Job opening: Healthcare Engineer
Salary: $109 308 - 164 993 per year
Published at: Mar 29 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
Project Engineer assigned to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System. Will perform project planning, produces designs, manages designs and construction, provides construction administration for Minor Construction Projects, Non-Recurring Maintenance ( Projects, Statin Level Projects, and Leases, including all areas and aspects (architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural, etc.) at medical center and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC)'s.
Duties
Duties include and are not limited to:
- Minor Construction Projects, Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) Projects, Station Level Projects, and Leases, including all areas and aspects (architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural, etc.) at an assigned medical center and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC)'s.
- Resident and program engineer consisting of the planning, design, and overseeing of major healthcare system projects; oversees Professional Architecture/Engineering (A/E) and Construction contracts to ensure the contractor is in compliance with all contractual requirements, healthcare regulations and codes, specifications and schedules are met in accordance with the government's requirements for VA owned and leased facilities.
- Serves as a healthcare engineering advisor, engineer consultant, engineer designer, contract administrator, project manager, construction coordinator, and instructor during the design and construction of all projects assigned.
- Responsible for providing healthcare engineering support to all assigned projects.
- Performing the duties of a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) on professional design and construction projects, training service staff on technical issues and assisting the service staff on the completion of technical and administrative issues regarding infrastructure related operations of the medical facility.
- Serves as the Integrated Project Team (IPT) liaison for their projects. IPT is comprised of diverse and multi-discipline professional team members, consisting of internal and external stakeholders, and is a recognized expert in project management.
- Guides participants in planning deliberations and contributes significantly to the management decision-making process through teamwork, innovation, coordination, and collaboration with other senior members and stakeholders to ensure objectives are met toward meeting the healthcare system's overall strategic plan goals.
- Maintains COR certification to oversee the administration of Facility Engineering Service's Architect/Engineer and Construction Contracts.
- Supports and advances patient care by applying engineering and managerial skills to healthcare engineering as demonstrated by the following major responsibilities:
- Conducts capital asset and infrastructure planning and design for the medical facility spanning initial strategic planning, concept development, design, construction, and effective implementation of complex buildings, utilities, and medical support systems.
- Manages healthcare engineering project design and administers construction in accordance with VA policies and procedures, VA Design Guides, VA Design Manuals, VA Master Specifications and related industry codes and standards.
- Performs healthcare engineering project construction management and post project activities while ensuring continuity of building and utility services for medical facility operations.
- Assists in the provision of a continuing education program for clinical staff and maintenance personnel addressing the principles and application of building and utility systems in the delivery of health care. This includes a curriculum that addresses the safe and effective use of medical gases, emergency power, ventilation, and other healthcare infrastructure related technology. This requires skill to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, with a wide variety of individuals, including technical and professional clinical staff, to communicate technical information.
- Assists in development and implementation of the environment of care program that meets current Joint Commission, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), College of American Pathologists (CAP), NFPA, and VA requirements, particularly as it relates to construction safety and infection control.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am.-4:30pm
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required
Qualifications
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
Basic Requirements:
United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
English Language Proficiency - You must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
Education (must meet one of the following):
a. Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Accreditation Commission (excludes engineering technology) or National Council of Architectural Registration Boards curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering and architectural degrees include, but are not limited to: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture and Architectural Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time;
OR
b. Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination with a bachelor's degree. Evidence can be in the form of an Engineering in Training certificate issued from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico, or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) identifying a passing score;
OR
c. Evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect. Evidence of current professional registration or licensure can be from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico.
NOTE: Direct health care experience is not required to qualify for a GS-801 Healthcare Engineer. Candidates with Engineering experience in a hospital or healthcare system should be able to address the knowledge skills and abilities as it applies to the position. Engineers that may not have worked in a hospital or healthcare system should ensure it is clear in their application how their non-healthcare related knowledge, skill or ability can be applied to the assignment and to the healthcare engineering occupation.
May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). A Healthcare Engineer employed in VHA on the effective date of the qualification standard (3/18/2022) who did not meet all the basic requirements in this standard may not be promoted beyond the full performance level (GS-0801-12) or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions until meeting the full qualification requirements.
Grade Determinations:
GS-11 Healthcare Engineer (Developmental) - Experience/Education Requirement:
1.In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-11 you must meet one of the following:
a. You must have at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9)
OR
b. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Engineering or a related field of engineering as outlined in basic requirements;
OR
c. Master of Engineering degree, Master of Architecture degree, Master of Science degree in Engineering or a related field of study as outlined in basic requirements, plus 1 full year of progressively higher level graduate education in a related field of study, provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment;
OR
d. Bachelor's degree as outlined in basic requirements plus 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in a related field of study, provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment.
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of either mechanical, electrical, structural, civil or other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications in the healthcare environment.
b. Knowledge of basic project management principles as applied to the healthcare setting.
c. Ability to apply healthcare engineering related standards, codes, policies and regulations, inclusive of, state and local codes.
d. Ability to communicate effective orally and in writing with internal and external customers with tact and diplomacy.
e. Ability to develop material for clinical or administrative staff that addresses the principles and application of engineering technology and/or theory used in healthcare.
f. Ability to advise staff on emerging engineering technology related to a healthcare facility, while keeping abreast of changes in such technology and utilizing the information to solve healthcare facility engineering challenges.
GS-12 Healthcare Engineer (Full Performance Level) Experience Requirement:
1. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-12 you must possess at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11).
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
a. Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications in the healthcare environment.
b. Knowledge of healthcare industry standards and related regulatory agency and organization (including, but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), etc.) regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives, standards and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering.
c. Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices and techniques, materials and equipment to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards.
d. Skill in researching and analyzing information, conditions, human factors and projections to make sound engineering and business recommendations and decisions to proactively identify problems and develop innovative solutions within the context of applicable rules, regulations and procedures.
e. Ability to plan and execute complex, multi-faceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents and budgets.
f. Ability to organize and lead multi-disciplinary task forces with members from different departments and divisions, as well as design and construction firms.
References: VA Handbook 5005 Part II, G72
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-11 to GS-12 .
Education
IMPORTANT: 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/.
Contacts
- Address VA NY Harbor Healthcare System
423 East 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010
US
- Name: Shalonda Hinds
- Phone: 518-225-6701
- Email: [email protected]
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