The Engineering Technician is located within an Engineering Service at Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Veterans Health Administration. This position works as an Engineering Technician/Quality Assurance, in a variety of work situations aligned with and/or supporting professional engineering and architecture fields. Specializations of technical engineering work may include architecture, civil, drafting, electrical, materials, and mechanical.

Duties

This announcement will remain open until 10/20/2023. All applications received up to 11:59p.m. EST on the date in which 50 applications is reached will receive first consideration. Additional applications will be reviewed in one day increments as requested by management. This position is covered by National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) bargaining unit. Per the Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration: Current permanent of Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center facility employees (including satellites) 2nd Area of Consideration: Current permanent VA employees 3rd Area of Consideration: All other Status candidates Duties typically include, but are not limited to: Contracting Officer Representative for construction projects. Performing scheduling, layout of operations, field measurements, and inspection and surveillance of materials, methods, and equipment used in construction. Preparing correspondence, technical reports, estimates, fact sheets, status reports. Preparing plans and blueprints in quantities required for specific purposes. Utilizing drafting program software to maintain facility As-Built plans and electronic files. Compiling and maintain Engineering systems data and master utility plans including one-line diagrams, panel schedules, riser diagrams, valves schedules and locations. Including altercations to database programming, formatting, interface, and reports as required. Creating drawings, graphics, and miscellaneous displays to support Engineering. Completing scoping and estimating portions of project requests and prepares for submission. 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. Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although there is some walking in offices, production areas, utility plants, maintenance, and work areas. Work may involve carrying lightweight items, such as briefcases, notebooks, test equipment, and work papers or may involve operating a motor vehicle. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/PD534-11098-0, PD534-11097-0, and PD534-11096-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/20/2023. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. For a GS-10 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-10. 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 REQUIREMENT (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS-0802 occupational series, applicants MUST possess one of the following: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Specialized Experience. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems. Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental, test, or design responsibilities such as: Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes. Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated. OR 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. In addition to the above IOR, applicant must meet the following Specialized Experience/Education/Combination: Specialized Experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. For 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: Experience conducting design surveys to include taking measurements and photo documentation of infrastructure failures/errors of equipment and facility conditions; developing, preparing, and reviewing plans, specifications, and cost estimates for construction projects; and developing, maintaining, and operating engineering data storage systems. 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 related to the work of the position to be filled. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. (Transcripts Required) OR Combination. Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may also be qualifying to meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses directly related to the work of the position. (Transcripts Required) For GS-10: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience evaluating proposed material mix designs, evaluating instrumentation data for validity and anomalies; installing, calibrating, testing, and reading instruments for data collection; experience drafting original drawings, preliminary layouts for renovations, or updates to drawings based on specifications provided and an understanding of design intent; and conducting inspections and assessments and making on-site determinations and recommendations for improvement. For GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-10 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience providing technical analysis of work plans, specifications, and cost estimates for construction projects; performing analysis of construction schedules, proposals, submittals, shop drawings, modifications, and other contractor-provided documentation; experience conducting condition assessments of buildings, marine vessels, hydraulic systems, mechanical and electrical systems, materials laboratories, transportation infrastructures, and construction site conditions; executing safety inspections and investigations of incidents to identify issues and make solution recommendations; and experience utilizing automated engineering drafting and design systems and applications. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Building and Construction Database Management Systems Design 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. 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. Education cannot be credited without proper documentation.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Ralph H Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 109 Bee Street Charleston, SC 29401 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]