Established in 1948, the HDC is the Corps of Engineers' national Center of Expertise for hydroelectric and large pumping plant engineering and planning services. 

The HDC is always looking for talented individuals who want to work in renewable energy! We hire many different engineering backgrounds along with support positions such as administrative staff, design managers, program analysts, engineering technicians, IT specialists, economists, mathematicians, etc.

Learn More & Apply

Contact us TODAY about available positions!

Hydroelectric Design Center    
333 SW 1st Ave  
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-808-4203
Email: michael.s.hale@usace.army.mil

What We Offer

What We Value

HDC follows the Army core values "LDRSHIP" along with specific HDC values in everything we do.

THE HDC TEAM

The HDC has approximately 175 team members with the largest concentration of electrical, mechanical, and computer science staff in the USACE. 

Hydropower experience at the HDC ranges from student to national technical expert with more than 30+ years of experience. 

We operate throughout the U.S. with our main office in Portland, OR., and remote offices in Mobile, AL., Cincinnati, OH., and other areas. 

The Hydropower Analysis Center (HAC) is a Planning Center of Expertise within the HDC and provides services such as hydropower valuation studies, asset management, and data analytics.

WE DEVELOP EXPERTS IN HYDROPOWER

For new hires, the HDC has an excellent new employee rotational program that is 1-2 years and focused on training and development.  

For Mid-career employees we provide leadership training, support professional certifications, and send people to technical courses. 

For those seeking higher education, there are several options for college tuition support.

For those who want to engage with industry, we support professional working groups such as IEEE, CEATI, NWHA, NHA, ASME, etc.

THE WORK WE DO

We provide technical support services on all 75 USACE hydropower dams and large pumping stations throughout the United States.

Unique in this industry, the HDC is involved in projects from start to finish. 

We work internationally to perform factory acceptance testing on our products before they arrive on site.

We develop and deploy the Generic Data Acquisition and Control System (GDACS) product to control and automate facilities across the country.

We are called to provide emergency technical support when equipment fails in the field.