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Pathways Student Intern (Civil Engineering) (Highway)

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This is a Student Internship position under the Pathways Internship Program.

To qualify for this Internship, you MUST be a continuing student enrolled or accepted for enrollment for the current/upcoming semesters for the duration of the internship as a condition of employment, taking at least a half-time course load. You will be required to provide documentation to support eligibility. Students may be employed throughout the academic year.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
09/13/2022 to 09/26/2022
This job will close when we have received 200 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$40,883 to - $80,532 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 05 - 09
Location
3 vacancies in the following location:
McLean, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Internships - Excepted Service Appointment for an initial period expected to last for more than 1-year.
Work schedule
Multiple Schedules - Full Time / Part Time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.HAD-2022-0040
Control number
676723100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. This position is part of the Pathways Program and is open to current students who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a qualifying educational institution and enrolled at least half-time. Additional information can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets

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Duties

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This announcement will be used to fill three separate internship positions with each in a different technical area of focus. The area of focuses are: 1) infrastructure materials, 2) infrastructure resilience, and 3) infrastructure performance.

The Civil Engineering (Highway) Student Trainee Pathways Intern typical work assignments may include:

  • Developing competencies to assist FHWA Civil Engineers.
  • Identifying stakeholder needs for improving roadway and bridge programs; crafting those needs into research ideas; ensuring that FHWA research are meeting stakeholder needs; preparing technical materials for print and FHWA websites; preparing and giving technical presentations; and conveying program activities to stakeholders.
  • Contributing to staff research utilizing engineering principles, experimentation and/or advanced computer modeling to solve highway infrastructure problems.
  • Contributing to the development, and supporting the execution, of office and FHWA strategic plans and goals.
  • Regularly interacting with a range of stakeholder groups both within the FHWA and outside, including State highway agencies, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and its National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), academia, industry, and trade associations.

The ideal candidate for this position would understand data integration and data management processes, enjoys working with highway stakeholders, and is interested in infrastructure materials, infrastructure sustainability and resilience, and/or infrastructure performance.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen and meet the requirements of the program.
  • You must be at least 16 years of age
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date

PATHWAYS ELIGIBILITY - To be eligible for appointment to a position in the DOT Internship Program, throughout the duration of the appointment, an individual must:

  • Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution on a half to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution).
  • Be seeking a degree that is relevant to this position.
  • Be able to work at least 16 hours per week, depending on your academic schedule, and preferably full-time during the summer. 
  • Grade qualifications must be met prior to start date.

If selected you: 

  • Must sign a Pathways Internship Program Participant Agreement;
  • May be employed throughout the academic year;  
  • Must maintain status as a current student;
  • Must maintain good academic standing, at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 grading scale.
  • Must furnish course registration information at the start of each school term; and
  • Must provide verification of academic status (transcript) at the end of each academic term.

For more information on the Pathways Program, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP:  Must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be  registered for the Selective Service.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION:  You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • DECLARATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT: Selectee is required to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) to determine suitability for federal employment.
  • PHYSICAL LOCATION: Intern will be required to work onsite unless COVID-19 restrictions mandate change.
  • TRIAL PERIOD: The intern is in a trial period throughout the entire Pathways Internship appointment.  
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position is approved for occasional telework. The number of telework days approved is determined by the agency policy, emergency situations, the approval of your immediate supervisor, and if applicable, approval of additional officials. You are required to report to the office on a regular basis since this is not a full-time telework position, or approved as a remote work position.

Qualifications

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must be pursuing a degree in professional engineeringTo 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.

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the education requirements for each grade which you are requesting consideration for: 

  • GS-05 - Completion of four academic years of post-high school study leading to a bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree.
  • GS-07 - Completion of one academic year of graduate level education; OR eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement*provision, as defined in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Operating Manual for Qualification Standards, and completion of a bachelor's degree. 
  • GS-09 - Completion of two academic years of graduate level education, or a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree.

*Superior Academic Achievement: In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:

(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR

(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; OR

(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).

Academic Year: At the undergraduate level, 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours is comparable to 1 year of undergraduate education. When academic credit is expressed in units or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the institution.

You may use 2022 in-progress semester/quarter hours to qualify for a higher grade level. Qualifications will be determined based on completed and in-progress hours stated on your unofficial transcript submitted at the time of application. To be qualifying, you must successfully complete and receive credit and provide an updated official transcript before you enter on duty.

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. Civil Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods required to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain facilities such as pavements, bridges, culverts, and tunnels.
  2. Transportation Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods applicable to planning, designing, and constructing of transportation systems including traffic analysis, signal analysis, highway capacity, pavement design, bridge construction, planning of transportation projects, environmental analysis of transportation facilities, and transportation network analysis.
  3. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
  4. Oral Communication - Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed.

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 Pathways Internship Positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PIP

Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the start of the internship.  

Education

Refer to the Qualifications section for Mandatory Education Requirements specific to this series, and the Requirements section for information pertaining to the Pathways Internship Program.

Additional information

This is an Excepted Service Appointment. As a part of the Pathways Internship Program, the appointment may be extended until the selectee's educational program requirements have been completed. The student intern may be converted, without a break in service to a term (time-limited) or permanent appointment upon graduation, to a position that has a career ladder targeted up to the GS-12, provided they are a US citizen who has worked at least 640 hours in an appropriate program and receive a favorable recommendation from the supervisor for retention. There is no guarantee of a permanent position following this internship. The selectee is on a trial period while on a Pathways Internship appointment.

PLEASE NOTE:  This is not a Bargaining unit position.

COVID VACCINATION:  If selected, you will be required to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

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

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

Once you complete and submit your application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the minimum qualification requirements for the job.  Qualified students will be referred to the hiring manager in unranked order by veteran preference status:  (1) Preference eligible having a compensable, service-connected disability of 10 percent or more; (2) all other candidates eligible for 10-point veteran preference; (3) candidates eligible for 5-point veteran preference; and (4) candidates not eligible for veteran preference.
 
You will not be considered for the position if any part of the application or supporting documentation is incomplete.  Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or adverse action after hiring.


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