ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (Senior Engineering Specialist) GS-0830-13

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

This position is with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Marine Design Center, located in Philadelphia, PA. The Marine Design Center was established in 1908 as a center of expertise and experience for naval architecture and marine engineering. The Center provides total project management including planning, engineering and shipbuilding contract management in worldwide support of Corps, Army and national water resource projects. The Center services the entire Corps of Engineers by preparing preliminary workboat, barge, and ship designs, preparing contract designs, performing marine engineering and naval architectural consulting, performing stability analysis for vessels, load handling analysis for floating cranes, specification writing for both new construction and major vessel upgrades, and preparation of technical contract sections. In addition, the center manages floating plant acquisitions to include quality assurance at shipyards, contract compliance, physical testing, and direct support to Contracting Officers. Vessel types include hopper dredges, dustpan dredges, floating cranes, crane barges, survey boats, towboats, specialty barges, and various types of workboats. For additional information, see our website at https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Marine-Design-Center/.

Position Overview:

Serves as a senior electrical engineering specialist responsible for leading and executing all phases of electrical engineering for the design and construction of Corps of Engineers floating plant. Provides expert-level marine electrical engineering support for vessel and system projects, including the design, analysis, review, and approval of system elements across studies, design packages, architect-engineer scopes of work, requests for proposals, technical manuals, engineering technical letters, and related documentation.

Duties:

As a senior electrical engineer at the Marine Design Center, your responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Serves as the senior marine electrical engineering expert within the Marine Design Center, providing nationwide technical leadership for planning, design, evaluation, and investigation of electrical systems supporting USACE floating plant.
• Leads and performs complex electrical engineering analyses, calculations, and system designs, applying advanced principles to ensure safety, reliability, maintainability, and compliance with applicable standards (e.g., NEC, IEEE-45, and USACE safety requirements).
• Establishes and interprets electrical design criteria in coordination with regulatory bodies and internal policies, exercising independent judgment to resolve gaps in standards and address unique or novel engineering challenges.
• Provides authoritative technical guidance and assistance to USACE Districts and other government agencies; contributes to the development of agency-wide engineering policies, criteria, and technical guidance documents.
• Conducts independent technical reviews of electrical designs for floating plant projects, including plans, specifications, analyses, and reports prepared by in-house staff, architect-engineer firms, and contractors.
• Serves as the lead electrical reviewer for large, complex vessel programs, evaluating integrated electrical systems and advising multidisciplinary teams on electrical engineering requirements and solutions.
• Evaluates electrical equipment and system designs for suitability, compliance, and performance; prepares formal review comments and responses to contractors and manufacturers, including required revisions to designs and shop drawings.
• Troubleshoots and resolves complex electrical engineering issues arising during design and construction; develops design modifications, sketches, and change documents for incorporation into contract documents.
• Conducts field investigations and on-site reviews at shipyards and district locations nationwide, assessing existing systems and recommending repair, replacement, or modification strategies based on operational and safety requirements.
• Designs and analyze complete marine electrical systems, including load analysis, power generation and distribution, protection and coordination studies, fault and arc flash analysis, and development of one-line diagrams and system schematics for highly specialized and mission-specific vessels.

Qualifications:

APPLICABILITY/AREA OF CONSIDERATION: This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD, Section 9905 to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

WHO MAY APPLY: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements 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)1, 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)2 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.

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.

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.

In addition to meeting the above Basic Requirement, to qualify at the GS-13 levels, you must also meet the below specialized experience:

Specialized Experience:

One year of specialized experience which includes experience reviewing and designing electrical systems, performing inspections and testing for complex electrical systems, preparing scopes of work, and coordinating electrical engineering work on projects with various entities for the repair and/or construction of floating plant, such as dredges, floating cranes, towboats, surveyboats, specialty barges, and self-propelled vessels. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a one-year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of up to 33% of the time.
• The duties of this position require the incumbent to possess or obtain and maintain a valid state Driver's License in one of the 50 U.S. states or possessions to operate vehicles.

Other Conditions and Requirements:

• 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.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• 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.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• Parking is available for a daily, weekly, or monthly fee in the vicinity of the Philadelphia District office building, at employee's expense. However, most employees commute through public transportation or high-speed rail. The Army currently provides up to $300 per month for mass transit subsistence.
• Applications must be submitted after 12:01 AM (EST) of the posted Job Posting Open Date and before 11:45 PM (EST) of the posted Job Posting Close Date to receive consideration.

Your Resume:

• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.

Other Documents:

• For your application to be deemed complete, you will need to submit transcripts or other documents showing you meet the minimum qualifications.