Electrical Engineer (Generation Modeling)

Full Job Description

This position is located with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in the Transmission Grid Modeling (TPMG) organization of Communications & Grid Modeling (TPM), Planning & Asset Management (TP), Transmission Services (T).

A successful candidate in the Electrical Engineer (Generation Modeling) position will be responsible for working both internally and externally to verify and improve generator modeling within the BPA Planning Coordinator area in accordance with industry and NERC standards.

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-12) in the Federal service.

Specialized experience for this position is defined as experience in applying advanced electrical engineering theories, concepts, and principles sufficient to use, modify, or develop steady-state and dynamic generator models used in planning and operations basecases for power flow and transient stability studies.

"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 (Generator Modeling), you will: Serve as point of contact for outside utilities and BPA organizations for the acquisition, analysis, and delivery of generator modeling information.

Verify generator models and modeling parameters in accordance with applicable North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Reliability Standards.

Serve as a point of contact when working with BPA Customer Service Engineers, or customer utilities directly, to gather new or updated generator modeling information in support of basecase creation.

Work as a team member in the Transmission Grid Modeling group to assist in resolving problems associated with utilities' data submittals for use in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) basecase development process for the NW control area which includes generator modeling parameters.

Maintain the organization's Master Dynamics Database used to build basecases with updates received from both internal and external sources regarding generator and relay models.