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Posted: January 21, 2026 (0 days ago)

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Physical Therapy Assistant

Defense Health Agency

Department of Defense

Fresh

Location

Salary

$52,938 - $68,819

per year

Closes

July 23, 2026

GS-5 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $33,878 - $44,042

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience. Bachelor's degree.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves working as a physical therapy assistant at a military medical facility in California, helping injured service members and others recover through treatments like exercises and therapies under a physical therapist's guidance.

You'll assist with patient care, track progress, and teach exercises to patients and families.

It's a great fit for someone with hands-on experience in therapy support and a passion for helping people in a structured healthcare setting.

Key Requirements

  • Unrestricted license or certification as a Physical Therapy Assistant (highly preferred)
  • One year of specialized experience implementing physical therapy treatment plans and providing patient status reports
  • Half year (9 semester hours) of graduate education in fields like Physical Therapy, Kinesiotherapy, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine, or Exercise Science
  • Combination of education and experience meeting the 100% qualification threshold
  • Ability to perform complex PTA duties including screenings, interventions, and use of modalities like ultrasound and manual therapy
  • U.S. Citizenship
  • Relevant experience from paid, unpaid, or volunteer work, clearly described in resume

Full Job Description

About the Position: This position is located at the 30th Medical Group, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This is a Direct Hire Solicitation. This is an open continuous announcement.

Multiple positions may exist and be filled from this announcement. We accept applications on an ongoing basis; qualified applicants will be considered as vacancies become available.

Highly Preferred - An unrestricted license/certification as a Physical Therapy Assistant. Incentives MAY be authorized.

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes implementing physical therapy treatment plans and providing patient status reports to patient and/or Physical Therapist..

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

OR Education: A half year (i.e., 9 semester hours) of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as Physical Therapy, Kinesiotherapy, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine, or Exercise Science.

OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 9.

Add the two percentages. Major Duties:

  • Perform a wide range of complex PTA duties requiring an advanced practical knowledge of physical therapy, evidence-based medicine and data collection to perform specific aspects of screenings and interventions.
  • Under the direction of the PT, coordinate, and administer diverse physical therapy programs for wounded, ill and injured service members, as well as other beneficiaries, with a wide range of physical and behavioral health diagnoses and disabilities
  • Make recommendations and utilize the various modalities of physical therapy, as prescribed, to include, but not limited to, diathermy, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, ultrasound, manual therapy and therapeutic exercise.
  • Initiate, implement, plan, and recommend treatment plans with consideration of patient’s neurological, surgical, sensory, respiratory, cardiac status, gait ability, posture, age and general health, under the direction and supervision of the PT.
  • Provide instruction to patients, family members and/or other health workers to perform selected treatment procedures and functional training activities
  • Track impact of long-and short-term effects of different types of therapy, and appropriateness of a specific therapy, noting overall trends in efficacy, reporting problems to supervisor.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 1/21/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 1/21/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: HSJW-26-12869198-DHA-S