Skip to main content
U.S. flag

PATHWAYS STUDENT INTERN (Information Technology)

Department of Transportation
Office of the Secretary of Transportation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Office of Chief Information Officer (CIO) has internships for students in the field of Information Technology to gain practical experience, learn about different aspects of the industry and issues facing government. Internships will be located at DOT Headquarters Washington, DC. Opportunities for telework and remote work may be available for qualified candidates.

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open date: 10/30/2023
Closed date: 11/03/2023
This job will close when we have received 400 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—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.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$33,693 - $69,035 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 04 - 07
Promotion potential
07
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Part-time - Full Time / Part Time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Internships - Excepted Service Appointment for an initial period expected to last for more than 1-year.
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
OST.CIO-2024-0001
Control number
757538400

This job is open to

Help

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 This is not a Bargaining unit position.

Duties

Help

As an intern, some of the typical work assignments may include work assigned in specific divisions of the OCIO:

  • Data Division: Interns learn about and assist in the governance of data across the USDOT enterprise, supporting the expansion of USDOT’s cloud data platform, and developing data products in support of DOT’s mission needs. Interns may analyze data using various analytic, business intelligence, and geospatial tools, working independently to perform tasks and presenting results and recommendations to team leads.
  • Application Solutions Division: Interns learn about and support solution delivery of DOT applications, support product owners for application delivery, practicing agile delivery life cycle, help manage backlogs of requirements by reviewing, refining and prioritizing user stories with customers and working with contractors to plan, assign and deliver through Agile sprints, and test software built on Microsoft’s Power Platform and USDOT’s Salesforce platform, and brief supervisors on status and escalating risks and issues as needed.
  • Infrastructure and Operations Division: Interns learn about and support Service Management of USDOT’s on premise and cloud infrastructure providing direct customer service and support of teams providing network communications and data storage services.
  • Cybersecurity Division: Interns learn about and help implement cybersecurity controls across multiple disciplines including assessment and authorization, security engineering, and security operations. Interns will participate in the creation of cybersecurity controls documentation, testing, application hardening, and cybersecurity monitoring.

Ideal candidates’ education and coursework should demonstrate a concentration of studies in the field of Information Technology. Interns will work throughout OCIO and support staff in coordinating, facilitating, and implementing activities within the Department while they are exposed to and participate in IT-focused work activities supporting the Transportation Industry.

This position may be eligible for Remote Work.  Remote work means the residence is the full-time official duty location. 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. The official duty location will be identified at time of hire.  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/2023/general-schedule/

Requirements

Help

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 20 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:  Must complete a background investigation.
  • 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.
  • TRIAL PERIOD: The intern is in a trial period throughout the entire Pathways Internship appointment.  

Qualifications

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

  • GS-04:  Completion of two academic years of post-high school study or associate's degree.
  • GS-05:  Completion of four academic years of post-high school study leading to a bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree.
  • GS-07:  Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.  OR 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/).

    OR

    Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

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 and Requirements section for information pertaining to the Pathways Internship Program.

Additional information

This is an Excepted Service Appointment for an initial period expected to last for more than 1-year.  As a part of the Pathways Internship Program, the appointment may be extended until the selectee's projected graduation date, plus 120 days.  Upon graduation, depending on the qualifications and the Agency’s need the student intern may be converted without a break in service to a term (time-limited) or permanent appointment, to a position that has a career ladder target up to the GS-12, provided they are a US citizen who has worked at least 640 hours in an appropriate program and has received a favorable recommendation from the supervisor for retention. There is no guarantee of a permanent position following this internship.  Selectee is on a trial period while on a Pathways Internship appointment. 

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.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Office of the Secretary of Transportation

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) leads the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) organization and serves as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Transportation and US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Operating Administrations on matters involving information technology (IT), information assurance cybersecurity, privacy, and records management; portfolio management; IT infrastructure and operations; IT innovation and emerging technologies; enterprise data management; and applications and digital solutions.  OCIO has multiple opportunities for paid internships to work alongside DOT’s IT professionals in these areas and support USDOT’s multiple missions on roads, rails, and maritime, among others.

USDOT’s OCIO has responsibility for oversight of IT staffing, the management and delivery of innovative digital solutions across the Department and in the US transportation system, including the delivery of IT solutions implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and for cybersecurity for all of this work. OCIO leads the innovative application of data and technology to improve safety and the condition of the nation's transportation infrastructure.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is ranked #6 in the 2022 best places to work in the Federal Government!

Agency contact information

Automated Staffing Office
Phone
000-000-0000
Email
TRANSJOBS@dot.gov
Address
DOT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Submit Application and Documents Online
1200 New Jersey Ave SE / HAHR - 50
Washington, District of Columbia 20590
United States

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.