General Engineer

This position is assigned to the Office of Railroad Safety, Office of Railroad Systems, Technology and Automation, Signal, Train Control and Crossing Division. The employee maintains a current and valid technical foundation for Federal Railroad Administration policy regarding signal and train control safety and translates that policy into regulations and programs affecting the nation's entire railroad system.

As a General Engineer, you will: Provide the staff of the Signal, Train Control and Crossing Division with professional advice relating to signal, train control, and crossing (signal and train control) matters as they affect railroad safety. Apply science and engineering judgment, engineering principles, and administrative skills to plan, coordinate, and implement several complex projects related to reliability, system safety, and design principles.

Identify the scope of work needed, define specific engineering requirements and design criteria, and develop testing and evaluation criteria for projects and research and development (R&D) efforts that address the development of improved concepts for grade crossing protection, communication, and train control technologies.

Participate in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rulemaking process, including representing FRA on the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC), analyzing all pertinent issues, and making recommendations for revisions or modifications to the signal and train control regulations when warranted by results of analysis.

Initiate and prepare replies to inquiries from members of Congress, railroads, labor organizations, FRA district personnel, other agencies, and the public pertaining to signals and train control matters. The ideal candidate for this position has experience in program and project management; provide technical guidance in matters concerning the implementation of a comprehensive research and development program related to railroad signaling, train control, and communication design, testing, and implementation.

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-13 , you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include: Experience conducting examinations of engineering products, equipment, or procedures, which includes evaluating design documents, executing hardware and software system safety analyses, or participating in factory and field testing.

Experience assisting with research and development (R&D) efforts, which includes defining specific engineering requirements, identifying the scope of work, and developing testing or evaluation criteria. Experience analyzing compliance with rules and regulations within a government, regulatory, or enforcement program framework.

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 applying engineering principles (such as electrical, mechanical, or electronics engineering) to implement complex railroad signal, train control, or highway-rail grade crossing systems affecting railroad safety.

Experience managing or leading complex engineering projects or Research and Development (R&D) initiatives within a transportation safety context. Experience representing an organization in technical discussions, seminars, or adversarial settings to exchange novel ideas or present policy decisions with technical experts, contractors, railroad union representatives, and/ or high-level railroad management.

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: General Engineering: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of engineering and their practical applications. Safety Engineering: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods to identify, control, mitigate, and eliminate safety hazards in the design and use of facilities, equipment, operations, and work processes.

Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues. Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others to accept recommendations, cooperate, or change their behavior; works with others towards an agreement; negotiates to find mutually acceptable solutions.

Written Communication Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri. Corps) 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.

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: 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.

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 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. 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.