Engineering Technician

Full Job Description

For the Ralph H.

Johnson VA Medical Center (RHJVAMC) to manage risks associated with its utility systems in accordance with the VA mission and applicable regulations, standards, and the Utility Systems Management Plan.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/13/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requirements Series Definition: This series covers technical positions supervising, leading, or performing work involving applying a practical knowledge of the: methods and techniques of engineering or architecture; and construction, application, properties, operations, and limitations of engineering systems, processes, structures, machinery, devices, and materials.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Program Analyst - Informatics.

Qualifying specialized experience includes communicating among stakeholders to facilitate and support organizational change; applying a wide range of established practices, theories, and emerging information in relation to health care delivery, informatics, and applications; independently completes analytical projects related to process improvement; experience with data life cycle to include data design, collection, and management to input, retrieve, analyze, summarize, and present information; and knowledge and use of national database architecture and file structure.

~OR~ Education: Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or an LL.M.

if related, that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application.

Education cannot be credited without documentation.

~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position as outlined above that meets the requirements of the position.

Only education in excess of a master's or equivalent graduate education may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11 level.

NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. NOTE: One (1) full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.

Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Per The Joint Commission, utility systems are defined as building systems that provide support to the environment of care, including electrical distribution and emergency power; vertical and horizontal transport; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC); plumbing, boiler, and steam; piped gases; vacuum systems; and communications systems, including data exchange systems.

This encompasses the scope of building systems included in the scope of this Committee.

The Committee will monitor and provide guidance for safe, effective, accessible, and reliable use of utility systems by: 1. Managing risks associated with the facility's utility systems. 2.

Ensuring reliable normal and emergency electrical power. 3. Managing inspections, tests, and maintenance of utility systems, emergency power systems, medical gas systems, and vacuum systems. C.

To foster improvement in utility systems this Committee will review: 1. Documentation of historical repair, preventative maintenance, corrective maintenance, and inspections. 2.

Resources expended providing repair, preventative maintenance, corrective maintenance, and inspections for equipment not considered utility systems. 3.

Life expectancy of utility equipment and their associated efficiencies. 4.

Alternative Equipment Maintenance (AEM) requests for utility system/components and associated recommendations to the Comprehensive Environment of Care Committee (CEOCC). 5.

Reported problems/corrective solutions including responses to incidents. 6. Hazard alerts and recalls. 7. After action reports of utility disruptions (planned and unplanned). 8.

Staff training and certification requirements. 9. Utility deficiencies and code compliance. 10. The Utility Systems Management Plan.

The Chief Engineer is ultimately responsible for assuring reliable utilities are generated and/or distributed to the point of use, providing expert technical guidance to utility users, and promoting the safe, effective, and efficient use of utilities at VA-owned buildings.

For the purpose of this committee, responsibilities are delegated as follows: Assistant Chief Engineer: Management of utility outage requests and disruptions.

This includes managing a process to request, assess, approve, and compile after-action reports for planned and unplanned utility disruptions.

After action reports shall be prepared and presented to this Committee.

Evaluate and prepare the recommendations for improvements in the Utility Management Plan and this Committee's end-of-year report to the CEOCC.

Chief, Projects and Development Section: Designing and installing utility systems in accordance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes to meet patient care and operational needs.

Also, to design utility systems for interim measures that reduce risks and maintain utility continuity to areas outside of the construction area during construction activities.

Chief, Maintenance Operations Repair and Readiness (MORR): Manage the inventory, including a library of manuals, procedures provided by manufacturers, technical bulletins, and other information.

Also, manage maintenance and risk assessments of operating components of utility systems for which there is risk of serious harm or death to a patient or staff member should the component fail, including an annual review.

Ensure applicable medical center policies and procedures, and user standards regarding operation and maintenance are followed.

Identify and correct problems with utility systems/components for compliance with regulatory agencies.

Ensure that all the utility systems/components maintenance procedures meet manufacturer recommendations or request an Alternative Equipment Maintenance procedure.

Report problems and corrective solutions. Maintain documentation of operator and technician competencies, training records and certification.

Provide reports for required testing of utility systems and annual review of risk assessments.

Annual risk assessments of the following systems will be conducted/documented to prioritize based on risk to operations and resilience (e.g., American Society of Healthcare Engineers template or equivalent): a.

Fire safety equipment and systems. b. Life safety features of the building. c. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. d. Electrical systems. e.

Potable and critical water and sewer systems. f. Medical gas systems. g. Steam, heating hot water and chilled water. h. Vertical Transport.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: May be authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/PD10018A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized