Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• Operates 24 hour a day, 7 day a week energy control center with continuous monitoring and operation of complex utilities and systems.
• The incumbents primary role is operating the Boiler and Chiller Plants. All other items are secondary.
• Starts, stops, and regulates the utilities and their system components for optimum efficiency and to troubleshoot, maintain, and repair them.
• Troubleshoots, operates and repairs essential large utility systems.
• Ensures safe, efficient and uninterruptible service to all patient care areas and the associated buildings on campus.
• Evaluates and performs corrective actions on all issue calls: elevator, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, electric doors, door locks, pneumatic tube system, card readers, nurse call system, TV, and lighting.
• Provides front-line support and response assessing facility issues, aiding and or assisting safety, the fire department, police department and hospital staff as needed during emergent situations.
• Troubleshoots, maintains and repairs large industrial utility systems such as: Boiler Plant, Chiller Plant, Pneumatic Tube System, Steam Distribution Systems, Water Distribution Systems, Electrical Distribution Systems, Natural Gas Distribution Systems, and Refrigeration Systems.
• Coordinates work with contracted vendors and/or notifying other Facilities Management Service employees of the need to report to the facility.
• Uses the building automation system (BAS) Metasys (HVAC) and Scada and ADAC systems (Boilers).
• Identifies, diagnoses, repairs, cleans, dismantles and operates equipment using very degraded and/or poor quality electric/electronic wiring diagrams, schematics and blueprints.

Work Schedule: Compressed, 12 hour shift (To be discussed with supervisor)
Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD11140A
Physical Requirements: The employee must be in a satisfactory physical and mental condition and fit for duty at all times, excluding body maintenance items. They may frequently work in confined spaces and will be required to stand, stoop, bend, kneel, crawl, walk, jump and climb for moderate time durations. They will have to install and make repairs to equipment from ladders, scaffolding, platforms and hard-to-reach spaces. They must be able to lift equipment, parts, supplies and chemicals weighing up to 50 lbs. They efforts will vary depending on the task to be performed.

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:

• Dexterity and Safety
• Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair
• Operation of Equipment/Machinery
• Technical Practices
• 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.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (VA)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

Documents Required:

• Resume

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.
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.

Next steps