Skip to main content
U.S. flag
 

IT Specialist (SYSADMIN)

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

Summary

The incumbent serves as an IT Specialist for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information Technology (OIT), End User Services (EUS), Endpoint Engineering, Platform Support, Client Technologies subdivision. EUS provided enterprise-wide technology services and continuous implementation, maintenance, monitoring, and management of VA's technical operations' portfolio - promoting one technology vision across VA.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$106,437 - $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
Promotion potential
None
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - Up to 25% travel may be required , as needed, for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
EUS-26-LRH-13067986-BU
Control number
886181900

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS and CTAP/ICTAP eligibles. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Videos

Duties

Help

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:

  • Perform enterprise-wide security patch deployment for Microsoft, Mac OS, baseline applications, and specialized/clinical applications across VA's client environment.
  • Develop, test, troubleshoot, and authorize deployment of software packages, OS images, and security updates in collaboration with OIT Solutions Delivery.
  • Evaluate, mitigate, and report cybersecurity vulnerabilities using enterprise vulnerability scanning, tracking, and remediation techniques.
  • Plan, develop, implement, and maintain enterprise Client Technology programs including client health, mobile device management, encryption compliance, baseline software compliance, and OS/appliance deployment [IT Special. . .d 4.2.2026 PDF]
  • Provide Tier 3 enterprise technical support for endpoint clients used across VHA, VBA, and NCA, resolving complex and escalated issues.
  • Conduct SME evaluations and reviews of security accreditation results, recommend new or revised client security and configuration solutions, and ensure FISMA/NIST control compliance.
  • Administer secure configuration, baseline compliance, and mitigation actions for enterprise operating systems, applications, and endpoint encryption.
  • Plan, execute, and support enterprise deployments (OS upgrades, client configurations, application rollouts) including identification of risk, impacts, and back-out strategies.
  • Diagnose and resolve complex client performance, health, security, and interoperability problems, including specialized and clinical applications.
This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles: 411, 451, 461
Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (SYSADMIN)/PD18387A/18388A
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 25% 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 in sedentary in nature but may require some sort of physical effort, such as: standing, walking, stooping, lifting, carrying, moving (up to 50 pounds) of components or supplies, reaching, pulling, bending, or sitting. The work requires almost constant use of an electronic video display (e.g. LED, LCD, CRT, etc.), keyboard and mouse (or similar proxy input mechanism), and a voice-enable communication mechanism (e.g. system 2-way speaker, cellular phone, VOIP, etc.).

Working Conditions: Work environment requires ability to function in a virtual organization that spans different time zones across the National enterprise. This position requires moderate-to-low travel requirements to VA-operated or associated locations on an as-needed basis (e.g. projects, deployments, tiger teams, face-to-face meetings, trainings, etc.).

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply.
  • To be considered, you must complete all required steps, including the application, questionnaire, and an online assessment measuring key competencies for this job.
  • You may need to serve a probationary period and complete a background/security investigation.
  • If selected, you must finish an online onboarding process and provide acceptable identification for 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.

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted or considered. USAJOBS will prevent uploading or building resumes beyond two pages, so update your profile before applying. Ensure resumes include relevant knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies for the position, as VA cannot assume qualifications not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible and clearly show eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other job requirements.

Your resume must be must be 5MB or less. PDF is preferred; accepted formats are GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT, DOC, or DOCX (no PDF portfolio files). Use a sans-serif font and clear formatting; suggested fonts: Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noro Sans; consider 14pt for titles, 10pt for text, and 0.5" margins. The USAJOBS resume builder is available to assist in formatting.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, all qualification requirements, listed below, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/05/2026.

Experience: Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below. The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled.

  • Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. Specialized experience is defined as: providing technical expertise in the implementation and management of IT programs and projects, supporting and optimizing storage, server, and client technologies, and administering systems security and database management. Experience much demonstrate the ability to analyze requirements, integrate new technologies, and resolve complex IT issues while ensuring compliance with organizational policies and security standards. This includes daily operational support, troubleshooting, and the development of solutions for multi-user systems across platforms and back office environments.

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.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Additional information

If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations:

Albany, NY
Arlington, TX
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Bedford, MA
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Dallas, TX
Denver, CO
Detroit, MI
Eatontown, NJ
Hines, IL
Houston, TX
Little Rock, AR
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Martinsburg, WV
Miami, FL
Minneapolis, MN
Nashville, TN
Oakland, CA
Orlando, FL
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Shepherdstown, WV
St. Louis, MO
St. Petersburg, FL
Tampa, FL
Washington, DC

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. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations. If selected, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location. 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.

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.

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/.

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. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accountability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


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.

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.

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.

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?

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

Agency contact information

Recruitment Team One D
Email
vaoitopshr-randpteam1d@va.gov
Address
DAS for Information Technology - 103
810 Vermont Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20240
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/

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.