General Engineer - DIRECT HIRE.

Duties

The Office of Automation Safety at NHTSA is in the process of recruiting qualified individuals for several roles within their organization. Following an interview process, selected applicants will be assigned to one of three divisions and will report directly to the corresponding division's Chief.

The General Engineer

• Contributes to/leads the planning, initiation, drafting, and coordination of a comprehensive regulatory program for the safe governance vehicles equipped with automated technologies.
• Conducts and/or leads independent reviews and analyses identifying research needs as required to ensure that the methodologies and guidelines related to automated technology standards, exemptions are practicable and reasonable.
• Monitors and reviews activities, results of research, and analyses conducted by entities both within and outside NHTSA. Maintains an up-to-date knowledge of the state-of-the-art in such areas as automated vehicle safety, capability, sensor technology, deployments, and regulations and evaluates the applicability of such knowledge to NHTSAʼs activities.
• Manages and coordinates technical review of exemption applications that may include an analysis of material submitted, a search and survey of relevant information available to the agency, and the collection of additional information.
• Recommends the grant or denial of applications and, upon approval of recommendations, drafts and coordinates the necessary documentation.

NHTSA is looking for an employee who possesses the ability to lead and contribute to multidisciplinary group projects, has excellent written and oral communication skills, has expert technical experience with vehicle automation or related fields, particularly in relation to safety, and has experience in experimental research methodologies.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Direct Hire Authority/SME will be used to fill this position

Conditions Of Employment

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may 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.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals. Appointment will be subject to the applicant’s successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the mandatory education and specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To Qualify For The Grade 12, You Must Have At Least One Year Of Experience Equal Or Equivalent To The GS-11 It Must Include

• Experience working on mechanical, electrical, software, or multidisciplinary engineering programs or research projects.
• Experience communicating technical project information in a structured manner on a semi-regular basis or as required by specific project needs.

To Qualify For The Grade 13, You Must Have At Least One Year Of Experience Equal Or Equivalent To The GS-12, It Must Include

• Experience planning and working on mechanical, electrical, software, or multidisciplinary engineering programs or research projects related to robotics, vehicles, vehicle automation, or safety.
• Experience in coordinating a technical project with other team members.
• Experience communicating technical information through briefings, reports, or other structured means on a regular basis or as required by specific project needs.

To Qualify For The Grade 14, You Must Have At Least One Year Of Experience Equal Or Equivalent To The GS-13, It Must Include

• Experience planning and leading mechanical, electrical, software, or multidisciplinary engineering programs or research projects related to robotics, vehicles, vehicle automation, or safety.
• Experience independently leading technical projects and communicating directly with organizational leadership for specific engineering or research project needs.
• Experience identifying, analyzing, and presenting and implementing strategic options, such as product design or regulatory approach alternatives.

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:

• Technical Knowledge: Knowledge in any of the following areas: vehicle automation, vehicle safety, systems engineering, robotics, software development, safety management methods and systems, hazard analysis, risk assessment, safety validation methodologies, experimental research methodologies, and related fields.
• Communication: Ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing, so that the expression is logical, clear, and convincing.
• Leading Technical Projects: Ability to lead a technical project or initiate and develop a technical program.
• Technical Decision Support: Ability to apply technical skills to lead projects requiring complex solutions stemming from either a multidisciplinary scope, an obscure technical subject matter, or consideration and management of multiple differing stakeholder interests.

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: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Mandatory Education Requirements

• 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
• 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:
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

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 and 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,

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.