Summary We are recruiting for one (1) Engineering Technician within Facilities Management located at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center - Bronx, NY. This announcement is open to current permanent James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center facility employees. Responsibilities Project management: Assist senior staff members in planning, engineering management, operation, and overall coordination; and for providing advice, assistance and information on all matters related to assigned conventional projects of moderate complexity. Work typically requires coordination of project work requirements with other technical and administrative elements within the agency. Applies standardized knowledge of engineering principles, methods, techniques, and criteria to projects that are conventional in nature. Provides engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction to include evaluating tenant requirements; to establish scope of work; design criteria; and estimates of design time and costs; providing technical assistance to support contract administration; accomplishing study/design requirements; and preparing/coordinating design packages for renovations, repairs and or alterations. Customer support: Serves as a central point-of-contact for status of all engineering work requests of a short-term nature. Reviews work requests for feasibility, compliance with restrictions imposed by regulatory and statutory directives and the impact of the planned operation and maintenance of the installation. Within the parameters of prior experience, determines which requests the incumbent can approve and have processed, and which require other approving authorities. Based on determinations, makes recommendations to the methods or means for accomplishment or provides all required information, such as scope of work and costs, to other authorities for their decision. Ensures that work requests are processed in accordance with established operating procedures, that they are checked for duplication, and they are processed in accordance with approved priorities. Provides technical assistance to other parties as may be required to improve work management and productivity. Technical reviews: Reviews and checks technical aspects such as drawings, specifications, quantities, costs, accuracy, completeness and conformity with requirements for planned projects where precedence has already been established. Participates in the preparation of input to procurement packages to ensure correct content and format of technical data. Monitors drawings and the methods used in their preparation. Attends meetings with pertinent personnel to evaluate progress and reviews completed work. Verifies data presented by contractors or other personnel and discusses any special requirements for specification control and source control drawings. Long-term planning: As a team member, participates in projects of a broad and complex nature requiring approval of advanced engineering concepts by senior staff members. Assignments are routine in nature and guidance is generally available. To address long-term needs, participates in group meetings with stakeholders to discuss complex engineering and technical problem areas and proposed approaches. Maintains contact with design engineers, technical personnel of other government activities and private contractors to resolve common problems, such as exchanging information. Participates in studies to address problems in healthcare quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. Utilizes a range of analytical techniques, statistical methods, and industrial and quality engineering tools, to collect baseline information that identifies limitations or potential improvements. Performs other duties as assigned. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/PD10722A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/22/2024. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. For a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08.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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: planning, managing, prioritizing, and providing engineering technical services to ensure the timely performance of a satisfactory amount and quality of work in an efficient manner to meet the healthcare mission. Inspects, reviews, and analyzes a variety of issues for deficiencies and/or performance issues; identifying corrective action and following through to ensure corrections occur. Reviews and checks technical aspects such as drawings, specifications, quantities, costs, accuracy, completeness and conformity with requirements for planned projects where precedence has already been established. Participates in studies to address problems in healthcare quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7, in the field directly related to the work of the position. . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. GS-08 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Provides engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction to include evaluating tenant requirements; to establish scope of work; design criteria; and estimates of design time and costs; providing technical assistance to support contract administration; accomplishing study/design requirements; and preparing/coordinating design packages for renovations, repairs and or alterations. Ensures that work requests are processed in accordance with established operating procedures, that they are checked for duplication, and they are processed in accordance with approved priorities. Prepares and maintains engineering-related drawings and plans according to established guidelines, using a variety of computer based techniques, including scanning, hand digitizing, direct file transfer, and use of highly specialized CAD (computer-aided design) graphic programs. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have One and a half years of graduate education or a Master's degree meets the requirements for GS-8, in the field directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-08 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assist senior staff members in planning, engineering management, operation, and overall coordination; and for providing advice, assistance and information on all matters related to assigned conventional projects of moderate complexity. Reviews work requests for feasibility, compliance with restrictions imposed by regulatory and statutory directives and the impact of the planned operation and maintenance of the installation. Refers (accept/reject) submitted technical data to senior engineers. Maintains contact with design engineers, technical personnel of other government activities and private contractors to resolve common problems, such as exchanging information OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two full years of graduate education or a Master's degree to meets the requirements for GS-9, in the field directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Certification: Engineering technicians may be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, an organization sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Certification by the Institute will be helpful as a measure of the technician's quality of experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communication Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading) Problem Solving Project Management 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; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A 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. Physical Requirements: The work involves moderate physical demands in terms of inspections, investigations, and surveys of facilities. There is commonly some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking, stooping, bending, and climbing. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.