Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist (BIL) Job in Location Negotiable After Selection

Vacancy No. FRA.DH-2025-0001 Department Federal Railroad Administration
Salary $103,409.00 to $167,336.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 10/15/2024 Close Date 1/14/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Location Negotiable After Selection


Summary

These positions are located in the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Railroad Safety (RRS). The Office of Safety promotes and regulates safety throughout the Nation's railroad industry.  The office executes its regulatory and inspection responsibilities through a diverse staff of railroad safety experts.

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

The Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist:

  • Serves as an agency expert and/or senior consultant and provides expert advice and assistance to senior management in Safety Standards in one of the six technical disciplines or other railroad safety programs.
  • Plans and assigns work to employees and establishes priorities. Develops ways to improve the quality and/or quantity of work produced.
  • Provides railroad safety and stakeholder training (including State safety inspectors);
  • Is responsible for accident and employee fatality investigations and reporting.
  • Develops partnerships between labor, management, and the agency that address systemic initiatives.

The ideal candidate is a mission-focused senior-level professional with excellent communication skills that has experience providing guidance, interpretation, and enforcement of Federal Railroad Administration regulations and procedures concerning railroads located within their program area. Professional experience should also include serving as a technical expert in the areas of safety regulation development, waiver investigations, violation analysis, safety data analysis, technical training, and in the preparation of reports for public issuance.

*PLEASE NOTE: This announcement establishes an open continuous (3 month) vacancy announcement.  Given our continuing need for top professionals in this field, we will review applications on an as needed basis.  Duty locations will vary.  The difference in salary is determined by the locality pay in each location.  Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2024/general-schedule/

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 and a service agreement may be required.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • SUPERVISORY PROBATIONARY PERIOD: New supervisors must complete a 1-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • 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.
  • FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Varies by position. If applicable, you may be required to file a confidential financial disclosure form (Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Form 450) or a public financial disclosure form (OGE Form 278e), within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • DRUG TEST: Railroad Safety Specialist have been determined to be a critical safety/security position as defined in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Order, DOT 3910.1C entitled "Drug and Alcohol-Free Departmental Workplace."  Therefore, if selected for the position you will be required to submit to a pre-employment/pre-appointment drug test, you will also be subject to Random Drug Testing.
  • DRIVER'S LICENSE: Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist travel frequently, which requires being away from the official duty station for several consecutive nights. All Railroad Safety Inspectors are required to possess a valid state drivers license at all times while employed by the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) in order to perform the duties of their positions.

Qualifications

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

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

  • Experience applying Federal regulations and standards of at least one of the six disciplines and basic knowledge of another discipline: Track, Signal & Train Control, Hazmat, Operating Practice, Motive Power & Equipment, Grade Crossing & trespass prevention.
  • Experience conducting special investigations (including accident investigations) and inspections involving railroad rail and components to obtain determination of cause and produce useful and accurate results.
  • Experience preparing technical reports, narratives, and correspondence regarding railroad rail and components.
  • Experience leading, motivating, supervising and/or managing a workforce to promote a uniform understanding and accomplish organizational goals.

In addition, applicants for specialist positions must demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities for the specialization for which application is made to the degree required by the position. Only those elements required by the position to be filled, as identified below, will be used in evaluating candidates' specialized experience.

Hazardous Materials:

  • Practical knowledge of the typical reactions of different hazardous commodities to various environmental conditions and of safe procedures for containing or controlling fires, leaks, or explosions of these materials;
  • Knowledge of the construction, testing, and retesting of containers used to ship hazardous materials by rail; and
  • Knowledge of Federal regulations and standards governing the shipment of hazardous materials by rail, including containerization, loading, handling, documentation, and placarding.

Track:

  • Knowledge of railroad track system construction, maintenance, testing, or inspection techniques;
  • Knowledge of the capabilities and limitations of various track system configurations; and
  • Knowledge of Federal railroad track safety standards.

Signals and Train Control:

  • Knowledge of the design, installation, maintenance, testing, or inspection of signal and train control systems and their capabilities and limitations;
  • Knowledge of applicable Federal laws and regulations pertaining to railroad signaling and train control systems; and
  • Knowledge of locomotive braking systems and their relationship to and interface with train control or automatic train stop systems and braking distances.

Operating Practices:

  • Knowledge of railroad operating practices, rules, and procedures, especially as they relate to safety issues; and
  • Knowledge of Federal regulations and standards relating to railroad operations and requirements in such areas as hours of service, accident reporting, blue signal protection of workers, rear end markers, radio communication, railroad employee qualifications, and railroad employee testing.

Motive Power and Equipment:

  • Knowledge of the design, maintenance, or inspection of various types of locomotive and freight cars currently in use and their capabilities and limitations;
  • Knowledge of the installation, maintenance, or testing of railroad safety appliances and power brakes, their capabilities and limitations; and
  • Knowledge of the applicable Federal laws and regulations pertaining to inspection and testing of locomotives, freight cars, safety appliances, and power brakes.

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. Knowledge of the railroad industry, including economic and operating considerations and equipment.
  2. Knowledge of the general safety and health principles and practices applicable to the railroad industry.
  3. Knowledge of railroad accident investigation techniques
  4. Skill in written and oral communication.

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 

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.

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.

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 if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience.  The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. 

  • 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 RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION
Office of Human Resources
1201 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.