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Marine Transportation Specialist (Ship Inspector)

Department of Transportation
Great Lakes Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Located in the Office of Lock Operations, the Ship Inspector serves as a marine expert in requirements for vessels transiting the Seaway such as investigations of marine incidents/accidents, reviewing salvage methods, and verifying marine engineering issues. Serves as a Corporation marine advisor or representative at industry meetings. Position is typically scheduled on a first 40-hour tour of duty with frequent schedule changes and travel to Canada during the 10-month navigation season.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/07/2025 to 08/05/2025
Salary
$88,621 to - $137,000 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Massena, NY
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
75% or less - This position requires frequent travel to Canada.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - This is a Bargaining unit position represented by (AFGE/1968).
Announcement number
GLS.LO-2025-0008
Control number
836479100

Duties

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As a Marine Transportation Specialist (Ship Inspector), you will:

  • Conduct onboard ship inspections on foreign flagged vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway to verify compliance with Seaway system regulations and ensures ships comply with United States Coast Guard transit regulations.
  • Conduct ship incident/accident investigations such as groundings, spills, strikes, and equipment failures that occur within Seaway system. Evaluate damage to ships or Agency facilities and makes recommendations for corrective action.
  • Serve as the Agency liaison with external maritime agencies such as the Canadian Seaway, United States Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard, Shipping Owners, and Agents.  Review regulatory policy changes to ensure Seaway system requirements are in compliance.
  • Require on-call availability on a rotating basis with other inspectors during the 10-month Seaway navigation season.

The ideal candidate is a technical expert in marine inspections and casualty investigations for ocean-going vessels that can work independently within a team environment.  The candidate will have experience evaluating vessel compliance with marine regulations and standards to ensure the proper documentation and certification of safety management systems, operating systems, machinery, and structures.

*PLEASE NOTE: This announcement establishes an open continuous (3 month) vacancy announcement, with early consideration given to applicants who apply within the first 30-day period.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

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.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • DRIVER'S LICENSE REQUIREMENT:  You must also be able to obtain and maintain a driver’s license.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade in the competitive or excepted service in the executive branch to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • DRUG TEST: This position has been determined to be a critical safety/security position as defined in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Order, DOT 3910.1D 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.

Qualifications

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 qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

  • Private or public sector technical experience conducting marine regulatory reviews, inspections, surveys, audits, vetting, clearances, or incident investigations of ship structures, control systems, propulsion systems, safety systems, or machinery as a marine surveyor, inspector, engineer, auditor, advisor; shipboard engineer officer, deck (navigational) officer, or similar. 

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:

  • Private or public sector technical experience conducting marine regulatory reviews, inspections, surveys, audits, vetting, clearances, or incident investigations of ship structures, control systems, propulsion systems, safety systems, or machinery as a senior level marine surveyor, inspector, engineer, auditor, advisor; senior shipboard captain, senior shipboard engineer, senior deck (navigational) officer, or similar. 

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. Technical Competence - Use knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job.
  2. Leadership - Influence, motivate, and challenge others; adapt leadership styles to a variety of situations.
  3. Self-Management - Set well-defined and realistic personal goals; display a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; work with minimal supervision; motivated to achieve; demonstrate responsible behavior.
  4. Teamwork - Encourage and facilitate cooperation, pride, trust, and group identity; foster commitment and team spirit; work with others to achieve goals.

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

FOREIGN EDUCATION must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education program. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

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.

Please Note:

  • This position requires frequent travel to Canada for the majority of the work assignment.
  • This position requires assigned duty station within 45 minutes from receipt of call to ensure that vessel management stations are handled in a timely manner.

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. 

To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified 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.

To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top-rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position must indicate interest in the assessment. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


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