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Supervisory Healthcare Engineer

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

The Supervisory Projects Engineer ensures safe, reliable, and a precisely controlled operating environment for direct patient care through management of a design and construction program to build and renovate hospital and support environments.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/04/2026 to 02/12/2026
Salary
$116,384 to - $151,301 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Iowa City, IA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSY-12874213-26-BAD
Control number
856418100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Duties

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Provides professional advice to improve such plans, specifications, and analyses. Directs necessary changes and furnishes assistance as required to ensure a positive outcome. Advises subordinate personnel on methods and procedures to be used on highly complex projects. Oversees subordinate professionals (i.e., engineers or architects) work.
  • Serves as technical authority, providing expert advice pertaining to the design and construction of facilities and structures in a large geographical region, and in a complex functional specialization.
  • This position is responsible for the implementation of the Medical Center's capital improvement program. Identified needs are individually transformed to engineering requirements, estimated, accomplished locally, or recommended as part of a comprehensive plan for agency funding.
  • Coordinates and oversees scheduling and layout of operations, inspection and surveillance of materials, methods, and equipment used in construction and renovation managed by subordinate engineers and engineering technicians.
  • Ensures construction is conducted in accordance with established specifications including but not limited to VA Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) Standards, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI), American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards, US Pharmacopeia (USP) 797/800 Standards.
  • Prepares correspondence, technical reports, estimates, fact sheets, status reports, and schedules as required to complete project assignments.
  • Prepares sketches or changes to drawings and specifications to solve problems and incorporates these changed documents into the contract performance documents.
  • Researches and provides technical recommendations pertaining to a wide-range of national codes and standards including but not limited to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), OSHA, TJC, EPA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
  • This position provides professional and technical guidance and direction and review of assigned programs, including professional engineering work in several disciplines such as; architecture, civil engineering, energy engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, fire safety and safety engineering.
  • The Supervisory Project Engineer is a member of and participates on station, VISN, and national committees and work groups. In this capacity the Supervisory Projects Engineer meets with others on the committee from throughout the Medical Center, around the country, and representatives from VACO and the VHA HEFP Enterprise Support Services.
Work Schedule: M-F 0800-1630
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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.
  • Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
  • 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 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 trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

Language Proficiency. Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Education: Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Accreditation Commission (excludes engineering technology) or National Council of Architectural Registration Boards curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering and architectural degrees include, but are not limited to: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture and Architectural Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time;

OR,

Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination with a bachelor's degree. Evidence can be in the form of an Engineering in Training certificate issued from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico, or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) identifying a passing score;

OR,

Evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect. Evidence of current professional registration or licensure can be from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

GRADE DETERMINATIONS. In addition to the basic requirements outlined above, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.

Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-13. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs:

(a) Knowledge of data analysis techniques related to managing workload, quality, performance and productivity within the area of responsibility.
(b) Knowledge related to the management of overall department resources, (i.e., finances space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing) at the local level.
(c) Knowledge of the full range of supervisory duties, which include responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, training and development, recommendation of awards, advancements and disciplinary actions.
(d) Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships, leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, labor representatives and managers.
(e) Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions that result in efficient operations.
(f) Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare engineering management.
(g) Ability to recognize and assess evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, self-direction and assigned resources to affect resolutions.

Assignment: For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, range of variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must supervise staff for at least 25% of the time, administratively and technically at the full performance grade level or below. At this level, Supervisory Healthcare Engineers are assigned at the facility level, supervising professional engineers and other support positions at GS-13 equivalent and below.

Physical Requirements. You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of the evaluation or examination.

References: VA Handbook 5005/150 Part II, Appendix G72The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13 .

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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

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.

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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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