Note: Application Deadline  Monday, May 13, 2013

This position is located in the Office of Transportation Management.  You will provide program management and program and technical support to federal field staff on various Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and Transportation Systems Management and Operations initiatives.  You will be responsible for developing program strategies and for providing hands-on technical and program expertise to federal field staff in areas such as ITS architecture, standards, systems engineering.  The objective is for the specialist to ensure that federal field staff is equipped with the skills, knowledge, and information to

English: U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters – new building opened in Spring 2007 in Southeast Washington, near the Navy Yard and the new Nationals Ballpark. Español: La sede del Departamento de Transporte de los Estados Unidos Français : Le siège du Département des Transports des États-Unis – nouveau bâtiment ouvert au printemps 2007 au Sud-Est de Washington, près de Navy Yard et le nouveau Nationals Ballpark. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

effectively support ITS deployment and key ITS initiatives with state and local agencies.

The ideal candidate is a mid-career or seasoned professional with experience developing program strategies and providing technical and program expertise in areas such as ITS architecture, standards, systems engineering.

DUTIES:

As a Transportation Specialist, you will:

One of the factors that has helped to make cars so ubiquitous over the past century is standards. By standardizing things like fuel fillers, inflation nozzles on tires, 12V power sockets and countless other elements, automakers have been able make owning and operating a car much more practical. After all, if you had to drive around to 20 different gas stations to find one with a nozzle that fits your tank, it would be a real nuisance to drive. Most of those industry standards are defined by committees of the Society of Automotive Engineers. One of the standards currently being worked on is SAE J1772 which will define standard connectors for plug-in vehicles.  GM’s Fast Lane blog notes “with SAE J1772™, we’re defining what a common electric vehicle conductive charging system architecture will look like for all major automakers in North America, but more importantly, we’re working to resolve general physical, electrical and performance requirements so these systems can be manufactured for safe public use.

Through SAE, our industry is working together to answer fundamental questions about plug-in electric vehicles such as battery electrochemistry, optimal battery-size and state of charge, and lifecycle among other issues, but zeroing in on the ergonomics, safety and performance of the charging interface is one of the most basic ways we can help build consumer confidence in plug-ins.

Think about it, if you have no reservations or confusion about charging your vehicle, you’re probably going to be more likely to drive one. Drivers shouldn’t have to worry about electromagnetic compatibility, emission and immunity when they need to plug-in – that’s what engineers like me get paid to do.”