Clarification from the agency

Current, permanent federal employees must submit their most recent , NON-AWARD SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, to be considered for this vacancy. Please note that more than one SF-50 may be required to establish Time-In-Grade.

The GS-9 dental technician functions as the senior lab technician and is fully qualified and experienced. The incumbent is considered an expert and is responsible for the daily operation and throughput of dental products within the dental laboratory.
Duties include but are not limited to:

• Independently accomplish all aspects of fabrication for a wide range of complex dental prostheses supporting dental laboratory operations. For assignments at this level, dental laboratory technicians must have developed and demonstrated a degree of expertness in all aspects of the dental laboratory work and will be relied upon to carry out all aspects of their fabrication independently or with minimum supervision.
• The technician receives lab cases and prescriptions from dental staff and residents, confers with the treating doctor regarding design and fabrication, labels the cases, and determines the urgency of the work so that cases with the highest urgency are completed first, while creating a work plan to get the remaining cases done in a timely manner.
• The dental laboratory technician directly collaborates with Restorative Dentists, Prosthodontists, or Oral Surgeons to design and fabricate complex dental or intra-oral maxillofacial appliances. This involves (1) receiving and interpreting dental laboratory prescriptions, (2) working with these specialists in developing the design of the appliance, (3) confers with the treating specialist to determine a work flow that will ensure prioritization of cases with highest urgency, (4) personally fabricating, or overseeing the fabrication of the appliance, and (5) resolving problems in its fabrication.
• The technician is involved in complex removable and fixed oral-maxillofacial appliance including fixed, semi-fixed, or removable implant cases, partial and complete dentures when the severe nature of the dental abnormalities to be overcome require working to unusually
  close tolerances, resolving particularly difficult problems of esthetics, retention, balance, reducing tension on natural teeth and tissue, and similar problems. The technician must be skilled in prosthesis design, which may involve novel design elements to accommodate the patient's functional needs and unique anatomy.
• Functions include pouring primary and final impressions; fabricating custom trays; fabricating bite rims; mounting casts on articulators; setting teeth for trial dentures/partials; investing, packing, processing and finishing dentures/partials; polishing prosthesis following adjustment; fabricating night guards; fabricating provisional prostheses; repairing broken prostheses; adding teeth to prostheses; pouring and pinning final crown and bridge impressions; sectioning dies; fabricating fluoride trays; fabricating stints; fabricating transitional partials, fabricating wrought wire clasps, and fabricating fixed prostheses including metal and ceramic restorations.
• Fabricates complex crowns and fixed partial dentures, removable partial denture frameworks, acrylic partial and complete dentures. Provide consultation to Oral Surgeons, Prosthodontists, and other dental, and laboratory specialists in the design and fabrication of difficult intraoral maxillofacial appliances and restorations. This involves (1) working with dental specialists in developing the design of the appliance, (2) personally fabricating the appliance, and/or (3) resolving problems in its fabrication.

• The technician is responsible for maintaining the laboratory at the main hospital and at the Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). These duties include, but are not limited to: ordering and maintaining laboratory supplies and equipment, researching new techniques and equipment, inventory and shipment of laboratory cases, act as facilitator between CDL North Texas, VAMC DC and dental community based clinics, maintenance of the infection control protocol within the laboratory, oversight of laboratory cleanliness and orderliness, etc.
• The Dental Laboratory Technician provides education, training and instruction to others in the field, other lab technicians and clinic personnel.

Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Dental Laboratory Technician/PD03186A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period 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 probationary period or trial 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, 11/28/2025.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-8. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requitements: Specialized Experience for positions at GS-4 and above:
Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Use of dental laboratory material such as impression materials, plasters, stones, hydrocolloids, waxes, metals, acrylics, porcelain, and similar materials.
• Use of laboratory equipment such as hand tools, dental lathes, engines, and hand pieces, furnaces, casting machines, presses, flasks, and related equipment.
• Use of precision instruments such as articulators, surveyors, and microanalyzers.
• Construction of dental prosthetic appliances.

GS-9
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.
Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

• Receives lab cases and prescriptions from dental staff, confers with the treating doctor regarding design and fabrication, labels the cases, and determines the urgency of the work so that cases with the highest urgency are completed first, while creating a work plan to get the remaining cases done in a timely manner.
• Collaborates with Restorative Dentists, Prosthodontists, or Oral Surgeons to design and fabricate complex dental or intra-oral maxillofacial appliances. This involves (1) receiving and interpreting dental laboratory prescriptions, (2) working with these specialists in developing the design of the appliance, (3) confers with the treating specialist to determine a work flow that will ensure prioritization of cases with highest urgency, (4) personally fabricating, or overseeing the fabrication of the appliance, and (5) resolving problems in its fabrication.
• Ordering and maintaining laboratory supplies and equipment, researching new techniques and equipment, inventory and shipment of laboratory cases, act as facilitator between dental service and community based clinics, maintenance of the infection control protocol within the laboratory, oversight of laboratory cleanliness and orderliness, etc.
• Communicates effectively with patients, patients' families, dental specialists, staff dentists, and other Dental Service staff. Contacts also include sales representatives within the healthcare industry involved in providing supplies and dental instrumentation and equipment. Contact with other employees in the hospital includes nurses on the patient wards, clerical staff, and administrative staff. OR,

Education: To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two full years of graduate education or a master's degree in a degree relevant to the position.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communications
• Production and Processing
• Technical Competence

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: Long periods of standing, sitting and bending are required. The work requires above average agility and dexterity.

Work Environment: Work involves regular and recurring exposure to potential hazards of plaster dust, fire (open flame), chemical exposure (methylmethacrylates, alcohol, polymers, sterilizing agent) and communicable diseases (exposure to blook, saliva, tissue, bone). The lab technician wears face masks, protective glasses, and uses special aseptic techniques when handling impressions or other items that are potential infection hazard. They work in a clinic setting with some exposure to patients in dental treatments rooms.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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.

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.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

1. Resume - for each job held, you must list the following:

• Job Title
• Dates worked (Month/Year - Month/Year)
• Hours worked per week
• Detailed description of duties performed

IF APPLICABLE:2. SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• PCS Orders
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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