Utility Systems Repairer-Operator

Summary

The Utility Systems Repairer-Operator is responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair requirements of a minimum of 3 high pressure steam generating boilers and of a membrane-based Ultra Filtration water treatment plant as established by the Utilities Systems Supervisor, Deputy Chief, Facilities Management Service, or Chief, Facilities Management Service, for the Sheridan Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Starts /Stops, Maintains, Repairs Boilers & Associated Auxiliary Equipment.
• Operates boiler plants with capacity of 14,000 to 100,000 pounds of steam per hour.
• Maintain and monitors boilers fired by gas, coal, oil, refuse derived fuel (RDF), wood, or a combination of these fuels to produce steam or high temperature hot water required to meet challenging load demands.
• Maintain efficient combustion levels and ensure compliance with air pollution laws or regulations.
• Uses electronic, hydraulic, and pneumatic controls, and zone charts in conjunction with meters, gauges, and computer-generated data to determine adjustments or corrections necessary for proper boiler operations or changing load requirements.
• Adjusts fuel feeds and the volume and velocity of draft and other fire box variables to achieve maximum combustion efficiency with changing load demands or variations in fuel quality.
• Works using independent judgment and decisions in performing boiler plant operations and maintenance work.
• Operates & Maintains Boilers & Auxiliary Equipment
• Independently operates and maintains multiple boilers of gas, refuse derived fuel (RDF), wood, oil, and coal fired power boilers and auxiliary equipment with manual or automatic controls to produce saturated or superheated steam or high temperature hot water.
• Lights off, operates, secures, and maintains power boilers and associated auxiliary and pollution control equipment.
• Operates dampers, induced, and forced draft fans, bottom and fly ash removal equipment, heat exchangers, fuel and air heaters, pumps, fuel pressure, control valves, fuel strainers, relief valves, water softeners, and other similar equipment.
• Regulates fuel feed and water levels and maintains required steam pressure and temperatures.
• Replenishes chemical feed tanks and monitors feed water conditioning equipment to control or remove impurities and entrapped gases.
• Independently starts, adjusts, maintains, and periodically monitors water level, fuel feed, pressure, and other gauges to assure efficient operation.
• Operates & Maintains Water Treatment Plant & Associated Auxiliary Equipment
• Operates and maintains a membrane based ultra-filtration water treatment plant (rated at 600,000 gallons per day) to provide 24 hours a day uninterrupted water service.
• Controls all aspects of the daily operations of the water treatment plant.
• Works with meters, gauges, motors, pumps, chemical feeders, and recording and control devices to maintain proper operation of the plant.
• Conducts daily tests to ensure that the potable water supplied to the station meets all EPA requirements for a community water system.
• Troubleshoots and repairs high pressure piping systems, filters, valves, chlorine injectors and other equipment related to the station's water supply systems.

Work Schedule: Shift work; rotating hours, including holidays and weekends

Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Repairer-Operator/PD134870

Physical Requirements : Frequently work in confined areas in and around boilers and water treatment plant. Requires moderate to strenuous effort and long periods of walking, standing, climbing, bending, and crouching. Frequently lift and carry parts and chemical supplies weighing up to 40 pounds unassisted. Occasionally, and with assistance, carries items weighing over 40 pounds.

Working Conditions: Mainly works indoors, but occasionally work outside for short periods of time. Subject to high temperatures, constant noise, rotating machinery, soot, dirt, grease, chemicals, oil and fumes. Subject to cuts and abrasions from the use of tools and equipment and burns from acids, caustics, hot water, steam and contact with boilers and water treatment plant disinfection equipment. Work on catwalks and ladders.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• 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.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Qualifications

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

EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Operation, maintenance and repair requirements membrane-base ultra filtration water treatment plant. Boiler plant operator, must be willing to obtain State of Wyoming licenses for the Water Treatment Plant.

STATE LICENSURE: The incumbent is required to be in good standing and hold the following three valid licenses in the State of Wyoming.

• Class 2 Operating
• Class 1 Water Distribution
• Class 1 Collections

VALID STATE DRIVER'S LICENSE: The position may require the incumbent to possess a valid driver's license. The incumbent may be required to operate a government-owned vehicle (GOV) for official duties. Completion of all mandatory VA driver training and possession of a valid state driver's license are required. The incumbent must adhere to all VA and federal regulations governing the use of GOVs.

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.

Education

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

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 (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

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 well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at

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.

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.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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.

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.

Help

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.

Review our benefits

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.