Healthcare Engineer

Summary

The Birmingham VA Healthcare Service is recruiting for a Healthcare Engineer. The Healthcare Engineer will function under the Facilities Management Service. This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2026. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and qualified candidates will be considered as vacancies become available.

Duties

• Serves as a Project Engineer at an assigned Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Performs project planning, produces designs, manages designs, manages construction, and provides construction administration for Minor Construction Projects, Non-Recurring Maintenance Projects, Station Level Projects, and Leases, including all areas and aspects (architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural, etc.) at an assigned medical center and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics. Serves as resident and program engineer consisting of the planning, design, and overseeing of major healthcare system projects; oversees Professional Architecture/Engineering and Construction contracts to ensure the contractor is in compliance with all contractual requirements, healthcare regulations and codes, specifications and schedules are met in accordance with the government's requirements for VA owned and leased facilities. Provides engineering support to the assigned healthcare system and is responsible for maintaining construction specifications and drawings, maintaining technical reference library of codes, standards, and other regulations which are applicable to the engineering construction industries Occupational Safety and Health Administration, National Fire Protection Association, American National Standards Institute and others. Serves as a healthcare engineering advisor, engineer consultant, engineer designer, contract administrator, project manager, construction coordinator, and instructor during the design and construction of all projects assigned. Responsible for performing the duties of a Contracting Officer Representative on professional design and construction projects, training service staff on technical issues and assisting the service staff on the completion of technical and administrative issues regarding infrastructure related operations of the medical facility. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. EST 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:This position may be authorized for ad-hoc telework which occurs on an occasional, non-routine basis and is utilized to complete short-term special assignments or to accommodate special circumstances even though the telework arrangement may occur continuously for a limited and specific period of time. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: FS61398F, FS61399F, FS61400F, FS61401F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. 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. 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 (3) 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 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. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements outlined above, the following criteria must be met for appointment to the GS12 grade level. 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) Healthcare Engineer GS 7 Experience: No additional requirements beyond the basic requirements. Healthcare Engineer GS 9- In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-09 you must meet one of the following: You must have at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-7) OR Master of Engineering degree or Master of Architecture degree or Master of Science degree in Engineering or a related field of study as outlined in basic requirements; OR Bachelor's degree as outlined in paragraph basic requirements plus two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in a related field of study, provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the core competencies for GS-09 level assignment. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of the principles, theories, concepts and practices of the engineering profession. Ability to interpret relevant codes, regulations, guidelines and standards to make recommendations to assure compliance with healthcare facility programs. Ability to understand the operational professional engineering needs of clinical services in the healthcare system. Ability to prepare material on current technical topics and trends for presentation to other technical staff and mid-level hospital management and to keep abreast of changes in engineering technology related to a healthcare facility. Healthcare Engineer GS 11- In addition to meeting the basic requirements, to qualify for the GS-11 you must meet one of the following: You must have at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9) OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Engineering or a related field of engineering as outlined in basic requirements; OR Maste…

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/.