Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates {Current and former competitive service Federal employees, and people eligible under special hiring authorities. This includes all Merit Promotion sources: Status (Transfers, Reinstatements), VEOA, Permanent Canteen (VCS) employees, CTAP, ICTAP, Non-Competitive Eligibles and certain Excepted Service Employees (i.e., Interchange Agreements).}

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As the Engineering Technician, the incumbent's duties include, but are not limited to:

• Develop and administer construction contracts.
• Prepare accurate drawings and specifications, prepare reasonable estimates of time to accomplish the work and accurately estimate construction costs.
• Knowledge of construction, maintenance and operation of plant facilities.
• Ability to interpret, select and apply many guidelines, precedents and engineering principles and practices which relate to construction projects.
• Develop a project from minimal information such as a scope of work or preliminary sketches.
• Oversee drawings and specifications, A/E contracts prepared by Architect/Engineering firm and direct the construction work per contract.
• Maintain and updating the space allocations of the services in the medical centers, outpatient clinics etc. in the computerized space management program and the CAD files.
• Performing computer aided drafting to develop and maintain all architectural and engineering drawings.
• Coordinating, inspecting, supervising and administering construction activities per the Resident Engineer's Handbook and MP-3, using engineering principles to interpret technical drawings and specifications.
• Preparing reports and other project related correspondence as required by standard operating procedures or directives.
• Follow applicable regulations and instructions as set forth in a computer access agreement which the incumbent signs regarding files, release of access codes, etc.
• Protecting that information from unauthorized release or from loss, alteration or unauthorized deletion.
• Knowledge across all project disciplines (architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, electrical systems, plumbing, civil, industrial hygiene, etc.)
• Developing, control, supervision and administration for alteration and improvement and new construction projects of multiple disciplines.
• Preparing plans and specifications of sufficient detail to permit work to be accomplished by contractors without having to make foreseeable changes.
• Updating project reports, updating computer databases, review of contractor payments, effectively negotiating contracts, space planning/programming layout and developing and review schedules, etc.

An ideal candidate will possess at least a 2-year degree in a related field of the Engineering Technician position. Please submit transcripts of education with application.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00AM - 3:30PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/PD07650A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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.
• 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 or trial 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, 03/23/2026.

Applicants must meet the time-in-grade requirement, individual occupational requirement, and specialized experience.

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-10. 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.

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT - BASIC REQUIREMENT: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems. Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental, test, or design responsibilities such as:

• Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes.
• Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated.

In addition to the individual occupational requirements (basic requirement) and time-in-grade requirement, applicant's must also meet the specialized experience as follows:

• Specialized Experience: Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-10 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as prepare, read and interpret architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, electrical systems, plumbing, civil, and industrial hygiene plans, drawings, and specifications; use construction engineering equipment (calculators, transits, levels and squares, measuring instruments, etc.); communicate with contractors, contracting officers and management officials; prepare reports and correspondence; coordinate, inspect, supervise and administer construction activities. NOTE: 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.

An ideal candidate will possess at least a 2-year degree in a related field of the Engineering Technician position. Please submit transcripts of education with application.

Certification: desired, but not required.Engineering technicians may be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, an organization sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Architecture
• Design
• General Engineering
• Project Management

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.

Physical Requirements: The work environment of the incumbent during the normal pursuit of their duties exposes them to a variety of machine and/or equipment operations, noise levels, temperature extremes, contaminated areas, confined areas, construction sites, outside climates, as well as office settings. Inspection of project work requires some physical exertion such as walking, standing, bending, lifting, climbing, and driving.

Work Environment: The work environment of the incumbent during the normal pursuit of their duties exposes them to a variety of machine and/or equipment operations, noise levels, temperature extremes, contaminated areas, confined areas, construction sites, outside climates, as well as office settings.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.