Duties

As a Research Highway Engineer, you will:

• Plan and execute studies, experiments, and system designs, analyze processes, develop study schedules and budgets, publish results, and give presentations to agency and department leadership and the public.
• Perform all phases of the research process, including problem definition, literature review, research design, data collection, analysis of results, and preparation of reports. While research areas may be new, the researcher is expected to apply sophisticated scientific techniques and approaches to the problem being researched.
• Serve as a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) responsible for several administrative contracts and various types of research efforts.
• Monitor and provide technical expertise and guidance for State Planning and Research (SP&R) studies, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) projects, Pooled Fund Studies, and discretionary Grants.

The ideal candidate is a competent and productive researcher capable of conceiving, formulating, conducting complex research studies in the field of general engineering, with a specialization in the theories, principles, practices, and techniques of transportation engineering, highway safety evaluation, geometrics design, ITS, and traffic modeling and simulation. The ideal candidate has a degree in engineering , statistics, systems engineering, or a closely related field (applicable to the series requirements) with emphasis in transportation engineering.

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 will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• 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.
• PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
• FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification, AND (3) meet the specialized experience requirements for the grade. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process:

(1) All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position :

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 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); or (2) that included differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced that first year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials; (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials; 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 or training: college level education, training and/or technical experience that has 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), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE).

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 which included the courses as specified in Paragraph A above.

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 had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. There should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering type experience. This must be clearly described in your resume.

For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf.

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes.

(3) Specialized Experience: To determine if you are eligible, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application and you will need to verify how you meet this experience in your resume.

For the GS-13:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level, which included:

• Experience conducting engineering research and studies to determine and recommend appropriate solutions to issues, interpret designs, and evaluate adequacy; AND
• Experience conducting projects and /or studies within established financial and time constraints.

For the GS-14:

On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-13 grade level, which included:

• Experience developing requirements, long term goals, objectives, and schedules for the accomplishment of applied research and development, and deployment of technologies; AND
• Experience Preparing briefings , presentations, newsletters, and other communications to convey the status of research, project, or program.

You cannot qualify based on education at these grade levels, you must have experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will also be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

Research

Creativity and Innovation

Transportation Engineering

Interpersonal Skills

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.

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

Education

See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Education Requirements.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.