IT Specialist

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Veteran Affairs' Enterprise Command Operations (ECO), End User Services (EUS), Office of Information and Technology (OIT). Serving as an IT Specialist responsible for the full range of duties within their assigned roles in the Enterprise Command Center to provide event management services for addressing IT operational events in order to maintain the interoperability of production systems and services.

Duties

Major Duties: GS-2210-9 Serves as a team member on ad hoc and/or standing work groups in a virtual environment accountable to the division chief. Creates and maintains documentation on networks, systems, applications and databases to include historical and trending information. Develops and manages customer service performance requirements. Works with customers to test applications to assure software and systems quality and functionality. Participates in networks, systems, applications and databases designs to ensure implementation of appropriate monitoring systems. Assesses security events to determine impact and implements corrective actions. Documents systems administration standard operating procedures. Researches, evaluates and provides feedback on problematic trends and patterns in customer support requirements. Maintains problem tracking and resolution databases. Participates in the planning, execution, operation and maintenance of IT systems and infrastructures to insure systems can be properly monitored. Consults with customers to identify any specify requirements and/or actions required for various events. Monitoring of events to identify Incidents and provide to the appropriate support organization. Participates in the restoration processes (Critical, High-Level Incident) for service outages, bringing information available from monitoring tools. Contributes monitoring timeline/event information for Problem Management, for inclusion in any Post Incident Review (PIR) Monitoring of all scheduled/unscheduled maintenance to determine if system that are monitored have returned to their normal state of operations. ***Additional duties required, within scope of the position descriptions.*** Major Duties: GS-2210-11 Monitors network, system, applications and database performance for changes that could cause a degradation or loss of the IT system or application. This is accomplished by monitoring various system performance factors in the networks, systems, applications and databases workloads. Monitors assigned networks, systems, applications, databases using various reporting programs. Serves as a team lead or team member on ad hoc and/or standing work groups in a virtual environment accountable to the division chief. Creates and maintains documentation on networks, systems, applications and databases to include historical and trending information. Develops and manages customer service performance requirements. Works with customers to test applications to assure software and systems quality and functionality. Participates in networks, systems, applications and databases designs to ensure implementation of appropriate monitoring systems. Consults with customers to identify any specify requirements and/or actions required for various events. Monitoring of events to identify Incidents and provide to the appropriate support organization. Participates in the restoration processes (Critical, High-Level Incident) for service outages, bringing information available from monitoring tools. Contributes monitoring timeline/event information for Problem Management, for inclusion in any Post Incident Review (PIR) Monitoring of all scheduled/unscheduled maintenance to determine if system that are monitored have returned to their normal state of operations. ***Additional duties required, within scope of the position descriptions.*** This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles of Cybersecurity Code: 411. For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist/PD18635A Bargaining Unit: Yes Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required. Travel Required: Up to 25%. Occasional travel may be required as needed for this position. Work Schedule: Tuesday-Saturday; 2:30PM to 11:00PM CST. (Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs). Compressed/Flexible: May be available/authorized, at Manager's discretion as determined by the Agency Policy. Telework: (AdHoc) Authorized at Manager's discretion. Virtual/Remote: This is NOT a virtual NOR a remote position. Physical Demands: This position is sedentary working at a keyboard and monitor. Walking, standing, bending, or occasional lifting of boxes or IT equipment weighing up to 50lbs may be required. Working Conditions: Work is performed in a typical computer operations environment. Rooms are well-lighted, air-conditioned office spaces with moderate noise from common office equipment. Computer equipment on the operations floor involves the use of high voltage electricity.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Selectee is subject to background/suitability investigation. Selected applicant will be required to complete an online onboarding process. This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing. Complete the initial online assessment and USAHire Assessment, if required. To be considered for this position, applicants must complete all required steps in the process. 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. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may 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. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Qualifications and evaluation

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. 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 include your name, contact phone number and contact email address, and 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. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. 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' 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.

Education

EDUCATIONAL SUBSTITUTION: There is no educational substitution for this position at the offered grade level(s).

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online questionnaire and submission of the required documentation specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To preview the application questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13046761. The application process is as follows: To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date, 09/18/2026. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. NOTE: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Assessment Update Policy: Please be advised that once your application is submitted, the assessment responses cannot be revised or updated. The numerical rating (score) from your initial submission will be final and used for all rating purposes. You may, however, update your eligibility information and submit additional supporting documents (e.g., SF-50s) for this vacancy after your initial submission but before the closing date of the announcement.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: Resume Other accepted documents: Cover Letter DD-214/ Statement of Service Disability Letter (VA) Other (1) Other (2) Performance Appraisal Reasonable Accommodation Documentation Resume Separation Notice (RIF) SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action 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). Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted. You will not be contacted for additional information. 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. 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. Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit -AND- https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Additional information

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This is not a remote position. OIT has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. This announcement will NOT be used for changing duty locations. If selected you will be required to report to the following location: VA Austin Information Technology Center 1615 Woodward Street Austin, TX 78741 Receiving Service Credit or 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. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.