Department of Energy

Interdisciplinary Engineer

Folsom, California, Lakewood, Colorado Full time

Interdisciplinary Engineer

Department: Department of Energy

Location(s): Folsom, California, Lakewood, Colorado

Salary Range: $119796 - $160638 Per Year

Job Summary: As an Interdisciplinary Engineer, you will provide leadership in the planning, design, review, liaison, & coordination of control & protection systems for substations and switchyards. ***This is not a remote position. You will have to physically report to the Folsom, CA or Lakewood, CO duty locations.***

Major Duties:

  • As an Interdisciplinary Engineer, you will: Develop protection schemes; prepare and reviews settings for protective relays; provide engineering analysis of power system disturbance reports and recommends corrective action. Provide necessary coordination with other organization segments. Perform system studies to determine short circuit currents, system voltage levels, power system impedances, transient phenomena, and other power system conditions. Recommend overall ratings for major power system equipment and specialized equipment, including phase shifting transformers, series capacitor banks, static var systems, and other power electronic devices. Develop and review WAPA's protective relaying philosophies and practices. Prepare and recommend design standards, guidelines, and procedures concerning control and protection applications for WAPA and other industry groups. Provide technical direction and guidance to other employees as assigned. Provide technical expertise and coordination assistance to WAPA Regional maintenance offices by analyzing and resolving substation operational and maintenance problems.

Qualifications: This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for all positions in the 0800 Series:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Basic Requirements: You must meet one of the following: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.) In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0850/0855 Series, applicants must meet the specialized experience below. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS12 - Applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS11) in the federal service in ALL of the following areas: Analyzing short circuit currents, system voltage levels, power system impedances, transient phenomena, or other power system conditions. To qualify for the GS13 - Applicants must have one (1) year (52 weeks) of specialized experience, equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS12) in the federal service in ALL of the following areas: Analyzing short circuit currents, system voltage levels, power system impedances, transient phenomena, or other power system conditions; AND Developing and analyzing protective relaying schemes. "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. Physical Demands: The work is mainly sedentary, but there is some walking, climbing, and bending during field trips and when testing. Work Environment: Most work is performed in an office setting, although occasional field work will be performed outdoors. Work may occasionally be performed at HV and EHV substation/transmission line sites involving hazards requiring special safety precautions around energized circuits and equipment. Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/. To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation. You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date. You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-04