Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist (MPE)

About the role

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Office of Railroad Infrastructure and Mechanical, Motive Power and Equipment (MP&E) Division is responsible for the interpretation and administration of FRA regulations and procedures concerning car and locomotive equipment, including running gear, underframes, car bodies, safety appliances, power brake systems, locomotive engines, car and locomotive noise emissions, fire safety, and related areas.

What you will do

• Plan and assign work to employees and establish priorities.
• Develop ways to improve the quality and/or quantity of work produced.
• Provide technical advice and guidance on Motive Power & Equipment standards and practices to Railroad Safety Inspectors assigned to the district to promote uniform understanding and application of laws, rules, and regulations.
• Keeps their inspectors informed on the latest changes and new developments in Motive Power and Equipment regulations and new legislation affecting the railroad industry.
• The Supervisory Railroad Safety Specialist directs and guides Railroad Safety Inspectors in the examination of various railroad records and reports to monitor compliance with applicable regulations and laws.
• Review and evaluate the technical work of employees.
• Reviews inspectors' violations and inspection reports for correctness and completeness and determines if the information contained in their reports are sufficient for successful prosecution if the report is submitted to Chief Council's Office.
• Reviews complaint investigation reports, waiver reports, and accident reports for accuracy, completeness, and conformity to FRA policies and procedures.
• Furnishes information to higher headquarters representatives on these technical reports.
• Provide leadership to inspectors for achieving the objectives of the MP&E Division's Inspection Plan.
• Gives guidance, as needed, on obtaining and analyzing safety database statistics used to develop and update the Plan and on completing Plan action items, such as task force inspections and focused safety activities.
• An ideal candidate for this position is a mission-focused senior-level professional with excellent leadership skills that has experience providing guidance, interpretation, and enforcement of Federal Railroad Administration regulations and procedures concerning railroad Motive Power & Equipment standards and mechanical railroad employee safety for railroads.

Requirements

• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
• Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• 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: All Railroad Safety Inspectors are required to possess a valid state drivers license at all times while employed by the Federal Rail Administration (FRA) in order to perform the duties of their positions.
• DRUG TESTING: Tentatively selected candidates are required to undergo urinalysis in accordance with DOT 3910.1D entitled "Drug and Alcohol-Free Departmental Workplace", which includes testing for marijuana.
• Marijuana is legal in some states, however it's still illegal at the federal level.
• 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.
• MOBILE WORK: Duty station will be serving the geographical area of selection.
• The duty location for mobile worker could be your residence or other approved mobile work site(s) and is subject to management approval.
• You will be required to establish and maintain a residence in the same geographical area as the preponderance of work for this position.
• (Or within 50 commuting miles of your assigned duty location).

How you will be evaluated

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.

WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

To receive full credit during evaluation, your assessment responses must explicitly point back to your resume, as HR cannot make assumptions about your experience.

You must write your narrative answers in full paragraph format, beginning each response with the exact position title, organization, employment dates (MM/YYYY–MM/YYYY), full-time/part-time, average hours worked per week, and federal series/grade (if applicable) as listed on your resume.

Within the paragraph, clearly describe your specific individual duties, actions taken, tools used, and measurable outcomes to prove your level of expertise.

HR will cross-check your narrative against your resume; if your resume does not fully support every detail and timeframe claimed in your written response, the claimed experience will be disallowed, which may result in an ineligible determination.

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 reviewed in two phases determine how you move forward in the hiring process. Phase I: Your resume will be reviewed to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. ONLY two (2) pages of your resume will be reviewed.

Additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be reviewed. Applicants passing “Phase I” will move on to the “Phase II” of the assessment process where your application will be reviewed and rated based on the KSAs/Competencies listed in the vacancy announcement by a Subject Matter Expert (SME).

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Documents you must provide

• In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.
• These should be legible and in a readable font size.
• A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.
• Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including 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.
• FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant.
• DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility.
• For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing.
• We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50.
• Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks' time-in-grade requirements. *** PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process.
• To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.) If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP): your most recent performance appraisal, the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
• YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL 3 documents and meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 80) to be considered under CTAP.
• Displaced employees may be eligible for 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 USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.

What to expect next

You may check your application status by logging into your USAJOBS account. Within two weeks of the closing date, your application will be reviewed and rated. Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date.

The most highly qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring manager will contact you directly. Once a hiring decision is made, we will notify all applicants of their final status.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

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, ***.

To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: RAILROAD STOCK: Pursuant to 5 C.F.R.

Parts 2635.403 and 6001.104, all FRA employees (or spouses or minor children of FRA employees) are specifically prohibited from holding railroad stock (including shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. which owns 100% of BNSF), whether held outright, in an IRA, or in a 401(k) or other plan.

(Employees may hold a mutual fund which invests in railroad stocks, so long as the mutual fund does not invest more than 30% of its assets in such prohibited investments.) Employees having a prohibited financial interest must divest themselves of railroad stock within 90 days after their appointment to their positions.

Neither the rule against holding railroad stock, nor the divestiture period, is in any way affected by the existence of re-employment rights which employees might have with railroad companies. Nor is there any monetary threshold for applicability of the rule against ownership of railroad stock; all dollar amounts are prohibited.