Bridge Safety Engineer

Full Job Description

This position serves as the Bridge Safety Engineer for the Office of Bridges and Structures within the Office of Infrastructure, as a technical resource for the National Bridge Inspection Program (NBIP), bridge safety practices, and technologies; and the National Tunnel Inspection Program (NTIP), tunnel inspection practices, and technologies.

To qualify for the GS-14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include: Experience developing and/or evaluating the quality of plans, specifications, and estimates for bridges or tunnels related to transportation projects; AND Experience interpreting and applying the National Bridge Inspection Program (NBIP) to a statewide and/or federal agency highway bridge inspection programs.

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: Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.

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/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/ All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Major Duties:

As a Bridge Safety Engineer, you will: Provide leadership, guidance and technical assistance on the requirements of the National Bridge Inspection Program (NBIP) and the National Tunnel Inspection Program (NTIP) including purpose, applicability, responsibilities, qualifications, inspection intervals, procedures, and inventory.

The incumbent provides direction on the development and deployment of state-of-the-art practice and emerging technologies for bridge and tunnel inspection.

Evaluates procedures employed in the accumulation of bridge and tunnel data for the National Bridge Inventory (NBI) and National Tunnel inventory (NTI) and recommends actions needed to make improvements and correct deficiencies.

The incumbent provides technical assistance in improving bridge inspection data quality in the NBI and NTI.

Prepare reports and briefings for Office of the Secretary, FHWA leadership, and Congressional staff on the inventory and condition of the nation's bridges and tunnels.

Participate and assists in coordinating conferences and meetings with other FHWA, other Federal, State and local government representatives, including bridge and tunnel inspection program exchanges and peer reviews.

Represent the Office of Bridges and Structures, in contacts with Division offices, Federal Lands Highway Divisions, and other FHWA offices.

Provide leadership, direction, and assistance to the Division office compliance reviews of the NBIP and NTIP.

Develops, delivers, and maintains training and guidance to field staff on the process for performing reviews of the NBIP and NTIP.

Assist in the coordination of Headquarters and other FHWA staff participation in the Division Office compliance reviews, when needed. Advise leadership of compliance concerns as they are encountered.

Keep abreast of emerging issues that affect the safety of bridges and implements policies and/or procedures to disseminate information to Headquarters, field offices and the bridge community.

Contribute to the development of revisions to FHWA and AASHTO documents related to bridge and tunnel inspection.

The ideal candidate for this position will have the knowledge and experience in the development, implementation, and management of a highway bridge and/or tunnel inspection program, applying transportation engineering principles and concepts in support of advancing best practices on how state and local agencies use innovative engineering practices.