USAJOBS

Job Title:Interdisc. Lead Research Psychologist/Industrial Engineer GS-0180/896-15 (Open to US Citizens)

Department:Department Of Transportation

Agency:Federal Highway Administration

Job Announcement Number:FHWA.HRT-2012-0004

SALARY RANGE:	to / Per Year
OPEN PERIOD:	Wednesday, January 25, 2012 to Friday, February 03, 2012
SERIES & GRADE:	GS-0180/0896-15
POSITION INFORMATION:	Full Time - - Permanent
PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 15
DUTY LOCATIONS:	1 vacancy(s) - McLean, VAView Map
WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:	Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. A separate job announcement is being advertised for applicants eligible for status consideration. Current and former status employees and veterans who qualify under VEOA are encouraged to also apply to announcement: FHWA.HRT-2012-0005.

JOB SUMMARY:

Real solutions to meet genuine challenges. Innovative ideas to take on growing realities. That's the Federal Highway Administration - Leaders in Paving the Way on the Road to Success.

This position is in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Office of Safety Research and Development (R&D). This Office is responsible for research and development pertaining to: (1) roadway design from a safety perspective, including geometric design, traffic control devices, roadside features, roadway lighting and visibility issues; (2) human factors associated with existing and new roadway design and operating features or safety problem countermeasures; (3) geometric design and accommodation of pedestrians and bicyclists and other roadway users; (4) safety analysis tools, and (5) Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) connected vehicle research. The Office works extensively with external organizations to assess roadway safety issues; develop a national research and technology agenda to improve roadway safety; conduct highway safety research; and assist in the transfer of improved highway safety methods to highway agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and others.

The ideal candidate is a professional with 10 or more years of experience in behavioral/human factors research related to highway safety and at least 3 years experience in behavioral/human factors research program management. He/she will have a Ph.D. in human factors psychology, human factors engineering, or related field. Experience will include behavioral/human factors research using driving simulators; field observational studies; field research vehicles; eye tracking systems; naturalistic driving; and managing a human factors laboratory and multidisciplinary teams.

Please note: This is an interdisciplinary position, which means that the duties and responsibilities of the position relate to both the Research Psychologist(0180) and Industrial Engineer(0896) fields. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this position, a person with the education and experience in either the 0180 or the 0896 field may be considered equally well qualified to do the work. All applicants must meet the education and experience requirements of at least one of the series AND the specialized experience of this vacancy in order to qualify.

You may be requested to do a presentation and provide a writing sample as part of the interview process.

If selected for this position you will be required to file a confidential financial disclosure form within 30 days of entering the position.

KEY REQUIREMENTS

You must be a U.S. citizen and meet specialized experience
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
Provide all required documents by closing date
Position is telework eligible
Announcement also advertised to status applicants: FHWA.HRT-2012-0005
Announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 30 days

DUTIES:

The Interdisciplinary Lead Research Psychologist/Industrial Engineer:

Oversees a Human Factors Team in a broad field of human factors research pertaining to safety and operations of system improvements; traffic control device design and implementation; Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) connected vehicle systems; driver characteristics and behavior; driver perception and cognitive processes; driver-vehicle interface, and application of advanced technology.
Serves as study leader and/or researcher on research studies involving the use of experimental design principles and techniques to solve problems concerning highway user capabilities and limitations to develop new or improved tools for enhancing drivers' understanding of the highway environment and smart information and control technologies.

Oversees the operation of the Human Factors Laboratory. Develops and plans cost/budget, schedules, conducts, and coordinates the human factors research program.

Serves as the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) for research and development contracts in his/her area of expertise.

Provides technical leadership and/or administrative oversight to a team supported by both government and contract staff, the work of other team members, and coordinates with other teams in RD&T, other FHWA offices, and other modes in DOT.

Authors published papers and technical reports on areas such as driver behavior, traffic operations, highway safety, and ITS technologies for aiding drivers.

Makes technical presentations to groups concerned with human factors issues, as well as offices within FHWA and in other Federal, State, and local government agencies.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

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.

