Engineering Equipment Operator

Summary

This Engineering Equipment Operator position is located within the Facilities Management service at the VA Bedford Healthcare Systems, located in Bedford, MA. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

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Duties

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The position functions as the Engineering Equipment Operator in Facilities Management, Engineering Service at the VA Bedford Healthcare System (VABED). VABED is composed of a VA Medical Center and three Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

The position reports to and is accountable to the Grounds Supervisor for the quality and quantity of work performed by the work unit. The position normally acts within general VA instructions, VA standard procedures, and established Engineering Service policies to assure efficient and economical accomplishment of work assignments within general schedules and instructions set forth by the Chief Engineer.

• Works with minimal supervision to perform a wide variety of duties to improve and maintain the appearance of lawns, trees, shrubs, plants, walkways, recreational areas, roads and parking lots at this facility.
• Removes trash and debris around the station and when the weather demands shovels and removes snow using hand, power, and heavy equipment.
• Operates one or more types of heavy equipment to push, pull, pile, or load materials such as sand, gravel, earth, snow, or refuse.
• Operates all facility owned or rental equipment to perform such functions as cutting, moving, digging, grading, and rolling earth, sand, stone, and other materials.
• Operates all facility owned or rental snow removal heavy equipment.
• Operates one or more types of heavy equipment to excavate, backfill, grade, or level earth to rough specifications on such projects as breaking new ground for trails, roads, tunnels, or construction sites.
• Adjusts attachments for proper positioning and working order usually without stopping the power unit or the equipment.
• Steers and operate by using clutches, levers, brakes, and valves according to the slope or tilt.
• Operates close to buildings, trees, drop-offs, rocks, or other obstructions.
• Requires dexterity due to the increased operating complexity of the equipment and the requirement to operate on all types of terrain.
• Equipment used includes, but not limited to:
  • All-wheel steer skid loader with buckets and blades to remove paving, concrete, construction debris, or cut back soil to prepare for horizontal construction (roadways, sidewalks, parking areas).
  • Front-end loaders with buckets and backhoe implement to move earth and various materials.
  • Additionally, utilize various implements to include hoisting bars for equipment and material, utilizing all terrain forklift attachments to place material on difficult terrain, operation with personal cage for aerial work.
  • Backhoes and trench diggers to excavate buried utilities requiring repair by in-house labor such as water and sewer main lines. Operation of tractor mounted hydraulic hammers to break and remove concrete and asphalt surfaces.
  • Commercial dump truck (highway sized) with hydraulic attachments including highway rated plow and sander.
  • Other duties assigned.

Preferred Experience: Practical Heavy Equipment Operator experience.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday;6:30am-3:00pm.

Position Description Title/PD# : Engineering Equipment Operator/PD518-03709A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).

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).

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).

Telework: Not available

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Notifications:

• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• This position is not a Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by a special rate range for federal wage system skilled positions.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship; non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• Selective Services Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this 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.

Qualifications

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

Basic Requirement:

• Any licensed required: Candidate must have a CDL license.
• Driver's License: Unrestricted state Driver's License.
• Driving Record: Candidate must have a clean driving record for the past five years.

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:

• Interpret Instructions, Specifications (mobile equipment operations)
• Motor Vehicles
• Shop Aptitude
• Shop Practices
• Without more than normal supervision

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. 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.

Participation in the seasonal influenza program is 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.

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.

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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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.