Electrical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
- Open & closing dates
09/05/2024 to 09/30/2024
- Salary
$53,937 - $96,414 per year
- Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 9
- Location
Duties
Duties will vary based on group within the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Division. Duties broken out by group are provided below.
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Division Mission Statement:
Industry-leading electrical and mechanical engineers providing advanced design, maintenance, and modernization solutions for the reliable delivery of hydropower and water.
Electrical Controls Group
The Electrical Controls Group provides engineering services for designs, drawings, technical specifications, and construction/installation support for control systems, control networks, communication systems and low voltage power systems for Reclamation facilities.
Duties:- Works closely with other electrical and mechanical groups as well as plant operators to develop both hard wired and PLC based control and monitoring systems (including SCADA) for water treatment processes, fish structures, gate controls, pumping plants, excitation systems, governors, protection relays and other auxiliary systems.- Prepares calculation, specification, design drawings and other design documentation related to controls, security, low voltage power, and communication systems for construction contracts.- Attends site visits for scoping, planning studies, testing and commissioning of units.- Reviews contractor submittal to ensure control system conformance with contract specifications.
Power Systems Analysis & Control Group
The Power Systems Analysis & Controls Group provides specialized electrical technical services to Reclamation's hydroelectric powerplants and is made up of two teams: System Studies and Controls.
Duties:- The System Studies team performs arc flash analyses, power equipment rating recommendations, protective relaying support and coordination, and model and validation of hydroelectric powertrain equipment.- The Controls Team performs specialized testing, tuning and analysis of hydrogenerator excitation and governor control systems.- Both teams work closely with Reclamation's Power Resources Office to aid in documenting and ensuring compliance with relevant NERC and WECC standards for protective relaying and exciter and governor control systems.
Hydropower Diagnostics & SCADA Group
The Hydropower Diagnostics & SCADA Group performs a wide range of electrical hydropower technical services including onsite technical assistance, diagnostics, troubleshooting, failure investigation, and inspection. This group provides program consultation, training, unique in-house support services, and design and installation support for plant Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.
Duties:
- Performs onsite field testing of electrical powerplant equipment.
- Prepares travel reports and project notes pertaining to field testing.
Electrical Equipment Group
The Electrical Equipment Group provides designs, drawings, technical specifications, and construction/installation support for electrical equipment. The group's electrical engineering services include:
Generator rewind/uprates, generator step-up transformers, metal enclosed bus and PT and surge arresters on bus, unit circuit breakers, station service transformers, switchgear - medium and low voltage, high and medium voltage cable and bus, pumping plant electrical design, motor control centers, adjustable speed drives, and reduced voltage starters, and factory inspection of electrical equipment.
Duties:
- Prepare electrical drawings and specifications to meet National Electric Code and other approved standards.
- Perform electrical calculations for designs including voltage drop, conductor sizing, conduit sizing, and load calculations.
Recent Graduate Eligibility
You must meet one of the following:
- Completed a qualifying bachelors, masters, professional, or doctorate degree within the last two years preceding announcement close date of 09/30/2024.
- You are a Veteran and due to military obligation, you have completed a bachelors, masters, professional, or doctorate within six years preceding announcement close date of 09/30/2024.
- You will obtain a bachelors, masters, professional, or doctorate and obtain transcripts (with conferred date) AND be able to start working no later than 3/31/2025. No exceptions.
Conversion
After successful completion of all program requirements, the Recent Graduate MAY be converted to a permanent position in the competitive service. Conversion is neither guaranteed nor promised.
To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must successfully complete 40 hours of training and be recommended for conversion by their supervisor.
RequirementsConditions of Employment
You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
You must submit eligibility documents for veterans consideration (see Required Documents).
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).
Applicants initially appointed to a Schedule D appointed position must serve a 1-year trial period.
Who May Apply:
- Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)
- Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)
- Pathways - Recent Graduates
Recent Graduate applicants must meet all eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement, 09/30/2024.
Qualifications
You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements by 09/30/2024
Future Graduates: You must meet all requirements AND be able to start working no later than 3/31/2025. **No Exceptions to extend past this date.
In order to qualify for this position, you must meet BOTH the Basic Qualification Requirement and Additional Qualification Requirements for each grade level described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. Basic Qualification Requirement
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by 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.
-or-
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, and Puerto Rico.
-or-
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 the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
-or-
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 bachelor's 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)
-AND-
Additional Qualification Requirements
In addition to meeting the basic education requirement, you must also meet one of the following for each grade level. Specialized experience is obtained after the requirements noted under 'Basic Qualifications Requirements' are met.
GS-05
No additional qualification requirements at this grade.
GS-07
A. Specialized Experience: To qualify, applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience may include assisting engineers with various projects, collecting data through field activities, and assisting with the preparation of reports; researching technical reports and other guidelines to obtain information for engineers. This experience is obtained after meeting the basic requirements above. -or-
B. Education: 1 year of graduate-level education or completed a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering.-or-
C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education (noted in choice B) and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.
GS-09
A. Specialized Experience:To qualify, applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience includes performing electrical engineering duties, using typical engineering calculations and principles for a facility similar to a pumping plant, powerplant, or industrial facility -and- obtained after meeting the minimum education requirement. This experience is obtained after meeting the basic requirements above. -or-
B. Education: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. -or-
C. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education (noted in choice B) and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week. -or-
D. Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education (noted in choice B) and specialized experience (noted in choice A) may be used to qualify for this position if the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.
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.
Education
This vacancy announcement allows substituting education for experience at the GS-05, 07 and 09 grade levels. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not-qualified for the position.
This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.
You will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications, if selected. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.