Summary Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Electrical Engineer. Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment. Duty Location: Lakewood, Colorado Responsibilities 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. Requirements 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). Who May Apply: Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) Qualifications You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements by 09/30/2024 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-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. To qualify at the GS-11 level, applicants must meet one of the following requirements: 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 experience that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities as follows: Performed engineering designs for generators, pump-generators, motors, transformers, switchgear and/or switchyard equipment. 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. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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". --Continued in Additional Information-- 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 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 --Continued from Qualifications-- Definition of Professional Engineering Experience: The professional engineering experience required for grades GS-7 and above is defined as non-routine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability. Professional knowledge of engineering is defined as the comprehensive, in-depth knowledge of mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences applicable to a specialty field of engineering that characterizes a full 4-year engineering program leading to a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent 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 09/30/2024. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.