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Engineering Intern (Tacoma Power)

Salary

$32.91 - $40.01 Hourly

Location

Tacoma, WA

Job Type

Classified

Job Number

S0010-26

Department

Power

Opening Date

12/31/2025

Closing Date

1/23/2026 5:00 PM Pacific

+ Description

+ Benefits

+ Questions

Position Description

Tacoma Public Utilities Power department is currently recruiting for internships! This opportunity is for engineering students to apply their engineering studies, receive hands-on experience, and work side-by-side with experienced professionals on challenging and fun engineering projects.

We have opportunities for Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, and Computer Science Engineering internships.

The hours for these positions are 40 hours per week. The term of each position is expected to coincide with the typical summer break for college students.

Available engineering internships include the following areas:

Generation Automation Engineering is responsible for programming, designing, modifying, and maintaining Tacoma Power's industrial control systems at the Hydro Power Plants, Dams, and Fish Facilities. Work will include modifying PLC Ladder logic and Operator interface screens, troubleshooting alarms, performing Virtual Machine Backups, creating drawings for electrical schematics and wiring diagrams, and updating and maintaining asset lists and procedures.

Generation Electrical Engineering is responsible for maintaining and upgrading Tacoma Power’s hydroelectric generators, unit auxiliaries, and Balance of Plant (BOP) electrical systems, as well as the electrical equipment and power distribution systems at Tacoma Power’s fish facilities. The summer engineering intern will work side-by-side with experienced engineers, engineering technicians, hydro project electricians and mechanics, consultants, and contractors to support hydro project and fisheries operations and maintenance. Work includes design drawings (e.g. 1-lines, schematics, wiring diagrams), equipment specifications, procurement of components, submittal reviews, as-building existing systems, crew support and troubleshooting, and field testing and commissioning.

Substation Engineering intern within the Substation Engineering group will work side-by-side with experienced engineers whose focus is on major substation equipment. This includes power transformers, medium and high voltage circuit breakers, substation cable and bus conductors, and an array of accessory devices. Work includes design drawings, equipment specifications, crew support and troubleshooting, and procurement of components.

Protection & Controls Engineering intern within the Protection & Controls Engineering group will work side-by-side with experienced engineers whose focus is power circuit breaker (PCB) controls, protective relays and intelligent electronic devices (IEDs). Relays and IEDs are used to protect generation, transmission, and distribution equipment from electrical faults; to gather real-time data; to integrate the field devices with the Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system; and to provide remote control capabilities for electrical grid equipment. Work includes design drawings, relay and IED settings, system fault studies, crew support and troubleshooting, and procurement of components.

New Services Engineering (NSE) is the first point of contact for new and existing Tacoma Power customers looking to install or upgrade electrical facilities. NSE provides engineering, design, cost estimation, work packet creation, and project management for customer projects. NSE engineers work in the office and field working directly with the customers, contractors, engineering firms, and other utilities to find solutions to customer projects.

System Planning includes transmission, distribution, and operational planning. System Planners model and study Tacoma Power’s electrical system from its generators to the meters on residences and businesses across the city, and everything in between. These studies allow planners to design projects that will improve and sustain Tacoma Power’s ability to serve its customers reliably, sustainably, and safely. System Planning’s Engineer in Training will work side by side with system planning engineers on projects to improve power reliability and quality of service, including voltage optimization, phase balancing, distribution protection analysis, and other distribution and transmission planning projects.

Line Engineering intern within the Line Engineering group will work side-by-side with experienced engineers whose focus is related to all aspects of constructing, maintaining, and operating the overhead and underground “lines” i.e. poles and wires (above ground), conduit and cable (underground), and all associated equipment. Line engineers work predominantly with distribution (15 kV) class systems and may work with transmission (115 kV) systems. Line engineer’s work includes designs, hardware specification, drawing creation, standards creation, understanding and interpreting code, permitting, contracts, field work, and construction support.

Qualifications

Minimum Education*

Bachelor's degree in progress

Selection Process & Supplemental Information

This recruitment is being managed by Elise Drennen, if you would like to be notified of similar opportunities or stay connected with things going on at Tacoma Public Utilities and the City of Tacoma, connect with me on LinkedIn.

City of Tacoma Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At the City of Tacoma, we're on a mission to make our workforce as diverse and inclusive as the community we serve. We're committed to eliminating racial and other disparities, and we actively seek out candidates from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. Join our team at the City of Tacoma and help us build a more vibrant, inclusive, and equitable community for all.

