Electrical Engineer

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

About the Position: The Walla Walla District US Army Corps of Engineers helps manage local water resources for navigation, flood damage reduction, disaster assistance, hydroelectric power generation, and other natural and heritage areas.

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Duties

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• Serve as a senior (GS-12) or developmental senior (GS-11) engineer carrying out assignments independently using professional judgment in planning and initiating work techniques and approaches.
• Develop preliminary and final design and layout of electrical equipment and special electrical communication and electronic features for Civil Works Projects.
• Projects include multipurpose hydroelectric dams, river navigation structures, fish hatcheries, and fish bypass facilities, utilizing Revit, and AutoCAD as a CADD (computer-aided design and drafting) design tool.
• Check shop drawings and descriptive literature submitted by contractors.
• Perform calculations and computation as required to determine that the contractor proposed material and equipment is suitable and adequate for the purpose intended.
• Review and checks detailed design, design analysis, plans and specifications prepared by both Electrical Design Section and A-E (Architect-Engineer) contractors for equipment, fixtures, and systems, etc.
• Make field site inspections of existing equipment, construction in progress, and completed projects and creates studies and/or provides electrical observations regarding operation, condition, and evaluations of systems.
• Independently design and program PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) for industrial control systems.
• Utilize AutoCAD Electrical, Revit or similar advanced modeling tools for the development of contract plans and drawings.
• Complete arc flash studies for facilities ranging in complexity from simple building distribution systems to complex hydroelectric dams utilizing arc flash analysis software such as Etap, SKM, or EasyPower.
• Review shop drawings and descriptive literature submitted by contractors for contract and design compliance.
• Prepares correspondence to Construction Branch, explaining in detail the action taken and the comments, changes, and additions marked on the shop drawings and descriptive literature.
• Performs a variety of related tasks such as preparation and review of correspondence and reports, and assists with preparation of portions of specifications for special systems and equipment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires a valid, state-issued motor vehicle driver's license.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 15% of the time.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or 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.

Basic Requirement for 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.

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

GS-11 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes experience in electrical engineering design focused on the installation of electrical power systems. Experience includes (1) power distribution systems, (2) service feeds, (3) switchgear, (4) motor control centers, and/or (5) industrial civil works control systems. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). (This experience must be well documented in resume).

OR

Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Electrical Engineering.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as 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.

GS-12 Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes experience performing electrical (1) design AND (2) analysis for power distribution systems AND (3) development of civil works industrial control systems. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). (This experience must be well documented in resume).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. The GS-12 job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

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:

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.
• This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• 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 an Engineer and Scientist 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.
• Management may select at any of the grade levels announced.
• Noncompetitive promotion potential to target grade.
• This position is eligible for situational telework. This is not full-time telework or remote.
• Eligible for Special Salary Rate 0755 for 0850.

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.

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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.

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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.