Electrical Engineer

Summary

About the Position: You will work with a dynamic group of engineers, scientists, technical and administrative professionals to support the operation and maintenance of multi-purpose operating projects and hydropower facilities. Position will be filled at the GS-12 or the GS-13 grade level. Selection at the GS-12 grade level does not confer non-competitive promotion to the GS-13. See "additional information" section about hiring Districts and grade level considerations at each duty location.

Duties

Help

• Serve as the lead engineer responsible for managing technical assistance and guidance for the operation and maintenance of all electrical equipment.
• Provide professional engineering guidance and expertise concerning hydropower electric powerplants, facilities, and systems.
• Participate in various planning and programming sessions in strategy development for program execution. (GS-13)
• Assists in the development of customer agreements between the Corps of Engineers and Power Marketing Agencies. (GS-13)
• Manage and implement policy, procedures, standards and criteria for operation, maintenance, testing and inspection programs in use for hydroelectric power production. (GS-13)
• Provide professional engineering guidance to District hydropower facilities.
• Serve as a liaison with other organizations and agencies to manage and implement Joint Power Reviews and expedite actions for mission execution.
• Serve as a Hydropower Electrical Testing and Electrical Design Specialist as well as the hydropower electrical engineering subject matter expert.
• Partner with representatives of other Hydropower Plants, Centers, organizations and agencies to address technical issues that affect hydropower.
• Provide guidance and expertise concerning design, application, and maintenance of major hydropower equipment including generators, turbines, transformers, governors, exciters and auxiliary systems used in hydroelectric powerhouses and switchyards.
• Evaluate alternatives, considering all factors such as: technical, environmental, fisheries, and economic concerns; and recommend best course of action.
• Analyze complex electrical engineering problems and develop cost-effective and viable solutions.
• Design modifications to existing power generation systems.
• Troubleshoot hydropower problems and formulate plans of action to resolve issues as expeditiously as possible.
• Design, specify, and direct installation of digital and analog equipment to control Hydropower systems.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• 1 year probationary period may be required.
• Temporary duty travel up to 25% of the time.
• Valid state drivers license is required.
• Financial Disclosure (OGE-450) is required upon appointment and annually thereafter.

Qualifications

***This position will be fill at the GS-12 or GS-13 grade level. This is not a developmental position. Selection at the GS-12 grade level does not confer non-competitive promotion to the GS-13.***

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army)
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Modification of Term Appointments
• Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer
• Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Interchange Agreement Eligible
• People with Disabilities, Schedule A
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Reinstatement
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

This position has selective placement factor at the GS-13 grade level which must be met prior to employment and for continued employment. NOTE: This is NOT a requirement for the GS-12 grade level.

Selective Placement Factor: This position has a requirement for professional registration as a Professional Engineer (P.E.). (Please upload proof of registration with your application package.)

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement listed in the education section, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Minimum Qualifications GS-12:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1.) Modifying designs for power generation systems, 2.) generating cost estimates on new or modified power generation equipment, systems, and components; 3.) advising on the design and installation of digital and analog relay control systems; and 4) Troubleshooting critical components of electric power systems. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Minimum Qualifications GS-13:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes1.) Providing technical expertise and guidance over hydropower plant operations or similar large industrial facilities such as power plants, steel or aluminum mills, or other facilities with onsite power generation which includes design requirements, application, and maintenance of major power equipment such as generators, turbines, transformers, governors, exciters, controls systems, protective relays and auxiliary systems commonly used in powerhouses and switchyards. 2.) Developing and reviewing design plans, specifications, and design memos to provide input and recommendations for design changes, improvements, and additional design reviews for powerplant equipment and operations. 3.) Coordinating and partnering with internal and external stakeholders within and across the enterprise to execute large scale (medium and high voltage) power distribution projects which includes negotiating agreements, addressing programmatic and technical issues affecting operations, managing project scope, schedule, budget and milestones, and ensuring participating parties are informed throughout project execution. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Electrical Engineering
• Project Management
• Propulsion and Power
• Technical Competence

Time in Grade Requirement GS-12: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-11).

Time in Grade Requirement GS-13: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-12).

Education

***In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications listed above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the basic education requirements listed in the Education Section below for the series to which you are applying for.****

Basic Requirement for an Electrical Engineer:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); OR (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure - Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

2. Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.

3. Specified academic courses - Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program.

4. Related curriculum - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions.FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: ;br>
Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct deposit of pay is required.
• This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Construction, Engineering, and Infrastructure Career Field position.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit for more information.
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances MAY be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
• Advanced-in-Hire, Enhanced Leave Accrual, Student Loan repayment or Recruitment/Relocation incentive MAY be authorized if determined to be in the best interest of the government.
• This position will be fill at the GS-12 or GS-13 grade level. This is not a developmental position. Selection at the GS-12 grade level does not confer non-competitive promotion to the GS-13.
• Kansas City District: Recruiting for the GS-12 and GS-13;
  
  
  • Salary Range GS-12: Kansas City, MO; Warsaw, MO, Stockton, MO: $103,470 - $126,186
  • Salary Range GS-13: Kansas City, MO: $117,034 - $144,043
• Portland District: Recruiting for the GS-12;
  
  
  • Salary Range: Rufus, OR; Eugene, OR; The Dalles, OR: $103,470 - $126,186.
  • Salary Range: Bonneville, OR; Sweet Home, OR: $116,090 - $138,806
• Omaha District: Recruiting for the GS-12.
  
  
  • Salary Range: Pierre, SD; Fort Thompson, SD; Pickstown, SD: $103,470 - $126,186; Riverdale, ND: $105,988 - $137,791.
• Seattle District: Recruiting or the GS-12 and GS-13:
  
  
  • Salary Range GS-12: Bridgeport, WA: $103,470 - $126,186
  • Salary Range GS-13: Spokane, WA; Bridgeport, WA; Oldtown, ID; Libby, MT: $117,034 - $144,043; Seattle, WA: $132,039-$159,048
• Walla Walla District: Recruiting for the GS-12.
  
  
  • Salary Range: Umatila, OR; Ahashka, ID: $103,470 - $126,186

Expand Hide additional information

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.