Utility Systems Repairer-Operator Leader (HVAC Technician) Job in Front Royal, VA

Vacancy No. 25R-SC-312483-MPA-FM Department Smithsonian Institution
Salary $34.36 to $40.14 Grade 10 to 10
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 5/8/2025 Close Date 5/22/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Front Royal, VA


Summary

This position is located in Facilities Management (FM), Office of Facilities Management and Reliability (OFMR).  The incumbent serves under the general supervision of the Utility Systems Repairer-Operator (USRO) Supervisor and performs a variety of technical and leadership duties within the zone.

More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

Duties

The USRO HVAC Technician will perform the full range of operations, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair.

In this position, you will:

  • Operate, perform predictive and preventive maintenance on, and repair equipment and component parts of refrigeration, air-conditioning, heating, high pressure steam distribution, humidification systems, and boiler systems.
  • Test, detect and diagnose trouble in heating and air-conditioning systems and take corrective action.
  • Perform fire pump and emergency generator testing.
  • Assure the continuous operation and surveillance of the computers in the Central Control Room, analyze printout data and alarms and assure appropriate remedial actions are taken

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
  • May need to complete a Probationary Period
  • Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
  • Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment:

Must possess a current EPA Universal Refrigerant Certification. (You must submit a copy with your application)

Must have a valid State driver's license. (You must submit a copy with your application)

Must be available to work any one of the various shifts and/or assigned workdays that include holidays, weekends, and call back emergencies.

Physical Requirements:
Physical exertion is considerable and includes prolonged standing, climbing up and down ladders and scaffolding, working in cramped and awkward positions, reaching, lifting, and bending when using hand and power tools. Weight lifted may exceed 50 pounds with assistance.

Work is performed in any and all areas in and around the Smithsonian complex, including construction sites, both indoors and outdoors. Due to the nature of building construction materials, the types of products used in scientific research laboratories and potentially harmful products that can be released by malfunctioning building systems the incumbent will be in proximity to, and may be exposed to, a variety of potentially dangerous situations (i.e., building flooding, power outages, structural collapse, general construction sites) and substances (i.e., chemicals, raw sewage, asbestos, lead, broken glass) in both construction and emergency situations, as well as during the normal course of maintenance and operation work

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the job opportunity announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website.

Qualifications

In order to be rated qualified, an applicant's overall experience and training must indicate possession of the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the duties of this position.

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). 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.

Additional information

  • This position is included in the bargaining unit.  

Current or Former Political Appointees: Beginning January 1, 2010, agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level under the provisions of title 5, United States Code. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Office of Human Resources. Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:

  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and,
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Recruitment Incentive: Recruitment incentive(s) may be authorized for this position.  However, approval for incentives are contingent upon various availability. If authorized, certain incentives will require the incumbent to sign a service agreement to remain in the Federal government for a certain time period.

Note: This statement does not imply nor guarantee an incentive will be offered and paid.

Selections may be made for vacancies across the Smithsonian Institution (SI). By applying to this position, you agree to allow your application and other personal information to be shared with one or more SI hiring officials for employment consideration for same/similar positions within the location(s) identified in this announcement.

Benefits

The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. 

Please see Benefits at https://www.si.edu/OHR/benefits for a complete description.

Flexible Spending Accounts - https://www.fsafeds.com/
Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp
Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp
Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp
Long Term Care Insurance - http://www.ltcfeds.com
Retirement Program - https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applications will first be evaluated to determine whether the following screen out element is met:

  1. Ability to lead a full range of operations, maintenance, troubleshooting, repair and control work.

If an applicant meets the screen-out element, the following Job Elements will be evaluated:

  1. Knowledge of equipment assembly, installation, operations, repair and maintenance (HVAC, electrical, steam).
  2. Knowledge of HVAC technical practices (theoretical, precise, artistic). 
  3. Use of Measuring Instruments.
  4. Ability to interpret instructions, specifications, etc. (includes blueprint reading). 
  5. Ability to use and maintain tools and equipment.
  6. Knowledge of Utility System Materials. 

Applicants who meet or exceed the screen-out element will be assigned to one of two category groups based on job-related criteria:

BASIS OF RATING:  Once the announcement closes, your application will be automatically evaluated and rated by the system and a Human Resources Specialist. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your application and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the occupational questionnaire. The numeric rating you receive is based on your responses to the questionnaire. The score is a measure of the degree to which your background matches the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of this position. If, after the Human Resources Specialist reviews your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that the score you have received is not a true reflection of your qualifications and/or experience, your score can and will be adjusted to more accurately reflect the information you provided that support your abilities. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Your resume should provide detailed information regarding how your experience relates to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.

Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA):  If you are applying for a VEOA appointment, you must be a veteran and must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. ("Active Service" under this law means active duty in a uniformed service and includes full-time training duty, annual training duty, full-time National Guard duty, and attendance, while in the active service, at a school designated as a service school by law or by the Secretary concerned.) A veteran who is released under honorable conditions shortly before completing a 3-year tour is also eligible.

Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities:  The following links contain information on the eligibility requirements to be considered under a noncompetitive appointing authority:

Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. 


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

  • Resume - Your resume can be uploaded and attached to your application or created using the USA Jobs on-line resume builder. Ensure your resume contains the job title (including the occupational series and grade if it is Federal), job-related qualifications, starting and ending dates (month and year), hours worked per week, and salary for each employment period. It is your responsibility to ensure all information is submitted. Failure to include this information may result in disqualification for the position.

    For assistance with creating a resume, please click here.
  • Current and former employees MUST submit a copy of their Standard Form (SF)-50, “Notice of Personnel Action,” that indicates proof of status and time-in-grade eligibility. The SF-50 must include your position title, series, grade, step, salary, type of service (competitive or excepted in block 34), and tenure (1 or 2 in block 24). Please provide a SF-50 that shows the length of time you have been in your current/highest grade level.  Examples of appropriate SF50s include: Appointments, Reassignments, Within-grade/range increases or Promotion actions.  NOTE: Pay adjustments and award SF-50s do not include the length of time in your current position, therefore, they are NOT acceptable SF-50’s on their own. You may need to provide more than one SF-50.
  • Time-in-Grade Requirements: Under competitive merit promotion procedures, any individual who is currently holding, or who has held within the previous 52 weeks, a General Schedule position under a non-temporary appointment in the competitive or excepted service, must meet "time-in-grade" requirements (have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade of the grade for which you are applying).
  • Proof of a current EPA Universal Refrigerant Certification. (You must submit a copy with your application)
  • Proof of a valid State driver's license. (You must submit a copy with your application)
  • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD214 (Member 4 Copy) if you are requesting a special appointment authority, such as VRA or VEOA
  • Proof of severe disability if you are requesting special placement consideration.
  • Proof of eligibility for a military spouse appointment, such as a permanent change station military order.
  • Proof of eligibility for any other special appointing authority not specifically mentioned here.

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

Click on the "Apply Online" button on the upper right side of the page.
Please Note: You must apply for this position online through the 'Apply Online' button and submit required supplemental documents (if they are relevant to you).

  • You may submit required documents by uploading them online during the application process;
    OR
    You may manually fax required documents. Faxes are received by an automated system, not a physical fax machine. Documents that are faxed as part of the application process must be sent with the system generated cover sheet by the closing date. Documents faxed without the system generated coversheet are not retrievable and cannot be considered as part of the application package.
  • The complete application package, including any required documents, is due in the Smithsonian Office of Human Resources on the closing date of the announcement by 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
  • If you are unable to apply online, paper applications may be accepted with prior approval of the Contact Person listed below.

Agency contact information

Susie Cunningham
Address
SMITHSONIAN
Office of Human Resources
POB 37012, 600 Maryland Avenue, MRC 517
Suite 5060
Washington, District of Columbia 20013-7012
United States

Next steps

At the end of the application process you will be able to create and save a PDF file that contains your responses to the assessment questions. You may save this file as initial receipt of your application. After the job announcement closes, you will receive an email from the Smithsonian with confirmation of receipt.
The Smithsonian receives many applications for each job. Each application is reviewed carefully which may take a few weeks. We will send you an e-mail to update you as we go through phases of the application review process. You may also check your application status by logging into www.usajobs.gov and selecting the tab "My USAJOBS;" e-mailing vacancy.info@si.edu; or by contacting the Office of Human Resources Representative listed.
Additional Information:

  • Tips on applying for Smithsonian jobs are available at www.sihr.si.edu/jobs.cfm.
  • The Smithsonian does not pay relocation expenses.
  • The Smithsonian embraces diversity and equal employment opportunity (www.si.edu/oeema).


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