Safety Engineer (Special Programs)
Veterans Health Administration - Department of Veterans Affairs
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/14/2025. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11 grade. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Basic Requirement: Degree: Professional Engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics;(e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR Combination of education and experience — college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure — Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED) Written Test — Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED) Specified academic courses — Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum. (DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED) Related curriculum — Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.(DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED) In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, the applicant must also possess: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the federal service; experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA’s) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Managing data organization and input coordination from various PVAHCS services; Directing regular surveillance rounds at established intervals as required by accreditation; Identify and complete investigations into abatement of hazardous practices, conditions, exposures and accidents; Develop controls to evaluate and identify potential construction hazards; Apply safety engineering processes to root cause problem solving to address facility weaknesses and vulnerabilities; Lead the analysis of materials, structures, safety codes, legal requirements and operations; Apply knowledge of ergonomic, psychological and physiological factors to design safety features and controls; Create and direct training programs; Utilize experienced communication skills to impart program material in formal training sessions. There is no educational substitution for the GS-12 level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Data Management Personnel Security and Safety Problem Solving Safety Engineering Teaching Others Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary. On occasion, work will require walking and carrying of light items such as books, paper, and automation equipment, not to exceed 25 pounds. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management’s website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
The primary purpose of the position is to provide expert professional safety and healthcare engineering consultation and evaluation to facility leadership, and supervision of employees within the Special Programs section of Engineering (Facility) Service to primarily include Environment of Care.