SummaryThis position serves as a Project Engineer at the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (SAVAHCS). This position performs project planning, produces designs, manages designs, manages construction, and provides construction administration for Minor Construction Projects, Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) Projects, Station Level Projects, and Leases, including all areas and aspects (architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural, etc.) at SAVAHCS.
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Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Major duties include:
- Serves as resident and program engineer consisting of the planning, design, and overseeing of major healthcare system projects.
- Oversees Professional Architecture/Engineering (A/E) and Construction contracts to ensure the contractor is in compliance with all contractual requirements, healthcare regulations and codes, specifications and schedules.
- Conducts capital asset and infrastructure planning and design for the medical facility spanning initial strategic planning, concept development, design, construction, and effective implementation of complex buildings, utilities, and medical support systems.
- Manages healthcare engineering compliance program and training in accordance with VA policies and procedures, VA Design Guides, VA Design Manuals, VA Master Specifications and related industry codes and standards.
- Assists in development and implementation of the environment of care program that meets current Joint Commission, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), College of American Pathologists (CAP), NFPA, and VA requirements, particularly as it relates to construction safety and infection control.
- Performs evaluations on medical care programs and services to ensure assigned projects are aligned and support the healthcare organization's needs and requirements for expansion of service and/or efficient flow of operation.
- Evaluates and performs scheduling and layout of operations, inspection, and surveillance of materials, methods, and equipment used in construction.
- Trains facility maintenance staff on new equipment or complex utility systems to ensure the staff have the comprehensions, qualifications and understanding of the systems to maintain and operate.
- Consults with contractor personnel to resolve difficult and complex, unforeseen problems and latent defect conditions developing during construction.
- Provides training and guidance to the contractor to improve the contractor's ability to work within the medical facility requirements and confinements to better perform the scope of work.
- Provides professional advice to peers, non-professional administrators or managers and is considered to be an expert authority in the medical construction field.
- Assists on the medical center construction projects, space functional changes, and associated planning with respect to medical technologies and medical-related technologies.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 7:00am - 3:30pm. May require to work night/week-end shifts on occasion for project support.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases
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: Not Available
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
RequirementsHelp
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 identification 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.
QualificationsApplicants 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.
- Proficient in spoken and written English as required by 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;
OREvidence 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;
OREvidence 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:
Healthcare Engineer, GS-07- Experience. None beyond the basic requirements.
Healthcare Engineer, GS-09- Experience or Education. Candidates at this level must meet one of the following:
(a) One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade;
OR(b) 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(c) Bachelor's degree as outlined in 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:
(a) Knowledge of the principles, theories, concepts and practices of the engineering profession.
(b) Ability to interpret relevant codes, regulations, guidelines and standards to make recommendations to assure compliance with healthcare facility programs.
(c) Ability to understand the operational professional engineering needs of clinical services in the healthcare system.
(d) 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- Experience or Education. Candidates at this level must meet one of the following:
(a) One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade;
OR(b) Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Engineering or a related field of engineering,
OR(c) Master of Engineering degree, Master of Architecture degree, Master of Science degree in Engineering or a related field of study as outlined in paragraph Basic Requirements, plus 1 full year of progressively higher level graduate education in a related field of study, provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment;
OR(d) Bachelor's degree as outlined in Basic Requirements plus 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in a related field of study, provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of either mechanical, electrical, structural, civil or other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications in the healthcare environment.
(b) Knowledge of basic project management principles as applied to the healthcare setting.
(c) Ability to apply healthcare engineering related standards, codes, policies and regulations, inclusive of, state and local codes.
(d) Ability to communicate effective orally and in writing with internal and external customers with tact and diplomacy.
(e) Ability to develop material for clinical or administrative staff that addresses the principles and application of engineering technology and/or theory used in healthcare.
(f) Ability to advise staff on emerging engineering technology related to a healthcare facility, while keeping abreast of changes in such technology and utilizing the information to solve healthcare facility engineering challenges.
Healthcare Engineer, GS-12.Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
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 mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications in the healthcare environment.
(b) Knowledge of healthcare industry standards and related regulatory agency and organization (including, but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), etc.) regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives, standards and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering.
(c) Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices and techniques, materials and equipment to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards.
(d) Skill in researching and analyzing information, conditions, human factors and projections to make sound engineering and business recommendations and decisions to proactively identify problems and develop innovative solutions within the context of applicable rules, regulations and procedures.
(e) Ability to plan and execute complex, multi-faceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents and budgets.
(f) Ability to organize and lead multi-disciplinary task forces with members from different departments and divisions, as well as design and construction firms.
Preferred Experience: Construction experience managing project execution, overseeing site work as well as finalizing administrative construction documentation is preferred.
A valid State driver's license is required. A safe driving record is required.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-7 to GS-12.
Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 50...