LEVEL	To qualify, you must have at least one year of specialized experience equal or equivalent to the following:
GRADE 15	Experience in conducting, evaluating, and documenting behavioral/human factors research studies related to transportation systems. Experience developing a behavioral/human factors research program in the field of transportation and leading a multi-disciplinary team in conducting the program.

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

Please note: This is an interdisciplinary position, which means that the duties and responsibilities of the position relate to both the Lead Research Psychologist/Industrial Engineer(0896) fields. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of this position, a person with the education and experience in either the 0180 or the 0896 field may be considered equally well qualified to do the work.

All applicants must meet the education and experience requirements of at least one of the series AND the specialized experience of this vacancy in order to qualify.

In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must fully meet the basic qualifications criteria of at least one of the following series.

To qualify for the 0896 series, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

EDUCATION CRITERIA FOR FIRST SERIES
For GS 896: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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
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 professional 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 -- Current registration as a professional engineer 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 Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Applicants who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development, or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A.

Because of the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.

Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.

Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a 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.)

To qualify for the 0180 series, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:

EDUCATION CRITERIA FOR SECOND SERIES...
To qualify for the 0180 series, you must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree with a major or course of study in psychology.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
If selected for this position you will be required to file a confidential financial disclosure form within 30 days of entering the position.

Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.

You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Government Travel Card - You must be able to obtain and retain a Government contractor-issued travel card to be used for official business as a condition of employment. If unable to obtain and/or retain a card, you may be subject to removal. Those who fail to meet this condition of employment will have our offer of employment rescinded.

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If your resume does not support the specialized experience, or if your application does not support your answers to the Vacancy Specific Questions, your final rating may be modified and/or you may be disqualified from consideration.
To preview questions please click here.

BENEFITS:
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Benefits include health and life insurance, annual and sick leave, and retirement benefits. Explore the major benefits offered to most Federal Employees here.
This position is telework eligible.

OTHER INFORMATION:

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

HOW TO APPLY:
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You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
To begin, click the Apply Online button on the job announcement.

Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.

You may review your saved application(s) at https://my.usajobs.gov.
If you are having difficulty applying online, send an email to transjobs@dot.gov or call us at (202)366-1298.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

The following documents must be provided by the close date:
RESUME - Showing relevant experience and education and fully supporting the required specialized experience.

COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE

TRANSCRIPTS - Verifying that you meet the stated education requirements for the series OR an SF-50 showing that you have already qualified and worked in the federal service in this series. The transcripts need not be official. If you 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.

VETERANS - In order to be considered as a preference eligible, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD214. Your DD214 need not be official but must show the type of discharge and dates of active duty. If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability.

SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS - If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility (e.g. military spouse or persons with disabilities), you must provide appropriate supporting documentation such as PCS orders describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability, etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments. Documents are only required if requesting non-competitive consideration.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEE PLACEMENT DOCUMENTS - Only required if requesting priority consideration under CTAP/ICTAP. You must submit ALL of the following: (1) your most recent performance appraisal, (2) the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and (3) your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade. In addition, you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (falling in the Gold Category).
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.

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

Automated Staffing Office

Agency Information:
U.S. Department of Transportation
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, DC
20590
US

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

You may check your application status by logging into your USAJOBS account. Within two weeks of the closing date, your application will be reviewed and rated. The most highly qualified candidates in the top group will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring manager will contact you directly. Once a hiring decision is made, we will notify all applicants of their final status.

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SALARY RANGE:

OPEN PERIOD:

SERIES & GRADE:

POSITION INFORMATION:

PROMOTION POTENTIAL:

DUTY LOCATIONS:

WHO MAY BE CONSIDERED:

JOB SUMMARY:

KEY REQUIREMENTS

DUTIES:

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED:

HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED:

BENEFITS:

OTHER INFORMATION:

HOW TO APPLY:

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

AGENCY CONTACT INFO:

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT:

Agency Information:

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