Air Conditioning Equipment Mechanic

Clarification from the agency

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) and ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

The purpose of this position is to perform a wide range of work involving, installing and recognizing the cause of faulty refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and making repairs on large systems that provide for a variety of air conditioning functions such as heating, cooling, humidifying, dehumidifying, cleaning, filtering, and circulating.

• Calculates overflow and the pressure-temperature characteristics for different systems.
• Recognizes the cause of faulty equipment swiftly in order to reduce inoperative time to a minimum.
• Locates trouble before dismantle and makes repairs which insure proper functioning after assembly.
• Performs complex repairs such as install and fit connecting rods, crank shafts, piston rings, bearings and bushing; overhaul valves by adjusting or replacing gasket, springs, floats, diaphragms, valve fittings, seals, and couplings; and aligning motors and flywheel drives.
• Checks out the refrigeration cycle of a variety of commercial and industrial systems to locate and check elements such as those that control low side and high side pressure.
• Other duties assigned.

Work Schedule: Schedule will be discussed during interview process.
Position Description Title/PD#: Air Conditioning Equipment Mechanic/PD04398A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Notifications:

• This position is a LIUNA Bargaining Unit position.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay..
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Pre-employment physical required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• 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.

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, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

• Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair
• Inspect
• Troubleshooting
• Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
• Without more than normal supervision

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 requires carrying of equipment, tools and testing devices that often weight as much as 50 pounds. Frequently motors and equipment components weigh several hundred pounds and are located in difficult to access locations that require significant maneuvering and require hoists, holders and rigging. Most of the equipment can be reached from the floor or from ladders. Occasionally, platforms, man lifts and scaffolding are needed to reach parts of the system such as fans, electrical and water lines and duct work. The incumbent is required to stoop, stretch, bend, kneel and work in tiring and uncomfortable position.

Working Conditions: Much of the work is usually performed inside, but the incumbent is frequently subject to sudden temperature changes when working on equipment such as walk-in freezer units. Many of the larger air handling units, air cooled condensing units, cooling towers and the smaller split system condensing units are either on roof tops or outside on the ground subjecting the incumbent to the fierce New England weather. They are occasionally subject to cuts, bums, electrical shocks, and respiratory ailments; and exposed to repeated, prolonged or concentrated amounts of refrigerant gases that may cause toxic effects on eyes, skin, and internal organs. There is an occasional requirement to work in drafty attic spaces and in cramped areas with low overheads.

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.

Resume Reminder - Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
-Employer name and complete address;
- Job title;- Duties (be as detailed as possible);
- Month & year start/end dates (e.g., June 2007 to April 2008);
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week); and
-Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held.

Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.

Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications. To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title. If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy.

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.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Universal Certification
• Professional Certification
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Universal Certification
• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):If you are a current federal employee, you must attach your most recent, non-award SF-50. This SF-50 should not be more than a year old and must show your current position, grade and step. Award SF-50's typically do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted if they do not include Grade and Step. Time-in-grade is not required by the announcement, however, additional SF-50s may be attached which clearly demonstrate years of experience.

Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:

• Within grade increases at the highest grade held
• Promotions with an effective date more than one year old
• SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old

Though Wage Grade positions do not have a time-in-grade requirement, all internal applicants MUST provide their most recent SF-50 (DATED WITHIN THE LAST YEAR) in order to show their ELIGIBILITY as a current employee for internal postings.

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.

Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

Next steps