Utility Systems Repairer-Operator -Boiler Plant

Summary

This position is assigned to the Maintenance & Operations Section in Engineering Service. Incumbent is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and operation of the the boiler systems and all associated equipment.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: Maintains and repairs boilers and associated equipment. Maintains and repairs air conditioning plant equipment. Provides emergency repairs to maintain the safe, continuous supply of utility services to the facility. Utilizes and understands the air conditioning refrigeration theory. Determines proper amounts of chemicals to prevent corrosion and scale formations of boilers. Performs water analysis of tower water for chlorine, and ensures that water treatment is maintained in accordance with established recommendations. Interprets equipment manuals for gaining information to effectively assemble or repair equipment. Interprets and creates work orders. Interprets proper practices/instructions suggested by manufacturer's and trade standards. Maintains, monitors, and adjust chillers to insure efficient operation. Maintains and efficient operates the air conditioning plant equipment. Monitors, maintains and makes environmental adjustments to equipment. Uses chemicals to prevent corrosion and scale formations of boilers. Uses reagents for performing water analysis. Uses various material for repairs to all plant systems. Monitors flow meters and charts and adjusts air/fuel ratios. Collects and records boiler feed water, and condensate chemical concentrations of causticity, alkalinity, pH, phosphonates, sulfite, conductivity, and hardness. Checks and adjusts feedwater pumps, pressure reducing valves, gas and oil burners, feedwater temperatures, water softeners, and all other associated equipment to maintain optimum efficiency. Work Schedule: Variating Tours to include nights, weekends, and holidays. Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Repairer-Operator -Boiler Plant/PD12756A Physical Conditions: Subject to sustain physical exertion and must be in good physical condition. When performing maintenance or repairs may be required to lift heavy pieces of equipment or work in cramped or awkward positions for extended periods. Subject to frequent walking, standing, and climbing, while checking or working on equipment. Must have good eyesight in order to detect problems on gauges, sight glasses, and other instrument controls from a reasonable distance. Working Conditions: Exposed to the danger of boiler bursts, carbon dioxide poisoning, natural gas, oil and sulfur fumes, refrigerants, oils, glycol, boiler and chiller chemicals, reagents used in performing water analysis, scalds from steam and hot water systems, electrical shock from high, low and secondary voltage systems. Subject to the hazards of falls from climbing and working from high elevations such as on top of boilers and cooling towers. Exposed to extreme noises associated with Air conditioning and boiler plant equipment.

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 (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. 5 CFR 330.502 - General restriction on movement after competitive appointment. 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 and evaluation

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.

Education

This position does not have a substitution for education.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/21/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13037431. 1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. 2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center. 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. To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Required documents

Documents Accepted: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) 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.

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 https://www.opm.gov/. 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.