Duties
Major duties:
- Operates boiler plants with capacity of up to 80,000 pounds of steam per hour.
- Works with the operation and operational maintenance of Natural Gas and Propane Gas Fired Power Boilers and auxiliary equipment
with manual or automatic controls to produce saturated or superheated steam or high temperature hot water.
- Operates dampers, induced, and forced draft fans, heat exchangers, fuel and air heaters, pumps, fuel pressure, control valves, fuel strainers, relief valves, water softeners, and other similar equipment.
- Regulates fuel feed and water levels and maintains required steam pressure and temperatures.
- Operates and maintains a Back-Up Fuel Supply for boilers consisting of three 30,000 gallon propane tanks with a Nitrogen actuated emergency shutdown system to secure propane supply in an emergency.
- Maintain efficient combustion levels and ensure compliance with air pollution laws or regulations.
- Use electronic, hydraulic, and pneumatic controls, and zone charts in conjunction with meters, gauges, and computer-generated data to determine adjustments or corrections necessary for proper boiler operations or changing load requirements.
- Maintains good housekeeping within the entire boiler plant by dusting and cleaning equipment, and keeping floors swept and washed down, etc.
- Starts/Stops, Maintains, Repairs Low pressure and hot water Boilers & Associated Auxiliary Equipment.
- Conducting rounds and documenting operating parameters for this equipment every four-hours on a 24/7 basis.
- Test and maintain all boiler safety devices in accordance with and as required by the VA Directive 1810 and safety device test manual current edition.
- Trouble shoot and repair or assist with the repair of emergency or urgent situations pertaining to Facility Services equipment.
Work Schedule: Full time, 8-hr shift, 24-hrs per week, 7-days per week-rotating.
Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD24169A
Physical Requirements: Frequently works in confined areas in and around boilers. Requires moderate to strenuous effort and long periods of walking, standing, climbing, bending, and crouching. Frequently lift and carry boiler parts and chemical supplies weighing up to 40 pounds unassisted. Occasionally, and with assistance, carries items weighing over 40 pounds.
Working Conditions: Mainly works indoors but occasionally works outside for short periods of time. Subject to high temperatures, constant noise, rotating machinery, soot, dirt, grease, chemicals, oil, and fumes. Subject to cuts and abrasions from the use of tools and equipment and burns from acids, caustics, hot water, steam and contact with boilers. Work on catwalks and ladders. Works in the central steam generating plant, subject to extreme noise from air compressors, fans, motors, and other equipment in use. Frequently works in areas of high ambient temperature and humidity levels. The incumbent will make rounds on the low-pressure campus boilers to log operational parameters and perform safety device testing and maintain the low pressure units. Occasionally subject to the hazards of cuts and burns from contact with boilers and high pressure steam burst and heat.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
- Subject to a background/suitability investigation
- May serve a probationary period
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
- A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
- 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
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:
- Dexterity and Safety
- Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair
- Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading)
- Measuring Instruments
- Technical Practices
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.
Education
This job does not have an education qualification requirement.
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.
Required Documents
Documents Accepted:
- Cover Letter
- DD-214/ Statement of Service
- Disability Letter (VA)
- License
- Other (1)
- Performance Appraisal
- Professional Certification
- Resume
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
Documents Required:
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.
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.
How to Apply
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 Jess. 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 fifes. 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.
Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:
- Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
- Use concise, results focused language
- Align language from the job announcement
- Focus on demonstrating skiffs and competencies
- Remove outdated or unrelated experience
- Use the USAJOBS resume builder
Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:
-https:///help. usaiobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.
- https://www.opm.qov/policv-data-oversight/hirinq-information/merit-hirinq-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/
All applicants are encouraged to apply online.
To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/09/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12807034.
1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
Next steps
After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.