<P> According to the Office of Personnel Management, the SES was designed to be a corps of executives selected for their leadership qualifications, serving in key positions just below the top Presidential appointees as a link between them and the rest of the Federal (civil service) workforce . SES positions are considered to be above the GS - 15 level of the General Schedule, and below Level III of the Executive Schedule . Career members of the SES ranks are eligible for the Presidential Rank Awards program . </P> <P> Up to 10% of SES positions can be filled as political appointments rather than by career employees . About half of the SES is designated "Career Reserved", which can only be filled by career employees . The other half is designated "General", which can be filled by either career employees or political appointments as desired by the administration . Due to the 10% limitation, most General positions are still filled by career appointees . </P> <P> Senior level employees of several agencies are exempt from the SES but have their own senior executive positions; these include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, Government Accountability Office, Members of the Foreign Service, and government corporations . </P> <Table> (Effective on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2018) <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Minimum </Td> <Td> Maximum </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Agencies with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System </Td> <Td> $126,148 </Td> <Td> $189,600 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Agencies without a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System </Td> <Td> $126,148 </Td> <Td> $174,500 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

What is an ses position in federal government