Lead General Engineer - DIRECT HIRE Job

Vacancy No. FTA.DH-2024-0027 Department Federal Transit Administration
Salary $129,134.00 to $186,629.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/5/2024 Close Date 9/18/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Los Angeles, CASan Francisco, CADenver, COAtlanta, GA


Job Description (Please follow all instructions carefully)

Summary

This position serves as a Lead General Engineer under the leadership of the Regional Director. You will be responsible for guiding and managing the technical work of assigned team members, coordinating tasks to ensure timely completion, and serve as a point of contact for the team members and management. This position requires strong leadership skills, excellent communication abilities, and a proactive approach to problem-solving. 

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

As the Lead General Engineer, you will:

  • Lead the team in identifying, distributing, assigning, and balancing workloads and tasks among employees in accordance with established workflow, skill level, expertise, and/or occupational specialization; make adjustments to accomplish the workload in accordance with established priorities to ensure timely accomplishment of assigned team tasks; and ensure that each employee has an integral role in developing the final team product. 
  • Provide the opportunity to independently apply the principles, concepts, work processes, regulations, reference materials, and procedures fundamental to the technical aspects of the engineering field and its application to the regional office. 
  • Attend and contribute in meetings with regional staff, grantees, Project Management Oversight Consultants (PMOCs) and other FTA program contractors whether all parties have a clear understanding of applicable requirements and procedures. 
  • Assist senior staff with routine meetings with grantees, project engineering representatives and contractors. 
  • Contribute to the preparation of correspondence, briefing papers, statistical reports and policy papers of a factual and analytical nature in support of policy and procedural decisions for use by the Regional Administrator and/or Headquarters offices. 

The ideal candidate for this position is an engineer who is looking for an excellent opportunity to join the Federal Transit Administration, work with transportation officials and meet the challenges of advancing transit systems.  The ideal candidate will have excellent communication skills and the ability to lead and provide specialized engineering assistance to the grantees, program managers, and senior staff to resolve problems and ensure successful delivery of Federal funded projects.

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.
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT:  Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

REMOTE WORK
This position may be eligible for remote work, which does not require reporting to the agency worksite location on a regular basis. If selected for a remote work location, you will be required to sign a remote work agreement detailing agency remote work policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience requirements.

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

  • Experience leading, coordinating, and/or overseeing a group of individuals or a team by communicating assignments, projects, timeline due dates, and solving program issues.
  • Experience verifying compliance with requirements, regulations, and contract specifications to ensure the implementation of federal statutory and regulatory requirements.
  • Experience analyzing, evaluating and proposing recommendations to engineering and project management problems, and presenting the findings to other employees or senior management officials.  

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:

  • Project Management Oversight - Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance. 
  • Compliance – Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance
  • Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. 
  • Oral and Written communication: Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.

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.

Additional information

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, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation 

The agency has the option of extending a term appointment up to the 4-year limit.

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

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.

Benefits

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.

Review our benefits

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.

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 requirements.  Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications will be referred to the selecting official.

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

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.

Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

RESUME: – Your resume MUST contain specific information used to make a qualification determination that includes employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles.  If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.  The resume should show relevant experience and education as well as support the required specialized experience. Formatted resumes may be uploaded later in the application process. For assistance with the resume builder, please visit:  https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to

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. 

  • FOREIGN EDUCATION: must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.
  • ENGINEERS: 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.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) and provide all of the following documents:  

  • your most recent performance appraisal,
  • the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
  • your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration.  

For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

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 USA Jobs 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.

How to Apply

You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.

  • To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
  • Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
  • You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/

If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at:  Transjobs@dot.gov

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office
Address
DOT, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com (Select "My USAJobs" and click "Applications".  Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. Qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly.  Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.