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Healthcare Engineer

Veterans Health Administration | Ladson, SC

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Posted Date 4/17/2025
Description This position serves as the Healthcare (Automation) Engineer for the National Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) Office. The Automation Engineer serves as an expert advisor to management for all engineering issues as they relate to pharmaceutical production systems and integration/automation. This position manages the CMOP's Healthcare Engineering (Automation) program and it's significant segment of the broad scoped national program.
Total-Rewards-of-an-Allied-Health-VA-Career-Brochure.pdf

Healthcare Engineer: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-General-Engineer-Career-Flyer.pdf

This major duties include, but are not limited to the following below:

  • Plans, staffs, budgets, develops and effectively manages automated programs, such as automated prescription fulfillment systems, fiscal planning, project development, equipment replacement, modernization, installation work, activation, performance monitoring, maintenance, etc.
  • Initiates, molds, and set policy, procedures, standards and goals for CMOP Engineering Programs.
  • Assists in development and application of an internal program of management review, appraisal and improvement.
  • Establishes priorities which recognize and incorporate budget and manpower constraints.
  • Provides for formal and on-the-job training and instruction for staff.
  • Coordinates engineering activities with other administrative and clinical services throughout CMOP.
  • Performs analysis, troubleshooting, and problem-solving for automated fulfillment systems.
  • Provides consistent and accurate information per established policies and procedures to meet organizational and customer needs.
  • Overseas design of projects characterized by changing physical environments or other similar variables and unknowns affecting planning and design criteria and critical problems with respect to cost and other economic considerations.
  • Works directly with contractors and information technology representatives to both validate contractor and system performance and drives sound engineering solutions when failures/problems arise.
  • Serves as a consultant and advisor to all organizational facilities/activities, specifically when implementing new technologies, system components, or new methods of fulfillment.
  • Serves as an organizational expert in the administration of projects and oversight for producing materials, components, or other products through production system.
  • Writes formal reports of findings, solutions, and/or recommendations.
  • Documents solutions for use in future implementations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of new automation initiatives.

Work Schedule: 8:00am-4:30pm Monday through Friday
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Ad hoc Available, as approved by policy.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 31339-0
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not AuthorizedBasic Requirements:
  • United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
  • Education: Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Accreditation Commission (excludes engineering technology) or National Council of Architectural Registration Boards curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering and architectural degrees include, but are not limited to: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture and Architectural Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time; OR Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam with a bachelor's degree. Evidence can be in the form of an Engineering in Training certificate issued from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico, or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) identifying a passing score; OR Evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
  • English Language Proficiency: Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38U.S.C. § 7403 (f).
May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grandfathering Provision. All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard, but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply:
  1. Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
  2. Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
  3. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard
  4. Employees who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
  5. Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

Grade Determinations: : In addition to the basic requirements described above, all applicants must meet the grade requirements below.

Healthcare Engineer, GS-14:
  • Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-13); and
  • Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs:
(a) Knowledge of current and evolving concepts and principles of general engineering to resolve novel or obscure problems; extend and modify techniques; develop new approaches that guide other engineers who solve a variety of technical problems; and/or apply new, innovative or experimental advanced engineering theories, developments or practices to problems or studies not susceptible to treatment by acceptable methods.
(b) Skill in construction, capital planning and multiple healthcare system portfolio management, inclusive of budget development and tracking.
(c) Skill in collaborating with persons having diverse viewpoints, goals or objectives to achieve a common understanding of the problem and a satisfactory solution of sometimes controversial and far-reaching matters through active participation in conferences, meetings or presentations.
(d) Ability to interpret broad guidelines and exercise considerable judgment and ingenuity in interpreting and adapting existing guides; in developing new and improved hypotheses, concepts or approaches not previously tested or reported; and/or in developing new policies that advance the organization.
(e) Ability to coordinate and interact with regional facilities, national and Department-level staff for the implementation and coordination of policies and program plans to apply prioritization methodologies that align facilities' capital asset requests and develop infrastructure options that result in the efficacious use of a regional healthcare organization capital strategic plan.
(f) Ability to adapt and apply trends in healthcare delivery systems that impact long-term capital assets (such as aging equipment and physical plants) for regionally integrated healthcare systems.
(g) Ability to consult and collaborate with all organizational levels in a national healthcare organization, outside organizations and businesses regarding both strategic and financial activities of a regional healthcare organization.

Preferred Experience:

1) Experience relating to the management of automated prescription fulfillment systems and pharmaceutical production performance throughout their lifecycle to include formulation (planning and selection), execution (acquisition and implementation), steady state (maintenance), and disposal (evaluation).
2) Experience with performing analysis, troubleshooting, and problem-solving for automated pharmacy fulfillment systems as well as developing policies and procedures.
3) Experience with leveraging mechanical, technological, and software relationships for automation-related equipment procurement, installation, and maintenance.
4) Experience with managing installation of new and existing automated systems and equipment, taking a lead role in working through and solving complex/difficult automation and integration problems.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/ or VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G72, Dated March 18, 2022.

Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle.

Work Environment. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The engineer must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in industrial/warehouse space, storage areas, hazardous waste sites, building mechanical/interstitial/crawl spaces, construction sites, engineering plants, and structures.IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Salary124,531.00 - 225,700.00 Annual
Opportunity Type
Job

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