Accounts Payable Accountant

National Institute of Standards and TechnologyGaithersburg, Marylandusajobspublished 10/02/2026
Must-have:FinTech

NIST is seeking an Accounts Payable Accountant to join the Accounts Payable Group within the Financial Operations Division. This position is responsible for coordinating the team's invoices, payments, and financial operations to ensure accuracy and compliance with federal regulations and NIST policies.

Major duties

As an Accounts Payable Accountant, this role focuses on maintaining the integrity of accounting data, ensuring proper sourcing and use of funds, and enhancing NIST's internal financial management policies and procedures. The candidate will: Coordinate the team's invoice processing, payment, and financial operations Resolve payment discrepancies Review fund allocations Provide accurate and timely financial information to support operational and management decisions

Qualifications

Basic Requirements Degree: accounting; or a degree in a related field such as business administration, finance, or public administration that included or was supplemented by 24 semester hours in accounting. The 24 hours may include up to 6 hours of credit in business law. (The term "accounting" means "accounting and/or auditing" in this standard. Similarly, "accountant" should be interpreted, generally, as "accountant and/or auditor.") or Combination of education and experience: at least 4 years of experience in accounting, or an equivalent combination of accounting experience, college-level education, and training that provided professional accounting knowledge. The applicant's background must also include one of the following: Twenty-four semester hours in accounting or auditing courses of appropriate type and quality. This can include up to 6 hours of business law; A certificate as Certified Public Accountant or a Certified Internal Auditor, obtained through written examination; or Completion of the requirements for a degree that included substantial course work in accounting or auditing, e.g., 15 semester hours, but that does not fully satisfy the 24-semester-hour requirement of paragraph A, provided that (a) the applicant has successfully worked at the full-performance level in accounting, auditing, or a related field, e.g., valuation engineering or financial institution examining; (b) a panel of at least two higher level professional accountants or auditors has determined that the applicant has demonstrated a good knowledge of accounting and of related and underlying fields that equals in breadth, depth, currency, and level of advancement that which is normally associated with successful completion of the 4-year course of study described in paragraph A; and (c) except for literal nonconformance to the requirement of 24 semester hours in accounting, the applicant's education, training, and experience fully meet the specified IN ADDITION: To qualify, the applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-7 (ZA-I) level at NIST. Specialized experience is defined as: Experience with tracking workflows or reconciling accounting data. Experience with accounts payable processes. or master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position has an education requirement. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required before a final offer of employment. Foreign Education Evaluation: If your education was completed outside of the United States, it must be evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure it is comparable to education received in accredited U.S. institutions. Required Documentation: You must include a copy of your foreign education evaluation-including a course-by-course listing-with your application. Resources: You may click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with a course-by-course listing) is required with your application.