Electrical Engineer

Full Job Description

This position is located with Bonneville Power Administration, in Customer Service Engineering (TPC) organization of Planning and Asset Management (TP), Transmission Services (T).

A successful candidate in the Electrical Engineer position will serve as a Line and Load Interconnection Lead responsible for overseeing and implementing customer load Interconnection Requests through the Line and Load Interconnection Procedures as required by BPA's Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT).

BASIC 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: 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.

-OR- 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- 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- 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.) For more information on how to meet the Basic Requirements please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS A qualified candidate's resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: Applying expertise in electrical engineering theories, principles, concepts, standards, and methods sufficient to 1) serve as a technical authority responsible for developing plans of service by determining scope and funding responsibility for interconnections between a transmission provider and its customers; 2) resolve new, unusual, and emerging interconnection problems, conditions, or issues; and 3) interpreting and adapting very general guidelines and precedents regarding NERC, FERC, or other regulatory agencies objectives applicable to public electric utilities, and transmission systems.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience.

Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations.

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.

Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.

CTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Major Duties:

As an Electrical Engineer, you will: Provide technical leadership to Transmission Services, load project developers and utility customers on load service issues that include emerging technology, technical and commercial integration issues, and regional transmission system impacts.

Serves as the Team Lead for the line and load interconnection team within Customer Service Engineering leading GS-13 and GS-12 electrical engineers, with supervisor delegating full technical authority as well as responsibility for the program.

Works with supervisor to align program with broad agency objectives and suggests improvements, planning and carrying out work needed to accomplish.

Reviews, interprets, and provides authoritative interpretation, ingenuity, direction, and guidance on the application and impact of broad FERC pro-forma and other regulations and FERC orders issued.

Prepares or provides authoritative technical support for commercial agreements with customers to expand or modify the BPA transmission system for line and load requests.

Represents BPA to customer utility and customer staff and executives and determining the division of responsibilities and financial responsibility for transmission system modifications and expansions.

Determines electrical systems parameters, including transmission line and substation configurations, power circuit breaker requirements, and line termination and ratings.

Provides technical leadership in applying BPA's transmission tariffs and policies. Interprets policy and regulatory requirements in terms of established objectives and project specifics.