Closing Date: 11th November, 2026

Description:

Summary:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Chief Counsel is seeking dynamic individuals to serve in permanent positions as Attorney Advisors at our headquarters in Washington, D.C. Our attorneys experience a broad range of assignments providing legal support to PHMSA's mission of ensuring the safe operation of the Nation's gas and hazardous liquids pipeline systems.

Duties:
As an Attorney Advisor, you will:

Work with other attorneys, program staff, subject matter experts, and agency leaders to: set national policies on pipeline safety; pursue enforcement for violations of pipeline safety standards, including civil penalties and compliance orders; support emergency response following pipeline incidents, including issuance of emergency orders
Develop and adopt new regulations to further enhance and improve pipeline safety.
Develop guidance and interpretations to assist the regulated community in maintaining compliance.
Support litigation by or against the United States; and other legal support for PHMSA and its pipeline safety program.

The ideal candidate will have knowledge and experience with a range of legal practice areas associated with the transportation industry and the Department of Transportation, such as: administrative enforcement, including charging documents, adjudications, hearings, and negotiations; regulatory development and drafting; administrative appeals and litigation; legislative drafting and analysis; and working collaboratively with other attorneys, engineers, policy leaders, and safety experts performing a wide variety of legal tasks in a government setting.

Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:

You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
This is an Excepted Service position.
Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.

Conditions of Employment:

Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service.
Trial Period: This is an Excepted Service position. This job will be filled by an alternative hiring process and is not in the competitive service. Applicants selected for an excepted service position may be subject to a two-year trial period.
Ethics/Conflict of Interest Statement: All employees are subject to the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 2635, including restrictions on owning financial interests that may conflict with performance of their duties. Some employees, like those involved in contracting or regulating non-Federal entities, are subject to Executive Branch Financial Disclosure requirements set out in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, section 263.
Background Investigation: Applicants may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
Financial Disclosure: The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires the applicant selected for this position to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications:
To qualify, your experience should include experience and education equal or equivalent to the following:

GRADE 11 possess a professional law degree (LLB, or J.D.) and be in good standing of a bar. No professional legal experience necessary.

Experience performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues;
Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions; and/or
Experience maintaining a relationship with customers to assure their understanding of legal positions.

GRADE 12 a law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least 1 year of professional attorney experience, which includes:

Experience performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues.
Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions.
Experience maintaining a relationship with customers to assure their understanding of legal positions.

GRADE 13 - A law degree, bar membership in good standing and either two years of professional attorney experience OR one year of professional attorney experience and a second professional law degree (LL.M) which requires one full year of graduate study.

Experience performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues.
Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions.
Experience maintaining a relationship with customers to assure their understanding of legal positions.

GRADE 14 - A law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least 3 years of professional attorney experience.

Experience performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues.
Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions.
Experience maintaining a relationship with customers to assure their understanding of legal positions.

GRADE 15 - A law degree, bar membership in good standing and at least 4 years of professional attorney experience.

Experience performing legal services involving compliance and regulatory issues.
Experience preparing legal memoranda and opinions.
Experience maintaining a relationship with customers to assure their understanding of legal positions.

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, considering 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.
Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.
Problem Solving - Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.

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/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education:
Mandatory Education Requirements:
In order to qualify for this position, candidates must have successfully completed a full course of study in a school of law accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and have a professional law degree, and must currently be a member in good standing of the bar of a State or Territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Additional Information:
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial 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 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 2-year trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal histo