Engineering Technician

Summary

The primary purpose of the Engineering Technician is to use computer aided software applications to plan and develop various products for projects in support of Facilities Management. The Engineering technician also updates and maintains various complex and diverse databases storing design files. Incumbents must possess a Bachelors degree in a STEM major. (Science, technology, Engineering and Mathematics), or related discipline.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• The Incumbent will manage several databases including both graphic (computer aided design - CAD, Statement of Conditions - SOC), and alphanumeric data (Computer-aided Facility Management - CAFM) internal to the VA and the Medical Center. Maintains the Medical Center's hardcopy equipment operations manual, warranties, and other facility-related hardcopy filing systems that relate to the Facility Management Program.
• Preserves and updates the Medical Center CAD files and other CAFM system modules including but not limited to, electrical system single line drawings, power riser diagrams, fire protection system drawings and diagrams, medical gas system drawings and schematics, and The Joint Commission (T JC) required life Safety Drawings.
• Responsible for the superv1s1on of the maintenance of all record drawings in accordance with VACO and Medical Center requirements.
• Maintains, updates, and reviews the station Space Survey Report for accuracy, coordinates the information to match the As-built drawings.
• Verifies drawings match actual space. Maintains accurate space inventory database in CAD and assures correlation between the drawing files and databases.
• Participates in engineering surveys and initiates, formulates, and adapts design plans and specifications.
• Independently gathers necessary architectural/engineering information and processes this information using recognized professional architectural/engineering techniques to accomplish established goals.
• Provides original detailed drawings utilizing resident CAD/CAFM computer system to provide the finished product.
• Prepares drawings, layouts, and plans for proposed additions, improvements, alterations, modifications, and equipment installations, utilizing written specifications, photographs, sketches, and models.
• Prepares drawings of utility systems, roadways, parking lots and landscaping in addition to structural requirements.
• Maintains, prepares, or coordinates the preparation of reports as directed by the supervisor and ensures proper format and timely submission.
• Delegates drawing assignments to support staff.
• Reviews work for accuracy and compliance to specifications, codes, and standards. Participates in final Inspection of assigned projects in accordance with the Handbook for Resident Engineer H-08-2.
• Complies with VA regulations, standards and specifications, policy memoranda, and other pertinent directives provided as guidelines in the performance of assigned duties.
• Meets and deals with Sales Representatives, Vendors, contractors, supply Service staff and other key members of the Medical Center staff to discuss problem areas, desired or impending renovations or construction projects, project submissions, preconstruction conferences, bid openings, and other activities directly affecting the construction and Operations Section and Engineering Service.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm

Telework: This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/ PD142270

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee -Official Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting your current position or most recently held position, tenure, type of position occupied (i.e., Excepted or Competitive), grade level and duty location. For current Federal employees, the SF-50 must be effective the first pay period of the current year or later.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/22/2026.

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.

Basic Requirements:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 or equivalent and above):

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

Education and Training:

For positions at GS-5 (or equivalent):

Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in an appropriate field of engineering, construction, or industrial technology; or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as those shown above for GS-3 (or equivalent). At least 6 of the 24 semester hours must have been in drafting if the position has been designated by a drafting area of specialization.

Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9. 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. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

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 meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements you must also meet the Specialized Experience listed below.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• 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: Use of computer aided software applications to plan and develop various products for projects in support of Facilities Management. Updates and maintains various complex and diverse databases storing design files. Full knowledge of professional architectural/engineering concepts, principles, and practices applicable to a full range of duties concerned with the design, layout, and construction of office buildings and such other structures as industrial shops, gymnasiums, or medical facilities.

Preferred Experience: Experience managing computer-aided design (CAD) databases.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: 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:

Additional information

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.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.