Government

A full spectrum of engineering careers can be found in public service. Some of the department and agencies dealing directly with energy include:

The Department of Energy
This agency's mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; to promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and to ensure the environmental cleanup of nuclear weapons. The Department is also the nation's top sponsor of research and development in alternate fuel vehicles and energy efficiency.

The Department is a large agency that oversees a number of smaller operational units, including The Energy Information Administration, The National Nuclear Security Administration, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and four regional Power Marketing Administrations (Bonneville, Southeastern, Southwestern, and Western). All of these organizations – as well as the DOE itself - utilize engineers from many disciplines working on projects including developing emergency action plans, providing guidance and supervision for alternative energy initiatives, and developing fuel management procedures for the nation’s nuclear weapons and energy systems. For information on specific positions at any of these agencies, go directly to the DOE page at USAJobs.

In addition to full-time and contract positions, the DOE is also reaching out to student and intern applicants. The DOE has developed student employment and career internship programs. If you want to discuss this with a DOE representative, contact your career counseling office or check the DOE website. They publish their recruiting calendar, updated regularly on their website so you can see where they will be and when you can meet with them.

Minerals Management Service
This agency is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior and manages the nation's natural gas, oil, and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS). The Minerals Revenue Management program is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but operationally based in Denver, Colorado. As with other government agencies, information on job opportunities can be accessed via USA Jobs, however the Service also has internship program information on their own site.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
This independent agency regulates commercial nuclear power plants (and other uses of nuclear materials) through licensing, inspection, and enforcement of its requirements. There are career opportunities at the NRC for nuclear, mechanical, chemical, structural, electrical, environmental, materials, and software engineers. Current job listings can be found, as with other government positions, at the USA Jobs website. They also have student program information on their own departmental website.

National Laboratories
In addition to many job opportunities in the federal government agencies, engineering positions are also to be found at National Laboratories. These facilities are funded by the government and government agencies but operated by non-governmental private firms or universities.

• Argonne National Laboratory
• Brookhaven National Laboratory
• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
• Idaho National Laboratory
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• National Energy Technology Laboratory
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratories
• Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility