Duties

Summary

The candidate serves as a research engineer in the Office of Vehicle Crash Avoidance and Electronic Controls Research, reporting to the chief of the Electronic Systems Safety Division (NSR-330). The candidate independently develops plans, conducts and manages technical research projects that can help reduce injuries/fatalities and prevent crashes through application of advanced vehicle technologies, such as Automated Driving Systems (ADS).

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Responsibilities

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As a General Engineer, you will:

• Conceive, develop and execute plans to accomplish research in the multidisciplinary areas of automotive safety engineering, crash avoidance, advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving system technologies.
• Prepare a wide variety of routine paperwork, which documents research projects and overall program status (e.g., multi-year plans, operating plans, budget execution plans, weekly and annual inputs).
• Prepare work statements for research and evaluation projects that include modeling, simulation, laboratory and/or field-oriented research approaches.
• Serve as the contracting officer's representative (COR) for individual research project and be responsible for all matters related to the technical completion of the project.
• Lead engineering analysis and industry outreach activities that support the identification, development, test, and evaluation of new and emerging crash mitigation and safe automated driving system technologies.

Ideal Candidate Statement

This position is perfect for transportation professionals seeking a position that will provide an opportunity to utilize strong leadership skills and technical expertise within the Government sector. We are seeking highly qualified individuals who are willing to meet the fast-paced challenges of public service while supporting our mission to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes. NHTSA desires someone who is a highly motivated self-starter who can effectively communicate both within the agency and with external industry stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have experience and demonstrated competency in automotive safety engineering, technical program management, and technical communications and outreach efforts. The ideal candidate will also have relevant knowledge of safety-related vehicle components, systems, and associated research topics related to crash avoidance, advanced driver assistance systems, and/or automated driving systems including but not limited to the following:

Brake, steering, throttle, lighting and related vehicle controls systems

Sensors, perception, path planning and maneuver execution systems as they pertain to automated driving systems.

Vehicle standards development and planning

Crash causation and countermeasure identification

Methods for evaluating performance of safety and automated driving systems

Proven analytical, communication, and leadership skills to determine best approaches, build teams, evaluate scientific findings, anticipate problems, and recommend alternative courses of action if necessary are also attributes of the ideal candidate.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

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.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet specialize experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

• Experience in applied automotive technology and safety research.
• Experience in summarizing the results of advanced automotive technology research programs and briefing the results to leadership.
• Experience in planning, assigning, and establishing work priorities.

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

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

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

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

A. Successful completion of a degree in engineering that: (1) has 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:
1. Professional registration or licensure - current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE).
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 which included the courses as specified in Paragraph A above.
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 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 more specifics, please see 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

Additional information

THIS VACANCY MAY CLOSE BEFORE THE POSTED CLOSING DATE IF A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF APPLICATIONS ARE RECEIVED. PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

For this announcement, all applicants will be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational and specialized experience requirements.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran's Preference does NOT apply.

All applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated by a resume. If, upon review, it is determined that your resume and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be removed from consideration.

Ultimately, the Automated Staffing Office is responsible for determining an applicant's eligibility. Please ensure that your resume provide enough detail to support your answers to the Vacancy Specific Questions.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process

Required Documents

A USAJobs built resume is required to apply

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy. Formatted resumes can be uploaded when you arrive at the DOT application system. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/documents/resume/build/

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position and consideration for which you are applying.

RESUME - Needs to be created within USA Jobs Resume Builder. It must show relevant experience, education and fully support the required specialized experience.

TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience . The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. Provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

• If you are applying to an engineering position and are qualifying based on possessing a current Professional Engineer (PE) license, or passing the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, please provide a copy of PE license or written documented proof of passing the EIT.
• If you have previously held a government position in the same series as this position, you may be able to provide an SF-50 showing that you have already qualified and worked in the federal service in this series.

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.