General Engineer- SME

Summary The Volpe Center seeks senior-level General Engineers to serve as Principal Technical Advisors leading multi-disciplinary programs to solve the nation's highest-priority transportation safety, security, and resiliency challenges. You will provide expert consultation to high-ranking officials on emerging technologies and present complex findings to national and international forums. You will also lead research efforts and develop novel engineering solutions. Responsibilities The General Engineer: Evaluates proposed technologies for programs and identifies future trends and risks in emerging technologies. Uses multi-disciplinary engineering expertise to significantly improve the safety, security, and resiliency of transportation infrastructure. Provides expert technical skill in applying advanced engineering theories and processes to evaluate proposed technologies and identify future trends and risks in emerging technologies. Serves as senior program manager of multiple multi-disciplinary programs responsible for research, development, test, and evaluation of technology/integrated systems and solutions. The ideal candidate is a nationally recognized engineering authority with a proven track record of leading high-stakes, multi-disciplinary programs that safeguard and modernize the nation's transportation infrastructure. You are a strategic thinker capable of navigating complex engineering challenges, translating advanced technical theories into resilient, real-world solutions for emerging safety and security threats. Whether providing expert consultation to high-ranking officials or mentoring the next generation of technical staff, you bring a sophisticated understanding of how emerging technologies and infrastructure resiliency intersect with national policy and public interest. Requirements Conditions of Employment Must meet specialized experience stated in Qualifications section Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date Required documents must be submitted by the closing date. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You maybe subject to complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. DRUG TESTING: Varies by position. Some positions have been determined to be a critical safety/security position as defined in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Order, DOT 3910. ID entitled "Drug and Alcohol- Free Departmental Workplace." Therefore, if selected for a position that requires drug testing, you will be required to submit a pre employment/pre-appointment drug test, you will also be subject to Random Drug Testing. POSITION SENSITIVITY AND RISK: Varies by position. SECURITY CLEARANCE: Varies by position. If applicable, you must be able to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance of the position to which appointed. Qualifications To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration. To qualify for the Grade 15, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-14, it must include: Experience leading and managing multi-disciplinary engineering programs that require the application of advanced engineering theories and concepts to address sensitive, high-priority transportation safety, security, or resiliency challenges. Experience serving as a senior technical authority providing consultation to high-ranking officials on the evaluation of emerging technologies, the identification of future technical trends, and the development of novel solutions for poorly defined engineering problems. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY: Knowledge of engineering concepts, principles, and practices, and of equipment, tools, mechanical devices, and their uses to produce motion, light, power, technology, and other applications. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance. ORAL COMMUNICATION: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listen to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. For all types of consideration, 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. For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: A. DEGREE: ENGINEERING --To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE -- College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1 , or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive). All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. Transcripts are required for this position. Additional Information POSITION SENSITIVITY AND RISK: Varies by position. This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, [email protected]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation