Utility Systems Operator

About the role

This Utility Systems Operator position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, VISN 6, Facilities Management Service, Operations, Durham VA Medical Center.

This position works as a shift plant operator with shift responsibility for operation, maintenance and repair of the Air Conditioning Plant and the Boiler Plant that includes an Energy Management Control System.

What you will do

• This position is responsible for operating and maintaining Boiler Plant equipment and systems, HVAC equipment and systems, routine and preventative maintenance and repair to Utilities Support Systems Electrical Distribution, Emergency Power, BMS, HVAC, Water, Steam, Oxygen, Fire Alarm, Vacuum.
• Medical Air, Communication, Plumbing/Sewer, Nitrogen, Nitrous Oxide, Carbon Dioxide, and Air Production.
• Perform complex maintenance and repair on Utilities Support Systems Electrical Distribution, Emergency Power, (BMS): HVAC, Water, Steam, Oxygen, Fire Alarm, Vacuum, Medical Air, Communication, Plumbing/Sewer, Nitrogen/Nitrous Oxide/Carbon Dioxide/ Air Production - Hand/Power Tools/ Pneumatic tools.
• Performs normal repetitive functions of operations, observations, inspections, tests, repairs and preventive maintenance on the Air Conditioning Plant and the Boiler Plant as per standing shift orders and daily operation orders.
• Operates, monitors, and maintains three (3) supplementary reciprocating electric driver chiller units.
• Operates three (3) 17,000 pounds per ABCO fire tube high-pressure steam boilers gas and oil-fired.
• This position is responsible for 24/7 monitoring, maintenance and operation of the medical air, gas and vacuum system.
• Medical air is comprised of 12 individual oil-less scroll type compressors which is in the Chiller Plant.
• Utilizes and troubleshoots highly complex systems of electronic sensing and control, specifically the Siemens Apogee Insight Building Automation System which is an operating system that controls the building's Energy Management System and main Chiller Plant operations by direct digital controls and line code programming.
• Observes, inspects, performs necessary test, measures key temperatures, pressures, humidity, and resets control points as conditions require.
• Makes chemical test of water systems for the Boiler Plant and Air Conditioning Plant.
• Makes adjustments to water by adding chemicals or blow down to maintain proper and effective water treatment.
• Check boilers and auxiliary and pollution control equipment to insure the operational efficiency of equipment and safety of personnel.
• Boiler checks are done hourly, and readings are recorded.
• Responsible for remotely adjusting environmental conditions and performing PMs and routine maintenance to AC equipment.
• Guidelines exists such as laws, regulations, manufacturer specifications, operating manuals, industry standards, facility SOPs, and written and oral instructions.
• Work Schedule: 12 Hour Shift Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Operator/PD07002A Physical Requirements: Must lift and carry heavy equipment needed in the maintenance and repair work of plant equipment.
• Works in cramped positions at times and must be continuously alert to the many hazardous conditions that prevail in the A/C and Boiler Plants to prevent unscheduled downtime and failures.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Designated and/or random drug testing may be 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 (***).
• 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.

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) PCS Orders Performance Appraisal Professional Certification Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-15 SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action Transcript Documents Required: Resume RESUME REMINDER- Your resume must include the following information for each job listed: Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible) Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008) Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week) Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume.
• Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
• Recommended: Even though we do not require a specific resume format, your resume must be clear so that we are able to fully evaluate your qualifications.
• To ensure you receive appropriate consideration, please list the duties you performed under each individual job title.
• If we are unable to match your experiences with the positions held, you may lose consideration for this vacancy.
• We cannot make assumptions regarding your qualifications.
• 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.

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

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.