This information may be dated, it was over 5 years ago, but I suspect it hasn't changed too much. First contact is made by an HR person who has received the resume and is gauging continued interest/availability, and is trying to set up the interview. In my case, I was immediately referred to an admin person who owned the schedules of the panel I was interviewed with. Both of these people were very helpful, but I understand both have since left. The interview is a "Panel Interview" - in my case I believe it was 5 people of varying pay grades, from peer to division manager. There were 2 task leaders, 1 Division Manager, and 1 Analyst in the interview. The Panel Interview starts with a brief chat, and then the interviewee presenting previous work that is relevant. I had a slide deck to present (my creation), and was virtually uninterrupted during the presentation, and then we had a discussion on the analytic approach taken during that project. Then I received the "sales-pitch" part of the interview describing the work I would be doing. After the interview, I received an offer within about 72-96 hours (I think), via a phone call from the HR person, and a package being FedEx'd to me. There is some pre-employment stuff to be done including verifying clearances, drug screening, and checking references. From first contact to start date was probably around 30 days.