Boiler Plant Operator

Summary

The Phoenix Arizona VA Health Care System (PVAHCS) is recruiting for a Boiler Plant Operator within the Facilities Management Service located in Phoenix, AZ. The incumbent in this position is under the supervision of the Maintenance Supervisor and the operator is responsible for the overall operation, maintenance and control of the central boiler plant. The incumbent ensures continuous operation of the Boiler Plant for the health and safety of patients and staff.

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Duties

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30 Day Hiring Model The Department of Veterans Affairs is implementing a streamlined 30-Day Hiring Model designed to accelerate hiring while maintaining the highest standards of merit-based selection. This improved process reduces traditional hiring timelines by integrating early coordination, faster assessments, and efficient pre-employment actions. Applicants can expect a more transparent, predictable, and efficient hiring journey from announcement to entry on duty. What Applicants Can Expect

• Expedited Candidate Review Once the announcement closes, Human Resources will quickly review applications, issue certificates of eligible candidates the day after the announcement closes and refer applicants for hiring manager consideration.
• Quick Interviews & References

HR may arrange interviews and will request references within 3-5 days after being referred to the hiring manager.

• Streamlined Pre-Employment Requirements: Following a tentative offer, applicants should be prepared to complete required steps, such as fingerprinting and background check, credentialing, and medical examination within 3 days of the offer.
• Clear and Timely Communication: Applicants will receive clear communication at key milestones, including referral, tentative offer, and onboarding instructions.

After meeting pre-employment requirements, candidates will receive a final job offer and start date. Onboarding tasks may continue after starting, with HR ensuring timely completion for a smooth transition into VA service. If selected, applicants should be prepared to come onboard within 30 days of the announcement closing. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Operation of auxiliary equipment such as deaerating feed water tank, two water softeners, three city water booster pumps, three feed water pumps and condensate return tank with two pumps, microprocessor control systems, automated chemical feed system, distilled water system, controlled air compressors, and automated boiler blowdown system.
• Provide operational adjustments to the burner management system.
• Maintain records and logs of plant operating conditions, including hourly readings of outside air temperature, condensate return temperature, stack temperature, oxygen stack percentage, and carbon dioxide percentages.
• Maintain proper chemistry control of boiler water, condensate, and feedwater.
• Perform daily boiler water test.
• Adjust Amines, Phosphate and Sulfite to maintain proper water qualities.
• Perform daily maintenance and preventative maintenance determined by scheduled activities such as steam trap maintenance, valve maintenance, greasing of equipment and other predetermined tasks.
• Provide technical input on pump operations and controls.
• Repair and adjust boiler combustion controls and boiler safety devices and individual air compressors for each boiler for steam atomizing.
• Use of diagrams, drawings, operating manuals, or facility procedures to be followed during emergencies, equipment failure, or system malfunction.
• Mastery of industrial practices for maintenance and repair of equipment.
• Maintain cleanliness during maintenance work on boiler plant equipment.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Various tours of duties and shifts to include weekends and holidays mornings, evenings, and overnight shifts, depending on the needs of the service. (For Example: 6:00 am - 2:00 pm; 2:00 pm - 10:00 pm OR 10:00 pm - 6:00 am)

Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD14734A

Physical Requirements : The duty of this position requires the incumbent to be in good physical condition. The incumbent must be able to work at various heights, such as working from ladders, work on pneumatic lifts, inside confined spaces such as inside boiler drums and various water storage tanks. The incumbent shall be able to work in positions such as standing, stooping, bending and other tiring and uncomfortable positions. The incumbent shall be frequently required to lift objects weighing over forty (40) pounds and occasionally lift objects weighing over ninety (90) pounds.

Working Conditions: The operators work under extremes of heat, cold, dust and dampness on a regular basis, Work may occur when no other VA employees are present in the Boiler Plant or are present in at the facility. The operator comes in contact with hazardous chemicals such as caustics, acids, phosphates, amines, and hydroxides and steam and hazardous equipment. The incumbent may be exposed to the possibility of cuts, bruises and irritations and is required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when necessary.

Requirements

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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:

• Ability to Do the Work of the Position without More Than Normal Supervision
• Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specifications, etc. (Other Than Blueprint Reading)
• Ability to Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
• Dexterity and Safety
• Knowledge of Equipment Assembly, Installation, and Repair, etc.
• Operation of Job Family Specify Equipment, Machinery, etc.
• Technical Practices (Theoretical, Precise, Artistic)

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.

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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.