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Electrical Engineer (Controls)

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation
Technical Service Center, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Division
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Summary

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as an Electrical Engineer (Controls). Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Lakewood, Colorado

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
07/26/2024 to 08/09/2024
Salary
$103,507 to - $122,137 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Lakewood, CO
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
BOR-DO-24-DE-12487896-JP
Control number
801963400

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Duties

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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.
- 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.

This position is located in the Technical Service Center within the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) within the Department of the Interior (Department). This position provides electrical engineering expertise for a variety of projects and activities throughout the Office which typically include combinations of complex features. Electrical engineering includes design, studies, diagnostics, automation, controls, analyses, construction administration, documentation, inspections, assessments, investigations, reviews, cost estimating, specifications writing, and evaluating facility capacities and operations. Electrical engineering assignments may specialize in one or more specialties: Design, Construction Management, Operations and Maintenance, Systems Analysis, Industrial Control Systems, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. Electrical systems include communication, control, and security systems; interior and exterior lighting; generators, motors, pump-generators and auxiliary systems. Duties include but are not limited to:

Engineering Analysis - Performs engineering analyses to include performing and/or coordinating technical planning activities; data collection (including validation and management); design; analyses of site location and/or conditions; troubleshooting electrical controls equipment and systems; and risk estimation and analyses including evaluating aspects of state and Federal regulatory programs, electric reliability compliance programs, and power contracts.

Documentation and Presentation - Prepares and reviews technical documentation such as technical memorandums and reports, engineering study analyses and results, correspondence, design criteria, calculations, design summaries, design standards, designer's operating criteria, drawings, job plans, operating procedures, value studies reports, inspection and assessment reviews, impact assessments, emergency action plans and exercises, construction plans and reports, quantity estimate worksheets, specifications, constructability reviews, solicitation packages, required planning, final design, and/or procurement construction cost estimates and contract correspondence including responses to submittals and Request for Information . Makes oral presentations of technical documentation at coordination meetings, design or other technical briefings.

Investigations, Assessments, and/or Inspections - Plans, schedules, coordinates, and conducts electrical controls engineering facility examinations, reviews, and/or inspections which include conducting condition assessments and construction and transfer inspections; identifying and addressing deficiencies relative to design criteria, applicable codes and standards, or state or Federal statutes or regulations; calculating estimates for repairs; coordinating with internal and external partners; documenting and presenting results; and identifying needs for the asset investment.

Reviewing and Mentoring - Provides technical reviews, peer reviews, and/or checking of designs, drawings, engineering analysis, and technical documents, specifications, and contract correspondence, ensuring documents are accurate and quality assurance processes were followed and advice to lower graded engineers and technicians and other internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

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Conditions 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).

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must meet BOTH the Basic and Additional qualification requirements for each grade level described below. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience. A copy of your unofficial transcripts must be provided with your application.

Basic Requirements:

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.)

Additional qualification requirement: In addition to the basic education requirement and in order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that the applicant meets the following education or specialized experience requirement; this information must be clearly supported in the resume.

GS-11

A. Specialized Experience: To qualify at the GS-11, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-09 level in federal service having demonstrated experience performing engineering duties; using typical engineering calculations and engineering principles to develop designs and technical documentation for the procurement and installation of control systems, protection systems, communication systems or security systems; for a facility similar to a pumping plant, hydroelectric power plant, water treatment plant or other industrial facility.
OR
B. Education: You could otherwise qualify on the basis of Education having 3 years of progressively higher level education leading to a PH.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree.
OR
C. Combination of Education and Experience: You may combine specialized experience and education to meet the minimum qualifications.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. 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 are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies".

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.

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 08/09/2024.

Education

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.

This vacancy announcement allows substituting education for experience. You must submit a copy of your higher level 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.

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.

Accreditation: Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet education requirements or to substitute for experience, if applicable. For additional info, refer to the Office of Personnel Management and U.S. Department of Education.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For additional info, refer to the U.S. Network for Education Information.

Additional information

Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and you may be allowed to telework with supervisory approval.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information, visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may request consideration for a Superior Qualifications Appointment. For information, visit: OPM Fact Sheet.

Related non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630). For information, visit: Creditable Service for Annual Leave

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including applicant rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/

This position is designated as a LOW RISK position. It requires a fully completed and favorably adjudicated SF85 Background Investigation (T1 or equivalent) that is current (within the last 5 years). This is a condition of employment.

Male applicants born after December 31, 1959 must certify registration with the Selective Service System or that the applicant is exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. Go to: https://www.sss.gov

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

Category rating and selection procedures will be used to evaluate applications from this announcement. If an applicant meets the basic qualification requirements, his/her on-line responses to the vacancy assessment questionnaire will be used to determine the quality and extent of his/her experience, education, training, etc., for placement in one of the following categories: 1) Best Qualified, 2) Well Qualified, and 3) Qualified. Qualified candidates will be assigned a numerical score on a scale of 70-100. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three" but protects the rights of Veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category. Veterans' preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher). The assessment questionnaire will take approximately 30 minutes to complete.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials, the responses you provide to the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position.

For evaluating the quality of candidates for referral to the selecting official, a three-phased process will be used.

Phase 1: Applicant resumes will be reviewed by Human Resources to ensure they meet the basic qualification requirements (see definition of specialized experience). If applicants meet basic qualifications, they will continue on to the second phase and will be given an interim score based on the application questionnaire, which will take the applicant approximately 15 minutes to complete when initially applying. With information received from the application questionnaire in the first phase, applicant's will be evaluated on the following: With information received from the applicant assessment questionnaire in the first phase, applicant's will be evaluated on the following

Competencies: Communications, Design, General Engineering, and Process Control. The application questionnaire can be previewed here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12487896

Phase 2: Candidates who pass the first phase will be contacted via email and asked to submit narrative responses which will address the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and/or Competencies listed below. Subject Matter Expert(s) will score resumes using a pre-determined scoring matrix based on the following competencies: Process Control, General Engineering, Design and Communication.


***Continued in How to Apply.***

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