, unrestricted license as a physician in one or more states, plus active American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) board certification in Psychiatry. You must also maintain continued clinical practice in psychiatry for at least 96 hours per year. The posting lists no upper age limit, and the only age rule is 18 or older.

On experience, the posting states exactly: active, unrestricted license as a physician in one or more states, and active ABPN board certification in Psychiatry. The posting also asks for the ability to maintain continued clinical practice in psychiatry for at least 96 hours per year, plus the ability to meet the minimum requirements for joining the CIA, including United States citizenship and a background investigation.

Desired qualifications for CIA psychiatrist jobs

These extras can strengthen an application, so show them clearly when you have them.

• Willingness to travel overseas, including for prolonged deployments.
• Military, Foreign Service, or other international background.
• Foreign language proficiency.
• Demonstrated superior decision-making skills and judgment.

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

The hiring process may be lengthy, and the CIA says so on its How We Hire page. No fixed timeline is published, so expect a long wait and plan around it. The eight stages below apply to this role too.

1. Submit your resume through MyLINK.
2. Receive an invitation to apply for a specific position.
3. Complete screening, testing, and interviews.
4. Receive a Conditional Offer of Employment.
5. Complete and submit the conditional offer paperwork, including the SF-86.
6. Complete security and medical evaluations as part of the clearance process.
7. Receive the official job offer and onboarding information.
8. 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 psychiatrist jobs when you hold an active, unrestricted license as a physician in one or more states, and active ABPN board certification in Psychiatry. You should also keep at least 96 hours per year of clinical practice in psychiatry, and you should accept long overseas tours without hesitation.

Wait when the license or the ABPN certification lapses, or when you cannot keep 96 hours per year of clinical practice in psychiatry. Waiting also makes sense when overseas service does not suit your family, since physicians spend most of their careers in multi-year assignments abroad. A purely domestic outpatient practice fits that reader better.

Mistakes that cost applicants the role

The most common error is a lapsed credential. The posting asks for an active, unrestricted license and active ABPN board certification in Psychiatry, so a restricted license or an expired certificate stops the application. Check both before you apply, and renew them first if needed.

A second error is treating the role as hospital psychiatry. Psychiatrists here work in a primarily consultative model, and they advise leaders where psychiatry meets mission. If you want inpatient rounds and a fixed clinic, this role will disappoint you.

A third error is ignoring the 96-hour rule. You must maintain continued clinical practice in psychiatry for at least 96 hours per year, so a reader who has left practice entirely cannot meet it. Keep your practice hours current, and keep proof of them ready.

What a Pakistani reader can do instead

A Pakistani reader cannot apply for this role, but the skills still transfer. Psychiatric practice, board-level expertise, and overseas clinical judgment all open doors in Pakistan too. You can build the same base with a medical degree, a valid license, and steady clinical practice in psychiatry.

For work in Pakistan, look at medical college and hospital jobs, such as the Ayub Medical College jobs and the CMH Kharian Medical College jobs on ixjob.pk. Private hospitals and government health departments also hire psychiatrists with the same credentials. 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, and walk away fast when it asks you to pay.

Frequently asked questions

Those answers cover the questions applicants ask most about CIA psychiatrist jobs, so start there before you apply.

The bottom line

CIA psychiatrist jobs suit a United States citizen with an active, unrestricted license as a physician in one or more states, and active ABPN board certification in Psychiatry. The pay is $335,000 a year, 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 Psychiatrist posting: duties, requirements, license and board 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: Ayub Medical College jobs 2026, CMH Kharian Medical College jobs 2026, International Jobs.