The City of Tacoma believes that diversity of thought, background, and experience contributes to our success and innovation. If you’re passionate about this role and our mission, we encourage you to apply. If you have a less traditional background, we want to hear about your transferrable skills and experience. We value a variety of perspectives and are excited to see what you bring to the table.

Tacoma Power

Tacoma Power (https://www.linkedin.com/company/tacoma-power/) is an almost 100% hydroelectric, municipally-owned public power utility, located in Tacoma. We serve approximately 180,000 customers as one of the three operating divisions of Tacoma Public Utilities, alongside Tacoma Water and Tacoma Rail. As one of the most livable, walkable cities in the country, you'll find that Tacoma is a great fit for all interests with places to bike, run, hike, and explore, the perks of a big city, and the charm of a small town.

Apply

Interested individuals should apply online and attach a detailed resume and cover letter that includes job experience, major responsibilities and accomplishments related to this position. Applications will be reviewed as they are received for interview consideration.

Reference checks will be conducted on final candidates and appointment is subject to passing a background check.

Compensation & Benefits

Pay Details:

Hourly Rate: $32.91-$40.01

Employee Benefits | City of Tacoma (https://tacoma.gov/government/departments/human-resources/employee-benefits/)

Get Assistance

For assistance with the application process or questions regarding this job announcement please contact the Human Resources office at (253) 591-5400 by 4:00 p.m. of the closing date of the job announcement.

For technical difficulties using the NEOGOV system, call the applicant support line at 1-855-524-5627 between 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. This will allow us to assist you before the job announcement closes.

Communication with the City of Tacoma

We primarily communicate via email during the application process. Emails from Tacoma.gov and/or governmentjobs.com should be placed on your safe domain list to ensure that you receive notifications in a timely manner. As a precaution, you may also want to check your junk email folders.

The City of Tacoma provides excellent medical, dental and vision plans for the whole family; paid holidays and paid leave; participation in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System (alternate plan for Police/Fire); continuing education and advancement opportunities and a growing variety of City-sponsored health and wellness opportunities and incentives.

Medical Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.

Dental Coverage: For eligible employees and their families, including domestic partners and dependent children age 26 or younger.

Vision Coverage: For eligible employees and their eligible dependents.

Paid Leave: City employees are entitled to received paid holidays, sick/vacation leave or personal time off (PTO), depending upon union affiliation and appointment type.

Insurance Plans: Employees are covered by a long-term disability plan. Short-term and expanded long-term disability insurance plans are also available to employees. The State Industrial Insurance Act also covers employees.

Deferred Compensation: Income can be set aside on a pretax basis and invested for supplementation of normal retirement income.

Retirement: All employees of the City, except members of the Police and Fire services, Tacoma Rail and certain project employees, are included in the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System. Information on the Tacoma Employees' Retirement System can be found at www.cityoftacoma.org or by calling (253) 502-8200.

Other Employment Information

Direct Deposit: Employees are paid on a bi-weekly schedule by direct deposit.

Salary Increases: Based on satisfactory job performance, the City provides for a regular progression of salary increases for most classifications according to the salary schedule.

Union Affiliation: Many job classifications are covered by union security provisions which require union membership, dues, or payment of equivalent service fees.

Note: The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provision contained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.

01

Are you currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program?

+ Yes

+ No

02

Where are you enrolled?

03

What engineering program/degree are you enrolled in?

04

When is your expected graduation date?

05

What engineering internship specialty are you interested in? Select all that apply.

+ Generation Automation Engineering

+ Generation Electrical Engineering

+ Substation Engineering

+ Protection & Controls Engineering

+ New Services Engineering (NSE)

+ System Planning

+ Line Engineering

06

What interests you about this internship?

07

What classes/courses have you enjoyed most?

08

What do you hope to gain from this internship?

09

One of the City's Principles that guides us is Equity. Describe what equity means to you and describe an experience you have working with diverse groups of people.

10

Please tell us how you learned about this job opening.

+ Job Interest Card notification

+ Internet search

+ Professional organization

+ Military organization

+ Union job posting

+ City of Tacoma employee

+ Online job board posting

+ Word of mouth

+ LinkedIn

+ SEED

+ TTEP (Tacoma Training and Education Program)

+ Indeed

+ Facebook

+ Instagram

+ Careers in Government

+ Government Jobs

+ NWPPA

+ Outreach Event

11

Please provide specific information regarding how you learned about this job opening. Thank you, your feedback will be used to evaluate our success reaching the public and refine our methods for future job postings.

Required Question

Employer

City of Tacoma

Address

Human Resources Department 747 Market Street Tacoma, Washington, 98402-3764

Phone

253-591-5400

Website

http://www.tacoma.gov

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