General Engineer
As a general engineer you will join a Volpe team comprised of transportation professionals and you will lead or work on various transportation-related projects. You will be given a wide range of tasks and assignments utilizing your engineering and project management skills for the development, evaluation, and operation of transportation systems. This Direct Hire Public Notice will be used to build a list/inventory of applicants that may be referred as vacancies become available.
- Perform duties involving basic principles of engineering and will work as a member or leader of a project team in one of Volpe’s engineering organizations. Project work varies by division, please visit the following site to learn more about our four technical areas:
- Air Traffic Systems and Operations - https://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work/air-traffic-systems-and-operations
- Infrastructure Systems and Technology - https://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work/infrastructure-systems-and-technology
- Policy, Planning, and Environment - https://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work/policy-planning-and-environment
- Safety Management and Human Factors - https://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work/safety-management-and-human-factors.
Complexity of duties increases with experience and grade level.
Major duties may include:
- Research, interpretation, design, testing, and analysis of transportation products, infrastructure, vehicles, structures, and systems.
- Extracting and processing data using a variety of equipment, instruments, computer software/ hardware, laboratory tests, mathematics, elementary algebra and geometry, basic statistics, and standard formulas of engineering-specific disciplines.
- Applying life-cycle project management skills to develop and manage the operation, scope, schedule, budget, and quality of assigned projects and deliverables.
- Articulating information through methods such as: fact sheets, technical reports, design documentation, discussions, meetings, and briefings or presentations to the project team as well as internal and external stakeholders including Volpe Center management, sponsor representatives, and representatives of other government agencies/industrial groups.
- Traveling to field sites for testing or assignments and performing other related duties, as appropriate. Areas of work may involve: connected and automated vehicle research, hardware/software/network architectures for transportation and safety systems, software development for cybersecurity/building policies, aviation or maritime systems engineering, applied mechanics, finite element analysis techniques, energy use reduction, fire safety/code compliance, occupational safety, transportation infrastructure improvements, automobile/rail crash-worthiness tests and simulation, or highway/transportation engineering (design, construction, materials, survey and mapping, and asset management).
The ideal candidate for this position holds a degree in professional engineering and has a desire to manage complex transportation-related projects. Preferred engineering fields include: general, civil, mechanical, environmental, computer, software, electronics, electrical, systems, architectural, geomatics, construction/industrial, and engineering management. As a federal partner in advancing U.S. DOT initiatives, the Volpe Center draws on its multimodal, multidisciplinary expertise to support U.S. DOT’s priorities: Safety, Infrastructure, Innovation and Accountability. You must have superb analytical, communications, leadership, and problem-solving skills and be able to excel in a fast-paced environment.