Mechanical Engineer

Bureau of Reclamation; Grand Coulee (WA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Bureau of Reclamation is seeking a seasoned mechanical engineer to provide mentorship and technical expertise for a range of complex projects at Grand Coulee Dam, the nation's largest hydroelectric facility and a key water source for the Columbia Basin Project. The role supports design, analysis, and construction activities related to major hydroelectric equipment and water resources facilities.

Qualified candidates will have ABET-accredited engineering education, licensure options (PE/EIT), and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering from an ABET-accredited program.
• Calculus and differential/integral calculus background per ABET requirements.
• Education/experience combination meeting engineering fundamentals for the field.

Responsibilities

• Provide mentorship and technical guidance on complex Grand Coulee Dam projects.
• Apply mechanical engineering principles to design, analysis, and construction activities for water resource facilities.
• Assist with contracting, design studies, calculations, and specifications related to hydroelectric facilities.

Skills

Mentorship ability

Analytical thinking

Education

ABET-accredited engineering program

PE/EIT licensure alternative

Job description

This position is in Grand Coulee Power Office of the Bureau of Reclamation, within the Department of the Interior. The incumbent serves as an experienced mechanical engineer, providing mentorship and technical expertise for a variety of complex projects and activities at Grand Coulee Dam, the nation's largest hydropower facility, and the source of water for the Columbia Basin Project, serving irrigation water to more than 670,000 acres in Eastern Washington State.

Requirements Continued...

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/05/2027-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not be credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

• Successfully completed a bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
• Successfully completed a bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering that included 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.
• A 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

-AND-

To qualify for the GS-11 level: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for the GS-11 is defined as using Mechanical Engineering theories, principles, and practices applicable to engineering designs and/or construction contracting for water resource facilities such as dams, canals, hydroelectric power plants, pumping plants, and the operating characteristics of associated civil, mechanical, or electrical equipment. OR 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D., or have a Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree in engineering or a related field which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities for the position.

To qualify at the GS-12 level: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for the GS-12 level is defined as using Mechanical Engineering theories, principles, and practices applicable to engineering designs and/or construction contracting for water resource facilities such as dams, canals, hydroelectric power plants, pumping plants, and the operating characteristics of associated civil, mechanical, or electrical equipment. In addition, experience performing design studies, calculations, plans, specifications, and or construction contracting on water related and/or hydroelectric facilities.

Volunteer Experience:

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.