Interior Designer

Summary

The incumbent serves as the Interior Designer for the Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health care System, providing comprehensive Interior Design services across a wide geographic area encompassing multiple outpatient clinics and healthcare facilities, including (but not limited to) Laredo, McAllen, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville clinics.

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Duties

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• Manages complex renovation and construction projects across multiple healthcare facilities, providing comprehensive interior design solutions that support clinical operations, Veteran centric care, infection control, and regulatory compliance.
• Coordinates project schedules, prepares finish plans, presentation boards, and cost estimates, and ensures seamless transitions of patient care operations into newly constructed or renovated spaces.
• Provides full-cycle interior design services, including programming, consultation, product specification, and integration of clinical workflow into space layouts. Works to achieve an aesthetically pleasing environment of care.
• Produces architectural drawings using AutoCAD and other industry-standard software, and maintains advanced proficiency in construction planning and documentation.
• Manages annual recurring and non-recurring design budgets, prepares procurement packages, and supervises installation of furnishings and finishes to ensure lifecycle and budget alignment.
• Maintains and updates an extensive resource library of materials, finishes, and furnishings compliant with VA, ADA, and Joint Commission standards.
• Sustains vendor and industry contacts to ensure access to updated product information and design innovations.
• Coordinates with Engineering, Infection Prevention, Logistics, Safety, and clinical service lines to maintain design integrity throughout construction, demolition, transition, and activation phases.
• Independently manages all aspects of interior and exterior signage, wayfinding systems, and environmental graphics, ensuring compliance with VA Technical Information Guidelines, ADA, and Joint Commission standards.
• Collaborates with facility Safety Manager and clinical leadership to implement required signage for patient and employee safety.
• Conducts regular field visits to geographically dispersed clinics to assess conditions, review progress, validate compliance, and ensure consistent application of standard finishes, materials, and furniture products across all locations.
• Responds to design-related inquiries, service requests, deficiencies, and customer service needs, and participates in committees impacting Interior Design, including Accident Review Board, Space Committee, and Patient Experience.
• Other duties as assigned.

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

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#: Interior Designer/ PD740-014080

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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)

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, 10/01/2026.

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-9. 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.

This position has an Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR). All applicants must meet one of the below:

• Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study interior design or other field that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in interior design, interior architecture, or interior environmental design; or passage of the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. OR
• Experience: Specialized Experience: Experience that required the performance of work concerned with the design and alteration of interior spaces to meet functional and aesthetic needs such as:
  • Identifying, researching, and creatively solving problems pertaining to the function and quality of the interior environment.
  • Performing services relative to interior spaces, including programming, design analysis, space planning and aesthetics, using specialized knowledge of interior construction, building systems and components, building codes, equipment, materials, and furnishings.
  • Preparing drawings and documents relative to the design of interior spaces in order to enhance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
  • Coordinating and integrating the mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering disciplines within the interior context.
  • Managing projects, developing cost estimates, evaluating bid proposals, reviewing construction documents, participating in on-site construction visits, conducting pre- and post-occupancy evaluations, developing standards for efficient space management, etc.

In addition to the above IOR, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Mastery of professional interior design principles, methods and practices, extensive technical knowledge of finish materials, surfaces, wall systems, lighting, flooring systems, upholstery, casework, and furnishings appropriate to high-use clinical environments, advanced proficiency in industry standard digital design technologies/software, specialized knowledge of federal procurement procedures, GSA schedules, VA purchasing protocols, contract administration requirements, and FAR/VAAR acquisition rules, and strong communication skills, enabling effective coordination across engineers, architects, project managers, construction teams, clinical stakeholders, and executive leadership. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M, if related. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a Master's degree. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)

Physical Requirements : Work requires walking, climbing, bending, site inspections, lifting items under 25 lbs, transporting samples and materials, and driving to multiple clinic locations. Construction environment require PPE and agility. The incumbent must have ability to work within an environment of conflicting deadlines and shifting priorities.

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

Education

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:

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.

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

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.