Utility Systems Operator

About the role

This position reports to the Engineering Operations Supervisor of the VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas facility.

The facility is a campus type hospital on 84 acres consisting of five major patient care buildings, an accredited research facility and several outlying buildings supporting patient care and administrative services totaling 2.5 million square feet making this facility the third largest hospital in the VA Health Care system.

What you will do

• This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 10, 2027 .The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be September 25, 2026, with subsequent cut-off dates every two weeks until 09/10/2027.
• Eligible applications received after that date will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.
• Applicants who are referred will be considered for 90 days, after 90 days applicants will have to reapply.
• The incumbent serves as a journeyman Utility Systems Operator (USO) responsible for the safe operation of the Energy Center, consisting of a combined boiler and chiller plant.
• If the situation dictates, the operator has the authority as acting Chief Engineer after normal hours to call in off-duty employees on an overtime basis and if the situation wan-ants, informing the supervisor, ACE/M&O and Chief Engineer of problems after-hours.
• BOILER OPERATION: Starts, operates, adjusts, stops, maintains, and performs various operation repairs on the steam plant consisting of three D-type pressurized water-tube power boilers, each developing 32,000 pounds of steam per hour and a Combined Heat and Power plant consisting of a SOLAR Mercury 50 gas-turbine electrical generator producing 4.6 MW of campus electricity per hour and a RENTECH Heat Recovery Steam Generator producing 14,000 - 45,000 pounds per hour of steam for a maximum of 141,000 pounds per hour operating 110-125 psig.
• Also operates all support equipment-Deaerator Tank, Condensate Storage Tanks, associated condensate and boiler feed pumps, natural gas compressor, glycol cooling system, chemical injection systems, and air-control systems.
• Incumbent starts and stops equipment and regulates the steam plant and associated equipment as steam load varies.
• He must anticipate load changes based on operations occurring at various times of the day such as laundry and changing weather conditions.
• Incumbent continuously monitors gauges, meters, boiler water level indicators and computer control equipment and displays to detect changes in operation to keep system operating safely and efficiently.
• CHILLER OPERATION: Manages two (2) 1000-ton steam turbine-driven chiller units and four 1000- ton centrifugal chiller units in conjunction with a 3.25 million gallon chilled water thermal storage system, performing hourly checks of all operating equipment in the chiller plant, making shift inspections of the cooling towers and utility tunnels.
• Operates a primary, secondary, tertiary chilled water pumping system, maintaining proper chilled water flows throughout the system to maintain required conditions in all zones of the Medical Center.
• Operator may be required to make manual adjustments to system to maintain system efficiency and integrity.
• Operates chilled water thermal storage system, making manual adjustments to system water flows and chiller cycling to maintain system capacity and efficiency.
• Performs preventive and corrective maintenance on chillers, cooling towers, boilers, pumps, steam traps, and other associated equipment.
• Performs major and minor repairs to equipment in accordance with VA regulations and directives, ASME boiler and pressure vessel codes, ASHRAE standards, facility policies, and good engineering practices.
• FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND BUILDING SY STEMS: Monitors 24/7 all hospital required emergency power systems including the fire alarm system, master medical gas alarm panel, emergency communications systems, elevator emergency call system and elevator monitoring computer for forty-two elevators campus-wide and coordinates events as required to ensure life safety measures are taken.
• In the event of a fire alarm, notifies Safety, VA Police and Engineering personnel of the location of the alarm.
• After-hours, notifies the VA Police, Nursing Clinical Coordinator and responds to the scene.
• CENTRALIZED BULK OXGYGEN PLANT: Manages the bulk liquid oxygen (cryogenic) system,11,000 gallon primary source and 500 gallon reserve supply of medical oxygen throughout campus for direct patient care.
• Manages all deliveries, performs daily inspections, monitors regulating devices, pressure gauges and recording of tank levels.
• Operator manages portable bulk nitrogen supply, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide systems that directly support the surgical suites.
• Work Schedule: Monday-Sunday.
• Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs.
• The tour of duty will include holidays, weekends, nights and rotating shifts.
• Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Operator/PD00769-A Physical Requirements: Frequently work 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.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation 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 (***).
• 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.
• 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.

How you will be evaluated

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 you must provide

• Documents Accepted: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (Schedule A) Disability Letter (VA) License Other (1) Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Documents Required: Resume 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.

What to expect next

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.

Additional information

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. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO).

Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies.

To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at ***

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service.

This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.