Summary

The Office of Crash Avoidance Standards develops safety standards to reduce vehicle crashes. Duties involve managing technical engineering programs to analyze safety issues, enhance vehicle performance, and promulgate Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, regulations, and guidelines. Additionally, the Office identifies, recommends, and conducts necessary research, development, and testing to support creating or modifying these standards.

Duties

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As a General Engineer, you will:

• Serve as an engineer and technical consultant within the Office of Crash Avoidance Standards.
• Develop position papers (addressing issues and available engineering options) for use in supporting and recommending agency actions regarding research and development, and new regulatory issues.
• Identify, analyze, and quantify safety problems across vehicle dynamics, tire performance, heavy vehicle systems, stability control systems, crash avoidance and mitigation systems, and adaptive equipment.
• Prepare rulemaking support documentation, including drafting legal notices, preambles, rules, regulatory analyses, and impact statements for agency regulatory changes.
• Conduct technical reviews of petitions and analyze public and industry comments regarding proposed solutions to safety and present to the associate administrator, executive director, legal counsel, and administrator

The ideal candidate for this position is self-motivated, demonstrated knowledge and expertise in automotive space, and possesses sound engineering judgement. The candidate should have strong analytical, technical writing, and communication skills. The candidate should be capable of managing projects and work cooperatively with others within NHTSA and with external organizations to accomplish the agency's goal of improved safety.

Requirements

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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/SME will be used to fill this position.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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 the 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 probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• 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 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 either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

• Experience applying engineering and physical science principles to assist in developing rulemakings, collaborating across agency offices, and providing technical input tso the Chief Counsel's Office on legal notices.
• Experience assisting with interpreting and applying statutes, regulations, and authorities, including developing position papers and regulatory support documents (such as preambles, rules, and impact statements) for cross-functional offices.
• Experience communicating technical data and concepts, including writing and editing technical documents, reports, or manuals for both technical and non-technical audiences.

To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

• Experience applying engineering principles and physical sciences to serve as a technical point of contact for developing rulemakings that ensure program accountability, including collaborating with cross-functional agency offices and providing technical data to legal counsel on regulatory notices.
• Experience interpreting and applying statutes, regulations, and authorities to draft and coordinate position papers and rulemaking support documents that inform notices, preambles, rules, regulatory analyses, and related impact statements.
• Experience communicating technical and regulatory data through developing written reports and delivering oral presentations tailored for both technical and non-technical audiences.

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:

1. Program Management - Demonstrated ability in assisting with planning, implementing, and managing a vehicle safety program, producing results that further the organization's mission by meeting organizational goals and objectives.
2. Technical Expertise - Experience with vehicle safety technologies, and experience applying technical principles, theories, and scientific evaluation procedures to conduct vehicle safety programs.
3. Communication - Demonstrated ability to communicate complex information clearly and persuasively, as well as to effectively coordinate activities.
4. Technical Programs - Skilled in collaborating with individuals and groups, and in building professional networks with other organizations.

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/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/

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

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

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 ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); 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 AND EXPERIENCE College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that 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)1 , or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
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 and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
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 has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive). All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. Transcripts are required for this position.

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.