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IT Spec (Sysadmin)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology
Office of Information and Technology (OIT)

Summary

This position is located within the Office of Infrastructure Operations (IO) service line under the Office of Information Technology (OIT). IO provides efficient, secure, and reliable infrastructure services with availability, capacity and timeliness that match our customer's demands. We relentlessly focus on exceptional customer service, risk-based Zero Trust cybersecurity, a best-in-class workforce, and putting the Veteran first in everything we do.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/25/2026 to 03/30/2026
Salary
$106,437 to - $138,370 per year

The salary range listed reflects the Rest of US salary table. Upon selection, the salary may be adjusted to include the location of the selectee.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Little Rock, AR
North Little Rock, AR
Phoenix, AZ
Long Beach, CA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 5% travel may be required, as needed, for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
IO-26-CO-12913994
Control number
862361000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation. CTAP/ICTAP: Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

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Duties

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OIT Mission: The mission of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) is to collaborate with our business partners to create the best experience for all Veterans.

OIT Vision: To become a world-class organization that provides a seamless, unified Veteran experience through the delivery of state-of-the-art technology.

Major Duties:

  • Detailed technical knowledge of IBM z/OZ mainframe operating systems software in one or more of its component areas (operating systems design, virtual machine design, database design and implementation, data communications subsystem design, transaction processing subsystem, storage administration and performance and capacity management).
  • Plans and coordinates the installation upgrade and maintenance of mainframe systems software and/or hardware, including complex and sophisticated systems involving interagency, vendor and higher-level management coordination; and evaluates, selects and coordinates the acquisition of related software and hardware.
  • Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of information technology (IT) assessment, planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation, such as IT baseline assessment, interagency functional analysis, contingency planning, and disaster recovery.
  • Understands the VA's mission and uses this knowledge to guide actions; provides outstanding customer service and represents the organization effectively.

Position Description/PD#: IT Spec (Sysadmin)/PD10513A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Telework: ADHOC telework may be authorized at management discretion.
Travel Required: Up to 5% travel may be required, as needed, for this position.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs.
Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy.
Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position.
Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. Some employees may carry light items such as papers, books, or small parts.
Working Conditions: The work area is adequately lighted heated, and ventilated. Some employees may occasionally be exposed to circuitry of electronic equipment during testing and must apply precautions to avoid personal injury.
Designated Drug Testing Position: Not applicable

This is NOT a bargaining unit position

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.
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • 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.
  • This is not a remote position. OI&T has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site.
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, 03/30/2026.

Applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy.

You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT

Applicants must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below at a proficiency level equivalent to the next lower grade level in federal service.

  1. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
  2. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services.
  3. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
  4. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.
AND
  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Specialized experience includes planning, installing, configuring, testing, implementing, and managing the mainframe systems environment in support of VA IT architecture and business needs. Serves as the technical authority in IBM mainframe systems hardware and software and provides support for the development and implementation of short and long-range Department Information Technology (IT) activities.

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/.

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.

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.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

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

If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations:
Little Rock, AR
North Little Rock AR
Phoenix, AZ
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Francisco. CA
Denver. CO
Washington DC
Miami, FL
Orlando, FL
St. Petersburg, FL
Tampa, FL
Atlanta, GA
Chicago, IL
Hines, IL
North Chicago, IL
Bedford, MA
Boston, MA
Baltimore, MD
Detroit, MI
Minneapolis, MN
St. Louis, MO
Eatontown, NJ
Albany, NY
Cleveland, OH
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Nashville, TN
Arlington, TX
Austin, TX
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
Salt Lake City, UT
SeaTac, WA
Seattle, WA
Shepherdstown, WV

If space is not immediately available a temporary exception to telework may be granted. If/when workspace is identified, the employee is expected to report to their assigned duty location.

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.

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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

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.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

The VA has adopted Core Values and Characteristics that apply universally across the Department. The five Core Values define "who we are," our culture, and how we care for Veterans, their families and other beneficiaries.

The Values are Integrity, Commitment, Advocacy, Respect and Excellence ("I CARE").As a VA professional, your opportunities are endless. With many openings in the multiple functions of VA, you will have a wide range of opportunities and leadership positions at your fingertips.


DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Agency contact information

Recruitment Team Two B
Email
VACOVAOITOPSHRRPTeam2B@va.gov
Address
DAS for Information Technology - 200
1615 Woodward St
Austin, TX 78772
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://digital.va.gov/careers/

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