Duties

This is a developmental position in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The student trainee will implement transportation program functions in a wide variety of disciplines (engineering, planning, environment, etc.) under the review of the office specialists. The activities will be focused on identifying and eliminating program deficiencies; and developing and coordinating a variety of reports, staff actions, correspondence, program briefings and other related actions.

The Student Trainee (Transportation Specialist) Pathways Intern will:

• Track data and maintain databases of varied Federal-aid performance data and drafts reports as requested.
• Participate in initiatives/activities as required by the Division Performance Plan to implement programs, products, processes, or technologies that contribute to the achievement of the agency's National Strategic Goals.
• Assist supervisor or staff members in the formulation of milestones, goals, target dates and requirements to evaluate/analyze various aspects of projects/programs.
• Assist in monitoring status of accomplishments against established schedules and on occasion is tasked to identify anticipated problem areas and initiate simple corrective actions.
• Research, analyze, and draft responses to questions regarding specific transportation related topics.
• Participate in meetings, workshops, conferences, and similar activities.

The ideal candidate is a current engineering student with at least 4 or more semesters in their program with an interest in areas such as pavements, materials, construction project management, information management, resilience, and sustainability.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen and meet the requirements of the program.
• You must be at least 16 years of age
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date

PATHWAYS ELIGIBILITY - To be eligible for appointment to a position in the DOT Internship Program, throughout the duration of the appointment, an individual must:

• Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution on a half to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution).
  
• Be seeking a degree that is relevant to this position.
• Be able to work at least 16 hours per week, depending on your academic schedule, and preferably full-time during the summer.
• Grade qualifications must be met prior to start date.

If selected you:

• must sign a Pathways Internship Program Participant Agreement;
• may be employed throughout the academic year;
• must maintain status as a current student;
• maintain good academic standing, at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 grading scale.
• must furnish course registration information at the start of each school term; and
• must provide verification of academic status (transcript) at the end of each academic term.

For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP: Must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• DECLARATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT: Selectee is required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine suitability for federal employment.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
• TRIAL PERIOD: The intern is in a trial period throughout the entire Pathways Internship appointment.
• PHYSICAL LOCATION: Intern will be required to work onsite unless COVID-19 restrictions mandate change.
• TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position is approved for occasional telework. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials. You are required to report to the office on a regular basis since this is not a full-time telework position, or approved as a remote work position.

Qualifications

Please be sure that you have read and meet the Pathways program requirements under the Requirements section. Then, to further meet the minimum qualifications for this position, review the following grade specific education requirements to determine full eligibility before applying:

• GS-05 - Completion of four academic years of post-high school study leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree.
• GS-07 - Completion of one academic year of graduate level education; OR eligibility under the http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=General-Policies">Superior Academic Achievement * provision, as defined in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual for Qualification Standards, and completion of a bachelor's degree.

• GS-09 - Completion of two academic years of graduate level education, or a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.

*Superior Academic Achievement (Bachelor's degree) - In the upper one-third of graduating class; OR a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0, as recorded on official transcript, or based on courses completed during final 2 years of curriculum; OR a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of 4.0, based on average of required courses completed in major or required courses in major completed during the final 2 years of curriculum.

Academic Year Clarification:

• At the undergraduate level, 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours is comparable to 1 year of undergraduate education. When academic credit is expressed in units or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the institution.
• At the graduate level, one year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full time study requirement for GS-07. And 36 semester hours for 2 years of full-time study should be considered as satisfying the GS-09 requirement. When academic credit is expressed in units or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the institution.

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:

Customer Service - Anticipates and meets the needs of both internal and external customers. Delivers high-quality products and services; is committed to continuous improvement.

Transportation Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods applicable to planning, designing, and constructing of transportation systems including traffic analysis, signal analysis, highway capacity, pavement design, bridge construction, planning of transportation projects, environmental analysis of transportation facilities, and transportation network analysis.

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 Pathways Internship Positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PIP

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the start of the internship.

Additional information

This is an Excepted Service Appointment for an initial period expected to last for more than 1-year. As a part of the Pathways Internship Program, the appointment may be extended until the selectee's projected graduation date, plus 120 days. Upon graduation, depending on the qualifications and the Agency's need the student intern may be converted without a break in service to a term (time-limited) or permanent appointment, to a position that has a career ladder target up to the GS-12, provided they are a US citizen who has worked at least 640 hours in an appropriate program and has received a favorable recommendation from the supervisor for retention. There is no guarantee of a permanent position following this internship. Selectee is on a trial period while on a Pathways Internship appointment.

Note: This is not a Bargaining unit 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.