Director, Volpe Center

The Director of the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe) oversees the application of scientific and technological innovations to address national transportation emerging technologies and challenges across all modes of transportation and provides strategic direction to Volpe's goals, objectives, programs, and technical and institutional resources to support USDOT’s strategic goals and help the transportation community navigate its most challenging problems.

Volpe’s Director must be an experienced manager, who understands how Volpe can help USDOT achieve its goals with strong Senior Executive level interpersonal skills, able to forge strong working relationships. The Director needs strong leadership and management skills and the ability to implement processes, systems, and procedures that are consistent with USDOT practices so that Volpe can meet USDOT’s needs while exercising sound management practices and achieving cost recovery of its operational activities. The Director ensures Volpe' s operations are designed to instill transparency, public trust and open communication to customers and Volpe’s staff. A key responsibility is staff communication, professional development, focus on increasing the diversity of Volpe’s work force, and employee retention.

Volpe’s Director should be a visionary leader who integrates an understanding of meeting USDOT’s transportation challenges while effectively managing the functions and operations of Volpe' s unique fee for service model. The Director is the spokesperson for the Center, representing Volpe’s significant research and advanced technology capabilities to its many customers and partners, promoting the application of scientific and technological innovations to solve national transportation problems.

The Director is responsible for forging and maintaining relationships with Senior Executives at USDOT and other federal agencies, state, local and tribal governments, universities, industry, and foreign entities involved in transportation issues.

The Ideal candidate for this position would preferably, but not required, have a science or technology degree with a strong focus in research and innovation.