Facilities Electrical Engineer

Transmission & Distribution World; Boulder (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) seeks a Facility Electrical Engineer to design, maintain, and improve campus utility distribution and laboratory spaces in Boulder. You will lead electrical studies, ensure safety compliance, and provide technical reviews for projects and contracts.

Relevant experience includes medium- and low-voltage systems, arc flash analysis, and strong coordination with facilities teams to support mission-critical research infrastructure.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program or equivalent.
• Demonstrated knowledge of electrical distribution systems and safety standards.
• Experience evaluating electrical design, drawings, and specifications is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, modify, and optimize facility electrical distribution and laboratory spaces.
• Provide technical oversight for campus electrical infrastructure and safety.
• Perform power system studies (short-circuit, time-current, arc flash) and code compliance reviews.
• Serve as COR and support safety coaching on design and construction contracts.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Summary

NIST is seeking a Facility Electrical Engineer to provide technical expertise in facility electrical design, maintenance, and operations for campus distribution systems, oversee laboratory renovation projects, and serve as an electrical safety subject matter expert. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

The mission of NIST's Office of Facilities and Property Management (OFPM) is to advance NIST's mission success by planning, building, operating, maintaining, and servicing facilities that provide a safe, secure, and sustainable environment for world-class scientific research. This position is in the Boulder Facilities Maintenance Division, which ensures the operational reliability, safety, and modernization of campus infrastructure by providing engineering expertise in utility distribution, laboratory construction, and facility maintenance to support cutting-edge measurement science. As a Facilities Electrical Engineer for this group, you will: Design, modify, and optimize research facility utility distribution systems and laboratory spaces, including preparing engineering drawings, cost estimates, constructability reviews, and technical specifications. Provide subject matter expertise and technical oversight for campus electrical infrastructure, including medium-voltage (13.2 kV) networks, low-voltage power distribution (480V to 120/208V), networked fire alarm systems, and fiber optic cabling. Perform complex power system engineering studies-such as short-circuit availability, time-current coordination, and arc flash analysis-to ensure site infrastructure safety, operational reliability, and code compliance. Serve as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and embedded electrical safety expert, managing architect/engineering design and construction contracts while providing safety coaching, technical reviews, and low/medium-voltage switching support.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: A. Degree in Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: Lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; OR 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: (1) statics, dynamics; (2) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (3) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (4) thermodynamics; (5) electrical fields and circuits; (6) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (7) 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.) AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to the basic requirements listed above, applicants must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level (ZP-III at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as: Experience performing facility electrical engineering design or technical analysis, such as evaluating medium- or low-voltage power distribution systems, conducting electrical system studies (e.g., short-circuit, time-current coordination, or arc flash), or preparing technical drawings, calculations, and specifications; AND Experience providing technical oversight for facility electrical operations, maintenance, or capital projects, such as conducting constructability or safety reviews, performing electrical switching operations, or monitoring performance on design, construction, or maintenance contracts. 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). 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. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration