Duties

Summary

This position is in the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA) Office of Hazardous Materials Safety (OHMS), Operations System Division, Research, Development and Technology (RD&T) Branch. You will be responsible for overseeing the branch on providing professional expertise to analyses, research, and development that supports DOT, PHMSA, OHMS and the Branch's strategic goals.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

The Interdisciplinary Supervisory General Engineer/Physical Scientist:

• Oversees the engineering and/or physical science design, evaluations, and improvement of analyses, research, and development for the purposes of (a) reducing the risks associated with transportation of hazardous materials and (b) identifying and evaluating new technologies to facilitate the safe, secure, and efficient transportation of hazardous materials.
• Establishes engineering and/or physical science strategic directions for assigned program areas, monitoring performance related to Agency goals and providing authoritative advice on the most effective uses of resources.
• Serves as a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) on developing and implementing performance criteria to ensure that requirements are achieved.
• Supervises a staff of technical personnel, to include performing the full-range of technical and administrative supervisory responsibilities, to include planning and assigning work, evaluating performance, advising and counseling employees, interviewing candidates for positions, and identifying training needs.

The ideal candidate for this position is a mid-career professional ready to use their program evaluation skills, knowledge of scientific research principles, and knowledge of risk assessments to build an inclusive research program around PHMSA OHMS's safety mission. This candidate will be prepared to navigate PHMSA OHMS's diverse workforce to curate knowledge gaps into research proposals; and also be prepared to get successfully completed research into the hands of those who would use it.

Travel Required

25% or less - Some travel will be required.

Supervisory status
Yes

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.
• 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.
• SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: New supervisors must complete a 1-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

This is an interdisciplinary position, which means that the duties and responsibilities of the position relate to both the General Engineer (0801) and Physical Scientist (1301) fields. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this position, a person with the education and experience in either the 0801 or the 1301 field may be considered equally well qualified to do the work. All applicants must meet the education and experience requirements of at least one of the series AND the specialized experience of this vacancy in order to qualify.

TO QUALIFY FOR THE GS-14, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, which includes following:

• Experience leading and coordinating research, analyses and technical information needed to improve the safety of multimodal hazardous material transportation.
• Experience conducting research and analysis projects to support an organization's rulemaking, human factors, risk assessments and trend analysis for field enforcement activity related to the transportation of hazardous materials.
• Experience in engineering or physical science concerning the design, evaluations, analyses, research, and development to reducing the risk management, identifying and evaluating new technologies to facilitate the safe, secure, and efficient transportation of hazardous materials.

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:

• Leveraging Diversity: Fosters an inclusive workplace where diversity and individual differences are valued and leveraged to achieve the vision and mission of the organization
• Performance Management: Knowledge of the principles and methods for evaluating program or organizational performance using financial and non-financial measures, including identification of evaluation factors (for example, workload, personnel requirements), metrics, and outcomes.
• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short - or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
• Research: Knowledge of the scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
• Risk Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools used for risk assessment and mitigation, including assessment of failures and their consequences.

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

In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must fully meet the basic qualifications criteria of at least one of the following series.

TO QUALIFY FOR THE 0801 series, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

All applicants must meet one of the following requirements to qualify for consideration for an engineering position:

(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

(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

(3) Qualifications: You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.

TO QUALIFY FOR THE 1301 SERIES, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR

B. Combination of education and experience: Education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

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
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

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 as there is a stated education requirement for the series. 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.