An official website of the United States government
The FRA administers and enforces Federal safety and health laws and regulations that apply to the railroad industry and its ancillary components. You will serve as a Railroad Safety Inspector, in an assigned territory, as a mobile worker in one of the following disciplines: Hazardous Materials, Track, Signals and Train Control, Operating Practices, Motive Power and Equipment, or Grade Crossing. The positions are located in one of eight FRA Districts within the continental United States.
02/26/2025 to 03/28/2025
$88,621 - $144,031 per year
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2025/general-schedule/
GS 12
Many vacancies in the following location:
No
No
76% or greater - This position is expected to travel.
No
Permanent
Full-time - Full Time
Competitive
12
No
Yes
Yes - The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
Yes - This is a Bargaining unit position represented by AFGE local 1084.
FRA.DH-2025-0010
832497000
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. 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.
As a Railroad Safety Inspector, you will:
Administer and enforce Federal safety laws and regulations that apply to the railroad industry. Promote and enforce standards and regulations concerned with one of the following disciplines within an assigned territory:
Hazardous Materials – Plans and carries out periodic inspections at rail hazardous materials shipper/consignee locations including oil & gas refineries/fractionation plants, chemical and explosives manufacturers, rail intermodal terminals/van yards, freight forwarders, import/export agents and tank car manufacturing and repair facilities.
Track – Responsible for assessing railroad compliance with the carrier’s track inspection process to support compliance with federal regulations within their assigned territory, and the improvement and advancement of railroad safety in areas related to track construction, track maintenance, repair activities, and employee safety.
Signals and Train Control-Plans and carries out periodic inspections of all signal and train control and highway-rail grade crossing warning systems in a territory to ensure that they are properly installed, operated, tested, and maintained by the railroads.
Operating Practices – Examines carriers operating rules, employee qualification guidelines and carrier employee training programs to determine compliance with existing Federal regulations and standards. Conducts periodic inspections by observing railroad employees in performance of operational duties related to the movement of trains for compliance.
Motive Power and Equipment – Responsible for the improvement and advancement of railroad safety in areas related to design, construction, inspection, testing, maintenance and use of railroad rolling stock and other related equipment appurtenances. Conduct periodic inspections of railroad cars and locomotives for compliance with federal safety standards.
Grade Crossing – Responsible for the enforcing highway-rail crossing safety regulations within an assigned territory, and performs periodic inspections of Emergency Notifications Systems, railroad records of Crossing Inventory Reporting, and railroad and public authority compliance with Train Horn Rule and Quiet Zone. Investigates independently, or as part of a team, grade crossing collisions and trespasser incidents/accidents as assigned.
The Ideal Candidate: These positions are perfect for a mid-level professional with strong technical background in applying current Federal railroad safety standards, as well as strong analytical and communication skills. The candidate must have experience in conducting inspections. The candidate must be mission focused and have the ability to interface with all levels of railroad management as well as the rail labor unions.
*PLEASE NOTE* This announcement has been edited to show that this is a considered a drug testing position.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
To be qualified for a Railroad Safety Inspector, the Qualifications Standards state you MUST have demonstrated knowledge in the following areas:
In addition, applicants for inspector 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:
Track:
Signals and Train Control:
Operating Practices:
Motive Power and Equipment:
To qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include:
Hazardous Materials:
Track:
Signals and Train Control:
Experience with locomotive braking systems and their relationship to and interface with train control or automatic train stop systems and braking distances.
Operating Practices:
Grade Crossing:
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:
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.
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.
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.
All applicants: For this announcement, applicants may 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 may be referred to the selecting official.
Applicants will not be rated or ranked. Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.
Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers.
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
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 provide all of the following documents:
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.
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.
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.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
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 may evaluate your application. If evaluated, 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.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/832497000. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
