Engineering Research Psychologist

Federal Aviation Administration •

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Position Type: Contractor

Job Description:

The incumbent serves as an engineering research psychologist in the Human-Systems Integration Branch at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center. The incumbent conducts human factors research, engineering, development, testing, and evaluation activities in the aviation domain. The incumbent’s work supports the FAA efforts to improve the performance and effectiveness of air traffic controllers, pilots, and other aviation professionals.

Duties

The incumbent serves as an engineering research psychologist in the Air Traffic Systems Test & Evaluation Services, Human-Systems Integration Branch at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center. The incumbent works in the Research Development and Human Factors Laboratory and conducts human factors research, engineering, development, testing, and evaluations. The incumbent’s work supports the FAA mission to provide the safest and most efficient aerospace system in the world by improving the performance and effectiveness of the human operators of aviation systems. These operators include air traffic controllers, air traffic managers, technical
operations specialists, pilots, unmanned aircraft operators, dispatchers, aviation safety inspectors, and maintenance technicians.

The incumbent applies detailed technical knowledge of psychological principles, practices, and techniques to solve complex human factors problems in the aviation domain. Typical assignments include: planning, preparing, and executing human-in-the-loop simulations; collecting, reducing, analyzing, and visualizing human factors data; conducting interviews, field observations, and focus groups with subject-matter experts; and conducting iterative rapid prototyping of user interfaces and conducting usability tests.
• Conducts reviews of relevant scholarly and technical literature across multiple domains, including psychology, engineering, computer science, and graphic design.
• Serves as a contributing author or co-author to research plans that outline the objectives, hypotheses, methods, metrics, and resources for projects.
• Collects human factors data following established techniques and tools, including surveys and questionnaires, video and audio recordings, and physiological monitoring devices.
• Conducts data analyses using established techniques and tools, including inferential statistics, data mining, and fast-time modeling.
• Serves as contributing author or co-author for FAA technical reports and journal articles; presents briefings and papers at professional conferences.
• Contributes relevant human factors information to requirements documents, system specifications, test procedures, standards, and guidelines.
• Conducts all activities in compliance with ethical standards for the protection of human subjects.

The incumbent performs assignments of low to moderate scope and complexity under the direction of a manager, team leader, or more experienced scientist or engineer. The incumbent acts as an individual contributor or a member of a multidisciplinary team. Existing policies and procedures provide guidance for most assignments.
• Works closely with other psychologists, engineers, computer scientists, and subject-matter experts to accomplish assignments.
• Coordinates with manager, team leader, or more experienced staff to plan time and use resources to accomplish assignments.
• Frequently refers problems and work issues to manager, team leader, or more experienced staff when existing guidelines are not available or applicable.
• Demonstrates some independence in planning time and using assigned resources to accomplish assignments and small projects. Provides regular status updates on activities to manager or team leader; Work is reviewed periodically during assignments and at completion to ensure timeliness and technical compliance with the requirements of the project or other work activity.

• Contacts are mainly internal to the branch and project teams, and involve sharing information, providing data and analyses, and discussing the status of assignments. Contacts also include participants in human factors studies, surveys, simulations, or usability tests. Depending on the project, participants may be FAA employees, employees of external companies and organizations, or private citizens.

Job Requirements:
Requirements Conditions of Employment

US Citizenship is required.
Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
This position has a positive education requirement. Transcript(s) required.

Qualifications

To view the complete OPM qualification standard for the Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Psychology Series, 0180, please refer to:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0100/psychology-series-0180/

To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-G, FG/GS 5/7/9. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.

Experience includes: Experience applying human factors to system/product development or evaluation; experience planning or conducting field-site demonstrations or evaluations and experience with the identification and definition of user needs and requirements.

3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related.

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.

The selecting official may decide to interview all, some or none of the candidates referred for consideration.

You may also be considered for this vacancy based on eligibility under the 30% or More Disabled Veteran Program and/or Persons with Disabilities/Persons with Targeted Disabilities. To be considered for one of these special hiring authorities, you must identify your eligibility in your questionnaire in the Applicant-Preferred Conditions of Employment section. In addition, you must submit documentation that provides evidence of eligibility as indicated in the Required Documents section of the announcement.

This is a career path progression position and has full promotion potential to the pay band -I without further competition. Identification of promotion in the vacancy announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon the selectee meeting training, qualification requirements, and recommendation by the supervisor.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page).

Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration.

Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation.

Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IMPORTANT: Applicants may be rated on the extent and quality of experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position(s). All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated. Ensure that your application package/resume supports your responses.

Required Documents

Only supplemental documentation, e.g. transcripts or veteran's documentation will be accepted in combination with your on-line application. These documents must be uploaded or emailed to Danielle.C.Long@faa.gov on or before the closing date of this announcement. All emailed documents should reference the announcement number.

If you want consideration for one or more of the Special Hiring Authorities, documentation that must be submitted at time of application can be found at Direct Hiring Authorities | Federal Aviation Administration (faa.gov).

This position has a positive education requirement; college transcripts are required for ALL candidates newly appointed to the FAA in the 180 series.

College transcripts must be submitted from current FAA employees applying for internal vacancies if they have never held a position in the 180 series with the FAA.

College transcripts are not required from current FAA employees who are currently occupying a 180 series.

If selected, official transcripts are required prior to employment.

All Veterans: If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit either a DD Form 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Member 4 Copy or equivalent), or a document from the armed forces certifying that within 120 days you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service under honorable conditions. If you are claiming 10 point preference, you must also submit a completed SF-15, Application for 10-Point Veteran's Preference, and supporting documents outlined on the SF-15. Documents must be uploaded or faxed to the Servicing Human Resource Management Office listed in this announcement and all documents must be received by the closing date of the announcement. If you fail to submit documentation, you will be assessed as a non-veteran.

If you are claiming 10 point preference but fail to submit the supporting documents outlined on the SF-15, you will be tentatively assessed as a 5 point preference eligible provided your DD Form 214 reflects that you have the service required to qualify for preference. Documents must be uploaded or faxed to the Servicing Human Resource Management Office listed in this announcement and all documents must be received by the closing date of the announcement. If you fail to submit documentation, you will be assessed as a non-veteran.

Veterans currently on active duty claiming veterans' preference: You will be granted tentative preference if you submit a document from the armed forces certifying that within 120 days you are expected to be discharged or released from active duty service under honorable conditions and your application shows that you have the required service. Prior to being appointed, you must provide to the Servicing Human Resource Management Office a DD Form 214 documenting discharge/release and showing that the service was honorable or general. If you are on terminal leave, you must provide documentation certifying authorized terminal leave.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

Salary Range: $80,481 - $124,753

Job Ident #: 790685200

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Engineering Research Psychologist

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