Careers
WAPA IS HIRING
Your experience already translates.
Technical work. Cybersecurity. Logistics. Contracting. Operations. Leadership. Working a shift, running a crew, or being trusted with equipment that cannot fail. Military experience shows up in more WAPA careers than you might expect, and about a third of federal employees are veterans. Federal service also credits your military time toward retirement and leave.
Four ways your service helps
Veterans preference
If you served on active duty and separated under honorable conditions, you may get 5 or 10 preference points on public announcements. Preference-eligible veterans are listed ahead of non-veterans with equal scores. Upload your DD-214, and an SF-15 with your VA letter if you are claiming 10 points.
VEOA
The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act lets preference-eligible veterans, and veterans with three or more years of continuous active service, apply to merit promotion announcements that are otherwise limited to current federal employees. You compete against other status candidates.
VRA
The Veterans Recruitment Appointment lets WAPA appoint you without competition into positions up to GS-11, journeyman-level craft, or AD-3. You qualify if you are a disabled veteran, served during a war or campaign, received an Armed Forces Service Medal, or separated within the last three years.
30 percent or more disabled
Veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more can be appointed without competition at any grade. You are referred as long as you meet the minimum qualifications.
Military spouses
If you are the spouse of an active-duty service member, of a service member with a 100 percent service-connected disability, or of a service member who died on active duty, WAPA can appoint you without competition under the military spouse hiring authority. Active-duty spouses no longer need to have relocated on orders to be eligible. Upload your marriage certificate and your spouse’s orders or documentation with your application.
Documents to have ready
DD-214 (member 4 copy). SF-15 and your VA disability letter if claiming 10-point preference. For VRA, whichever document shows your eligibility. For spouses, the marriage certificate and your spouse’s orders. Upload all of them to USAJOBS once and reuse them.
Your time counts
Honorable active-duty service can be bought back for federal retirement credit, counts toward your annual leave accrual rate from your first day, and counts toward the 12 months of service needed for paid parental leave. Ask HR about a military service deposit after you are hired.
Still serving?
Guard and Reserve members are protected under USERRA. WAPA has employees who deploy and come back to their jobs. Military leave is separate from annual leave.
Questions veterans ask
Does my MOS map to a WAPA job?
Often. Electricians, power generation, communications, and heavy equipment specialties map to craft and communications jobs. Operations and command-post experience maps to dispatch. Logistics and contracting map to procurement. Describe the work in plain terms on your resume, not just the code.
Do I need a journeyman card?
No. The apprenticeship is where most people earn it, and VRA can place you into an apprenticeship without competition. If you already hold a card, you can apply at the journeyman level.
How do I know if I am preference eligible?
Use the Department of Labor’s Veterans’ Preference Advisor for a quick answer, then confirm with your DD-214. WAPA HR can help you read it.
Is there a veteran contact at WAPA?
[HR to designate a veterans employment contact or confirm the shared mailbox handles these.]
Questions about a job or the application process?
Email pmasscrecruit@wapa.gov.
A real person in Human Resources reads it.
Last modified on October 22nd, 2026