Summary
This position is part of the Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy. As a INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Bilingual-Spanish), and part of the Territory and Recovery Assistance Program within GDO, this role will help in advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by investing, improving and expanding the electric infrastructure in disadvantaged communities to enhance access to affordable electricity and promote energy justice.
Duties
As an INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Bilingual-Spanish) you will:
- Address risks associated with energy infrastructure interdependencies, incorporating grid modernization and resilience into technology and infrastructure decision processes in Puerto Rico and other US territories;
- Support the managing and directing of the Department's support to territories for their development of electricity policies and programs in Puerto Rico and other US territories, including but not limited to, supply chain risk management, system interdependencies, blackstart capabilities, grid architecture, energy storage, and transmission distribution planning;
- Direct and develop plans for project teams or other groups in accomplishing/producing projects/studies;
- Analyze and evaluate on a quantitative/qualitative basis the effectiveness of program operations in meeting established goals and objectives;
- Evaluate and advise on organization, methods, and procedures, contributing significantly to grid modernization efforts in Puerto Rico and other US territories.
Full-Time
Qualifications
SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR: Bilingual - Spanish and English language fluency is REQUIRED. You will be interviewed in both Spanish and English and you may be required to read/write and/or translate documents from Spanish to English and vice versa. Further consideration will not be given if you fail to demonstrate fluency in both English and Spanish.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-12: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:
- Researching and interpreting program related laws, regulations, guidelines, and procedures related to engineering or scientific regulations and compliance, AND
- Supporting project execution according to outlined scope, budget, and timeline, and making recommendations on the allocation of resources; AND
- Developing strategies to accomplish broader community awareness and engagement to improve program or process efficiency.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-13: A qualified candidate's online application and 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 meeting ALL of the following:
- Researching and interpreting program related laws, regulations, guidelines, and procedures related to engineering or scientific regulations and compliance, AND
- Leading project management activities for energy-related projects, from initial scoping to project execution; AND
- Applying analytical techniques for assessing the effectiveness or efficiency of engineering or scientific operations or work processes; AND
- Implementing innovative strategies and/or community engagement activities with representatives from different community sectors in Puerto Rico.
"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.
CTAP/ICTAP 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.
Education
This vacancy has a positive education requirement. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.
You must meet the Basic Education Requirement listed below and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for this series as described below.
Basic Requirement for Physical Scientist (1301):
Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
or
Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
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Basic Requirement for General Engineer (801):
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 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)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.
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.
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.)
Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
