Frank J. Ruocco joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1965. He served in a variety of assignments, including as an analyst, supervisor and manager in the Office of Strategic Research; Deputy Director of the Office of Imagery Analysis; Chief of Collection, Requirements, and Evaluation Staff; and Director of the Office of Information Resources.

One of his final assignments with the agency came in 1988, when he served as director of the National Photographic Interpretation Center – which later became part of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He retired from the agency in 1995, after 30 years of distinguished service.