Summary

The Vehicle Safety Standards and Harmonization Division of the Office of Chief Counsel is at the cutting- edge intersections of law, the environment, vehicle safety, and technology. Our work requires curiosity, persistence, exceptional legal abilities and top-notch communication and collaboration skills. Primary tasks include drafting rules and explanations of agency law and policy with interdisciplinary teams of technical experts and applying statutory authorities to modern technology.

Duties

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As an Rulemaking Attorney, you will:

• Works with an interdisciplinary team of lawyers, engineers, program analysts, economists, and other technical experts and policy makers to draft the regulations that govern vehicle safety standards and fuel economy standards. Attorneys are engaged in helping to develop the justifications for the agency's rulemaking actions. As the lead drafter of agency justifications, the attorney must understand and synthesize data and analyses about complex technological, environmental, and economic issues, to describe how the magnitude of the problem warrants regulation and explain the agency's work to address the problem - and do so in an understandable and persuasive manner.
• Analyzes planned research, rulemakings, regulatory analyses, and policy position papers, critiquing and helping to bolster the agency's policy, scientific, and economic justifications for regulatory and nonregulatory actions to ensure soundness and legal sufficiency. In the course of that work, the attorney will track regulatory, legislative and private sector developments - not just legal, but also technological, environmental, and economic.
• Works to minimize litigation risks by ensuring that all procedural and substantive requirements are met and that the administrative record supports the agency's actions. If litigation nevertheless ensues, the attorney will work with NHTSA's litigators and the Department of Justice to defend those actions.
• Analyzes pending legislation affecting the rulemaking process and/or NHTSA rulemaking authority and actions, and drafts interpretations of the agency's standards and authorizing statutes concerning present, emerging and evolving technologies.
• Analyzes statutes, regulations, case law, technical, and economic issues, and applies legal principles and precedents to solve a variety of legal issues in a dynamic regulatory agency and presents those solutions in a clear oral or written manner.
• Provides legal and policy advice regarding rulemaking issues to the agency and the public. This may include drafting legal interpretations, and understanding and synthesizing complex technical and economic issues, and being able to explain them in plain language so that the agency's rationale is clear to the public.

Some areas of focus at NHTSA that the attorney could work on include:

• Working to advance regulatory work on technologies that can help avoid crashes and improve the safety of all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.
• Focusing on emerging and rapidly developing automated driving system technologies.
• Developing and establishing fuel economy standards for cars and trucks.
• Evaluating potential cyber security and information privacy issues associated with advanced motor vehicle technologies.
• Working on international regulatory issues toward the development of harmonized vehicle regulations with other countries.

The Ideal candidate is a professional looking to grow with a great Federal agency. We are seeking highly qualified individuals who are willing to meet the challenges of public service and support our mission. NHTSA is looking for someone who is highly motivated and who can communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, at all levels of the organization.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• This is an Excepted Service position.
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

Qualifications

To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:

GRADE 11 - Possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing of a bar.

GRADE 12 - Possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing of a bar. Applicants must have 1 year of relevant professional legal experience.

• Experience in performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues;
• Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions related to administrative law or motor vehicle safety; or
• Experience as a judicial law clerk

GRADE 13 - Possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing of a bar. Applicants must have 2 years of relevant professional legal experience.

• Experience in performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues;
• Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions related to administrative law or motor vehicle safety; or
• Experience as a judicial law clerk

GRADE 14 - Possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.) and be in good standing of a bar. Applicants must have 3 years of relevant professional legal experience.

• Experience in performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues;
• Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions related to administrative law or motor vehicle safety; or
• Experience as a judicial law clerk

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:

• Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
• Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.
• Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations

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:

In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Additional information

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial 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 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 2-year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 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, [redacted]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation

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

*NOTE: If you are not yet admitted to the bar of a State, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to qualify on Education, you must possess a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.). An applicant who has not been admitted to a state bar may be selected for a Law Clerk, GS-0904-11 position. Appointment as a Law Clerk is limited to 14 months, during which time appointee must be adm.itted in good standing to the bar of a court of general jurisdiction of a state, territory or possession of the United States. Upon admission to the bar, the position will be converted to a permanent appointment as an Attorney Advisor.

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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.

Benefits

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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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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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.