Animal Health Technician Job in Lackland AFB, TX

Vacancy No. HSM1250366013397 Department U.S. Army Medical Command
Salary $50,694.00 to $80,610.00 Grade 7 to 9
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/19/2025 Close Date 10/13/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Lackland AFB, TX


Summary

About the Position: This position is located on Lackland AFB, San Antonio Texas, working for U.S. Army Medical Command, Public Health Command - Central, Military Working Dogs Veterinary Services.

This is a Developmental position may be filled at the GS-07, GS-08, or GS-09 grade level.

Duties

  • Perform a variety of complicated technical veterinary procedures in support of the DoD Military Working Dog Veterinary Services.
  • Examine patients, assist in medical procedures and provide appropriate clinical care.
  • Prepare medical treatments as ordered by the veterinarian.
  • Ensure proper cleaning, preparation and set up of facilities are maintained.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • This position requires the completion of a pre-employment Physical Examination and an annual examination thereafter to ensure the continued, required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.
  • This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
  • This position has a requirement to lift up to 50 lbs. and up to 75lbs. with assistance in the regular performance of duties.
  • This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 10% of the time.
  • This position may require working overtime after normal duty hours and/or on weekends and holidays.
  • A Personnel Security Investigation is required.
  • This position has a mandatory seasonal influenza vaccination requirement and is therefore subject to annual seasonal influenza vaccinations.
  • See "Additional Information" section for additional requirements/information.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

  • Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
  • Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
  • Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
  • Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
  • Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
  • Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
  • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998



In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience GS-07: One year of specialized experience which includes experience in providing a variety of veterinary care to animals such as; examinations, vaccinations, blood collection, wound treatments, administering medications, utilizing radiographic equipment and identifying signs of illness and/or diseases. Experience assisting with various medical procedures such as; restraining and/or sedating animals, monitoring anesthesia, providing post-surgical care, and maintaining detailed medical records of procedure. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06).

Specialized Experience GS-08: One year of specialized experience which includes experience in providing a variety of veterinary care to animals such as; examinations, evaluations and vaccinations of patients, administering various medications topically, orally, or by parenteral injections, calculate and administer drug dosage based on accurate body weight, administers IV anesthetic inductions and intubates trachea to initiate gas anesthetic administration for surgical procedures under veterinary supervision. Experience with calculating exposure factors, positioning patient, and operating and performing maintenance on x-ray machines. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

Specialized Experience GS-09: One year of specialized experience which includes experience in examinations, evaluations and vaccinations of animals, determining vital signs of patients and triage based on condition, wound preparations and treatments. Experience administering various medications topically, orally, or by parenteral injections, administering IV anesthetic inductions and intubates trachea to initiate gas anesthetic administration for surgical procedures. Experience maintaining surgical instruments, equipment, supplies and premises in accordance with established guidelines. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-08).


You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:
  • Animal Husbandry
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Patient Intervention
  • Safety and Quality Care


Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent.

Time in grade Requirement for GS-07: GS-06 or equivalent.
Time in grade Requirement for GS-08: GS-07 or equivalent.
Time in grade Requirement for GS-09: GS-08 or equivalent.

Education

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Additional information

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • One year trial/probationary period may be required.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is a(n) 53 Medical Career Field position.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.
  • Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
  • Licensed Veterinary Technician, Certified Veterinary Technician, Registered Veterinary Technician or Equivalent Licensure is highly preferred.
  • Management may select at any of the grade levels announced. This recruitment provides promotion
    opportunity to the target grade of the position without further competition when selectee is eligible and
    recommended by management.
  • Position may be filled at any grade level and may or may not have promotion potential.

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.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your resume and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

Military Spouse Preference (MSP) applicants will receive preference consideration and will be placed (if selected) at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined best qualified, up to and including the full performance level.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP) Applicants will receive preference consideration at the full-performance grade level only.

Only MSP/PPP applicants currently occupying a formal training program position are entitled to exercise their priority status.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

  • Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
  • For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
  • For additional information see: What to include in your resume.
2. Other supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.
  • Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).
  • This position requires a job-related license or certification. You MUST submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses
NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on10/13/2025 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12803397).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Address
M1-W08G02 REGIONAL HEALTH COMMAND-CENTRAL
DO NOT MAIL
Lackland AFB, TX 78236
US

Next steps

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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