Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems) - RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION INCENTIVE

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Big Spring (TX); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' West Texas VA Health Care System in Big Spring, TX seeks a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) to oversee lifecycle management of networked medical equipment and related systems.

This role supports clinicians, IT staff, and administrators, ensuring safe, compliant operation of biomedical information systems. Responsibilities include applying HL7/DICOM knowledge, performing advanced testing, maintaining servers and medical devices, and

Qualifications

• Must have knowledge of HL7 and DICOM standards.
• Ability to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical interfaces.
• Experience maintaining computer/server based medical equipment and software.
• Ability to manage projects for medical equipment and clinical systems interfaces.
• Apply cybersecurity standards to medical devices and systems (FDA, FISMA, NIST).
• Ability to use information security tools and perform patches/updates.
• Ability to establish medical networks with VLANs and IP addressing.

Responsibilities

• Provide lifecycle management for networks and networked medical equipment.
• Support staff, patients, and administrators on information systems.
• Manage updates, patches, backups, and server maintenance for clinical systems.
• Oversee projects interfacing with EHR and other information systems.
• Ensure physical security, privacy, and compliance across systems.

Skills

HL7 & DICOM

Network troubleshooting

Med equipment maintenance

Clinical systems projects

Cybersecurity standards

Security tooling

VLAN & IP networking

Education

Biomedical technology/engineering degree

Electronics/IT/Engineering degree + 1 year experience

DOD BMET training program

DOD IT/electronic systems training + 1 year

HTM/BMET certificate with internship

CBET/CRES/CLES/CHTM certification

Job description

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) (Biomedical Information Systems) located at the West Texas VA Health Care System (WTVAHCS), Big Spring, Texas, provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of networks, networked medical equipment and associated systems.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/28/2026. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Education, Experience, or Certification. Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR Associates or higher degree in electronics, a field of information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET), Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES), Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES), or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM). Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment 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). Grade Determinations: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems), GS-12 Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

• (a) Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards.
• (b) Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces.
• (c) Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software.
• (d) Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems.
• (e) Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines.
• (f) Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches.
• (g) Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, Internet Protocol addressing, and network security.

Assignment

For all assignments above the FPL, the higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and range of variety, as described in this standard at the specific grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, the BESS, in addition to the duties at the FPL, manage medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software. They manage projects for medical equipment and clinical systems that interface with the electronic health record or other information systems. BESSs (Information Systems) manage virtual and physical hardware components including storage, memory, processing, graphical, and network interfaces. They facilitate operating system updates, upgrades, and virus protection. BESSs (Information Systems) perform maintenance for networked systems. They leverage resources and knowledge to minimize the need for unit and intermediate-level service contracts and manufacturer or vendor expenditures for tasks that can be completed in-house. BESSs (Information Systems) identify and troubleshoot issues related to networked medical equipment and clinical systems. They evaluate compatibility and adaptability of biomedical devices for integration to the electronic health record. BESSs (Information Systems) regularly review, coordinate, and implement available software patches, updates, and system or data backups with other BESSs, manufacturers, informatics, and IT staff. They are responsible for compliance with physical security, privacy