Title: Electrical Technician Apprentice
Pollock Pines, CA, US, 95726-1500
Minimum Pay Rate: $48.67
Maximum Pay Rate: $71.23
Apply by Date: 10/11/2024
Posting Type: Open
Hiring Manager: Jason T Winter
This position is located at SMUD's Hydro Generation Operation Facility (Fresh Pond) located approximately 60 miles east of Sacramento, 15 miles east of Placerville. As you progress through your apprenticeship you will work closely with Journey Level Technicians learning the skills necessary to support hydro maintenance operations and commission major technical capital improvement projects.
*COVER LETTER REQUIREMENT* To be further considered for this position you are required to respond to the following questions in the cover letter portion of your application. Failure to answer the required cover letter questions may preclude you from moving forward in the process:
- Share with us your experience testing, troubleshooting, and programming PLCs.
- What type/manufacturer of PLC did you work on?
- What was the equipment associated with the PLC?
- Where did this take place?
- How was your work effective?
- What types of improvements took place?
- Share with us your experience commissioning, testing and troubleshooting protective relays.
- What type of asset were they protecting?
- What types of relays were used? What type of test instrument was used?
- Please provide an example of a time when you worked on a mechanical/hydraulic system relating to industrial control or hydroelectric generators.
- What type of computer experience have you acquired interfacing with industrial machines and test equipment?
- What was the communication protocol?
- What programs were used?
- What type of equipment was controlled and/or programmed?
- Where did this take place?
In order to qualify for the advanced apprentice level, applicant must show completion of at least to two years of a recognized apprenticeship program, or equivalent experience, as it relates to the essential job functions for this position. The most qualified candidates will be invited to particpate in our written examination that will take place at our Fresh Pond facility.
This posting will be used to create an eligibility list of qualified candidates to fill current and future limited term and full time Hydro Electrical Technician, Advanced Apprentice vacancies. You must clearly demonstrate on your resume that you possess the knowledge, skills and experience required in the minimum qualifications listed in this posting.
Purpose
Under guidance of journey-level Electrical Technicians or other authorized persons, performs complex maintenance, testing, troubleshooting, repair, and installation of protective relaying and control systems associated with the District's generating, transmission and distribution systems.
Nature and Scope
This series is assigned to distribution services. The Electrical Technician is a specialized class involving the performance of highly technical maintenance and test work on protection and control systems associated with the District's generation, transmission, and distribution system. This classification differs from that of Electrician in that the emphasis is on knowledge of what makes electrical systems work and the ability to locate malfunctions rather than the dexterity in making the mechanical repairs and/or replacements.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Work includes but is not limited to the following: (Note: While in general all functions/duties are essential, individual positions within this class may not require all.) This list is not intended to be complete or exhaustive. At the Apprentice level, incumbent is in a learning capacity and assists in the duties specified below for an Electrical Technician. It is expected that an apprentice will show achievement on a progressive scale for a normal apprenticeship period of 54 months, and advance to the journey level within 6 months to 1 year after reaching the top step apprentice.
- Maintenance
- Inspect, evaluate, calibrate, test and set a wide variety of electro-mechanical and microprocessor based relays, and programmable logic controllers such as: generator protection and control, transmission or distribution line protection and control, power transformer protection and control, voltage regulators, power factor correction devices, motor and circuit breaker controls, and auxiliary systems.
- Operate (both manual and computer controlled) relay test sets and calibration equipment manufactured by AVO, Doble, Manta and others.
- Perform calibrations on analog and digital meters, transducers, SCADA inputs.
- Perform off line and on line function tests and take in service readings to monitor system performance. Troubleshooting and Repair
- Check control and relay circuits, current and potential circuits, auxiliary control circuits, data and fault recorders to find, identify, and correct problems in generators, circuit breakers, power transformers, SCADA systems, and alarm systems.
- Repair electro-mechanical relays, wiring problems and failures.
- Make repairs to solid state and microprocessor based relay and control systems at the circuit board and component level; identify failed, faulted, and intermittent components and systems.
- Access, retrieve, display, and evaluate digitally recorded faults, oscillographs, fault records, and displays to locate problems and check system performance.
- Perform AC power-factor (Doble) testing, DC insulation resistance (Meggar), AC and DC high potential testing; use high current test sets, ammeters, voltmeters, watt-meters, varmeters, phase-angle meters, frequency meters, and power analyzers to find problems and failures.
- Installations
- Review design drawings such as: electrical one-lines, schematics, elementaries, logic diagrams, wiring diagrams and schedules, and relay setting and coordination orders.
- Assist design engineers in checking circuit design integrity and effectiveness, coordinate installation plans and schedules, plan and implement acceptance tests, coordinate and perform function and start-up tests.
- Perform detailed acceptance tests on electro-mechanical and microprocessor based relays, programmable logic controllers, CTs and PTs, meters and transducers, SCADA and alarm systems. Safety
- Use safe work practices, methods, and procedures to work on or around high-voltage (up to 230 kV) and low-voltage (600 volt or less) systems. Work safely and effectively without direct supervision, often alone and in isolated areas.
Knowledge Of
- Theory of operation of generation, transmission, distribution or industrial electrical systems.
Skills To
- Read and interpret electrical schematics, logic, elementary wiring diagrams, and use of computers in a Windows or DOS-based environment.
Desirable Qualifications
- Experience working with electro-mechanical and microprocessor based relays
- Experience working with programmable logic controllers
- Experience working with design drawings
- Experience performing AC power-factor (Doble) testing, DC insulation resistance (Meggar), AC and DC high potential testing
Physical Requirements
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) - Who We Are
As the nation's sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider, we're proud of our reputation as one of the best places to work in Sacramento. Our employees tell us in our engagement surveys they're "Happy, satisfied and engaged" which helps create a workplace that best serves our customers.
Sacramento was named as the 2nd happiest place to work in America by Forbes Magazine. Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and the world-renowned Napa Valley are within easy driving distance of our locations.
California Equal Pay Act
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) are a part of who we are and how we do things. Supporting efforts that promote pay equality is part of that. Salary placement for the selected candidate will be determined in alignment with the California Equal Pay Act or the applicable MOU. Determination for salary placement of internal candidates will be made without respect to current classification or compensation and will be based upon the candidate's qualifications as compared to those performing substantially similar work. In the event there is a guaranteed pay progression outlined in an applicable MOU, the MOU takes precedence.
Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
SMUD respects, values and celebrates the unique attributes, characteristics and perspectives that make each person who they are. Diversity and inclusion are guiding principles to deliver a culture that reflects the broader values of the community and our customers. Our Board's policy for Employee Relation sets our commitment to developing and maintaining a high quality, inclusive workplace that engages and inspires employees to commit to SMUD's purpose, vision and values.
Why Sacramento, California?
The capitol of California, Sacramento is the state's sixth-largest city, and the 35th largest in the U.S. Local universities include California State University, University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, and the University of California, Davis and several competitive community colleges. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is one of more than a dozen hospitals and shared services centers in the Sacramento region. Part of the agriculturally rich Central Valley, Sacramento is at the forefront of the farm-to-fork food movement. Northern California is home to some of the country's top technology companies, including Google and LinkedIn, and a multitude of startups in many industries. Sacramento is home to the NBA Kings, the River Cats (AAA baseball), the Republic FC (soccer) and the San Francisco Giants, NBA Warriors and NFL 49ers aren't far away. Sacramento offers an affluent liberal arts community with Broadway, Mondavi Center, Crocker Museum and summer musical theater to name a few.
On-site Work
This role will be an on-site role that will require being in person at one of SMUD's campuses daily to complete work tasks.