SI Program Manager

Bonneville Power Administration • Portland, OR

3d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is with Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in the Chief Technology Office (JZ) organization within the Chief Information Office (J). The SI Program Manager serves as the bureau-wide principal advisor and program manager for Super Intelligence (SI) and Machine Learning (ML), defining and executing a strategic vision, adoption roadmap, and key performance indicators in alignment with Chief Technology Office leadership. The position is located in Portland, Oregon, and requires in-person reporting to the official duty location.

The role establishes operational plans, patterns, and reference architectures for Information Technology and Operational Technology environments. It develops and enforces governance for secure, responsible, transparent, and compliant SI deployment, and serves as the designated executive and technical authority supporting the Chief Technology Officer in evaluating and approving operational deployment of high-impact SI systems. These systems may serve corporate and back-office functions, transmission grid planning and operations, regional hydro planning, and NERC-CIP-protected control room and field cyber assets.

The position works with the Chief Data Officer to define data readiness criteria, governance policies, and quality guardrails for model ingestion and training pipelines. It also leads enterprise enablement initiatives, including secure access to pre-approved foundation models, sandbox environments, reusable design patterns, and evaluation of commercial off-the-shelf and SaaS SI products, with attention to data privacy and non-training clauses for Controlled Unclassified Information. The SI Program Manager acts as a strategic liaison among technical teams, operational business units, enterprise architects, and external entities.

The position is designated as requiring a Public Trust background investigation and may require scheduled or ad hoc on-call duties after hours, on weekends, or on holidays to support mission needs. The selectee must complete an Office of Government Ethics Standard Form 450e financial disclosure report within 30 days of employment and annually. Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate, subject to budget availability and federal regulations. BPA describes its work environment as supportive of work/life balance and employee wellness, including its Be Well program.

Requirements

• United States citizenship.
• IT-related experience demonstrating attention to detail, customer service, oral communication, and problem solving.
• Advanced proficiency in the four required IT competencies, equivalent to GS-14: ability to perform independently, provide practical process-improvement ideas, coach others, participate in senior-level discussions, and assist in developing reference and resource materials.
• At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-13 in the Federal service.
• Specialized experience managing an enterprise-level program or project portfolio to pilot and adopt SI solutions, including governance, standards, design, and implementation.
• Specialized experience collaborating across multidisciplinary teams, including IT, data management, operational business units, and external stakeholders, to assess, prioritize, and integrate SI use cases into enterprise architecture or operational workflows.
• Specialized experience evaluating emerging SI technologies and potential transformational solutions to establish deployment and operations roadmaps, standards, and playbooks.
• Must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the announcement closing date.
• Must report in person to the official duty location.
• Must complete a Public Trust background investigation; a preliminary background check must be completed before starting work.
• Must complete an Office of Government Ethics Standard Form 450e financial disclosure report within 30 days of employment and annually.
• Male applicants must meet Selective Service registration requirements.
• Applicants must answer eligibility and qualification questions completely and truthfully.

Nice To Haves

• Applicants are encouraged to respond to four short, free-response essay questions; responses are not scored or rated but may be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if the applicant is referred for selection consideration.
• Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate, depending on budget availability and federal regulations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the bureau-wide principal advisor and program manager for SI and ML, defining and executing the strategic vision, adoption roadmap, and key performance indicators in alignment with Chief Technology Office leadership.
• Establish operational plans, patterns, and reference architectures across IT and OT environments, aligning initiatives with bureau mission goals and connecting federal mandates with utility delivery.
• Collaborate with policy, legal, and planning stakeholders to establish and enforce a governance framework for secure, responsible, transparent, and compliant SI deployment.
• Support the Chief Technology Officer as the designated executive and technical authority for evaluating and approving operational deployment of high-impact SI systems.
• Collaborate with the Chief Data Officer to establish data readiness criteria, governance policies, and quality guardrails for model ingestion and training pipelines.
• Lead enterprise enablement initiatives, including secure access to pre-approved foundation models, management of sandbox environments, creation of reusable design patterns, and evaluation of COTS and SaaS SI products.
• Enforce data privacy and non-training clauses for CUI when evaluating SI products.
• Serve as the primary strategic liaison among technical teams, operational business units, enterprise architects, and external entities.
• Participate in scheduled or ad hoc on-call duties, potentially after hours, on weekends, or on holidays, when required by management to support mission needs.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package; eligibility depends on position type.
• Programs and policies intended to support work/life balance and flexible, responsive work environments.
• BPA Be Well program supporting career, community, financial, physical, and social wellness.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed