Research Highway Engineer

This position is in the Office of Research, Development, and Technology at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, Virginia. This position serves as a Communications Engineer on the Safety Design and Operations Team specializing in highway engineering research related to wireless technologies for Connected Vehicles and the application of communications to support the safe operation of emerging technologies such as automated vehicles, digital infrastructure, and AI.As a Research Highway Engineer, you will: Execute complex studies (and lead exceptionally difficult research of considerable depth for the GS-14 level) on wireless technologies and systems to advance Connected Vehicle safety and highway operations and implementation of emerging technologies. Manage staff research and external contracts focused on solving engineering problems through advanced technological integration. Work closely with other FHWA offices (i.e., FHWA Office of Safety, Office of Operations, ITS Joint Program Office, Division Offices, etc.), other DOT Operating Administrations, and State and local highway personnel, where appropriate, to coordinate and obtain input on planned, ongoing, or completed research. Serve as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), requiring knowledge of the Federal procurement process to prepare procurement request packages, write proposal evaluation reports, monitor contracts, and review deliverables. The ideal candidate for this position is a competent and productive researcher (or a recognized research leader at the GS-14 level) capable of conceiving, formulating, and conducting complex research studies in the field of general engineering. This candidate possesses an advanced professional knowledge of general engineering with a specialization in the theories, principles, practices, and techniques of the use of radio-frequency (RF) (wireless) technologies and systems to enable the Connected Vehicles component of the safety and operations research program, RF spectrum issues related to system capabilities, in-band and out-of-band interference, cybersecurity, vulnerability assessment, and credential management, and the broader range of Federal, state, and local RF spectrumrequirements to support implementation of advanced technologies into the transportation system.