Engineering Technician

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; El Paso (TX); On-site; USD 65,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, El Paso VA Healthcare System, seeks a qualified Engineering Technician to advise on interior design, space planning, and capital improvement projects.

The role involves reviewing professional programs, directing technical work across civil, electrical, mechanical, biomedical, environmental, and safety engineering disciplines, and supporting major construction initiatives.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience in building codes, construction practices, and drafting.
• Ability to prepare plans, specifications, and cost estimates for complex projects.
• Experience interpreting engineering drawings and coordinating with contractors.

Responsibilities

• Assists and provides analysis, designs, modifications, plans, installations, administers, and the construction of a multitude of assignments and projects.
• Assists the general engineers who perform maintenance of facilities, structures, and all electrical systems.
• Prepares plans, specifications, and estimates for complex projects across disciplines (architectural, fire & safety, mechanical, electrical, etc.).
• Works with Chief Engineer and Engineering staff for the efficient implementation of Major Construction projects.
• Prepares project documents for multi-year facility plans and funding requests.

Skills

Building codes & standards

Drafting

AutoCAD

Cost estimating

Education

Graduate engineering education or master's in engineering-related field

Tools

AutoCAD

Job description

Summary

This position is located in the Facility Management Service (FMS) Capital Improvement Section of the El Paso VA Healthcare System. The incumbent serves as a consultant to the Healthcare Engineers - Interior Designers - Space Planners - and Capital Improvement Supervisor. The incumbent provides direction and review of professional and technical programs; professional engineering work in several disciplines - such as civil - electrical - mechanical - biomedical - environmental - and safety engineering.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 11/06/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year - it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade - as required by the announcement. In this instance - you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. 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. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS BASIC REQUIREMENT: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting - surveying construction estimating - physical science - mathematics - aerospace - architecture - chemicals - electrical or mechanical systems - mining - petroleum - or nuclear systems. Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles - techniques - methods - and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental - test - or design responsibilities such as: Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes. Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated. In addition to the individual occupational requirements - you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-8 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: knowledge of building codes and standards; knowledge of construction practices; requirements for asbestos management; drafting; use of personal computers and AutoCad program. MUST BE ABLE TO DO THE FOLLOWING: prepare - read and interpret engineering and structural drawings and specification; knowledge of building materials; prepare detailed cost estimates utilizing cost estimating software and Excel; inspects building materials and workmanship; uses construction engineering equipment (calculators - transits - levels and squares - measuring instruments - etc); communicates with contractors - contracting officers and management officials; monitors complete construction projects; prepares reports; and knowledge of safety procedures and fire protection. OR - Education: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above ONLY in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. I have two full years of graduate education or a master's degree to meet the requirement at the GS-9 grade level in an appropriate field of engineering - construction - or industrial technology (Transcripts Required). OR - Combination: Equivalent combination of experience and education beyond a Bachelor's degree is qualifying. Education must be in an appropriate field of engineering - construction - or industrial technology (Transcripts Required). 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/.

Duties

• Assists and provides analysis - designs - modifications - plans - installations - administers - and the construction of a multitude of assignments and projects
• Specifically - the incumbent assists the general engineers who perform maintenance of facilities - structures - and all electrical systems - which operate within the facility
• Prepares plans - specifications - and estimates for complex projects - which include multidisciplinary architectural - fire and safety - mechanical - plumbing - electrical - telecommunication - analog and digital electronics - and hazardous material abatement design
• Works with Chief Engineer and Engineering Staff for the efficient and effective implementation of the Major Construction projects
• keeps Chief Engineer abreast of plans for continuous and ongoing major projects in concert with contractors and FSS
• Ensures the Facility Support Services (FSS) staff and contractors are aware of the expectations of Engineering management
• Prepares project documents for inclusion in the multi-year facility plan and for submission to the Network - VHACO - and VACO - requesting authorization and funding
• prepares magnitude estimates for projects ranging from minor maintenance to large NRM for advanced budget planning
• Prepares detailed cost estimates and justification of need for new construction - renovation - maintenance/repair and equipment installation projects
• Performs technical calculations/measurements to verify most cost-effective methods for building/space design
• Evaluates survey/measured data obtained - incorporating salient features into design considerations and solutions
• reviews construction contract specifications for compliance with NFPA Life Safety Codes and co-ordinates actions with Regional Safety and Fire Prevention Engineering Staff
• Ensures required Interim Life Safety Measures are established and implemented during all phases of construction
• Administers contracts for compliance - evaluates submissions - and processes payment applications and invoices within required time frames
• Prepares contract drawings and specifications for competitively bid construction and maintenance repair work at this VA Medical Center
• Also prepares drawings for outpatient clinic (OPC) level projects
• Duties include architectural design - mechanical and electrical design - fire sprinkler design - lighting design - plumbing - heating - air conditioning - ventilation design and asbestos abatement design
• Performs assessments in areas of maintenance and repair or remodeling to help determine the presence of asbestos
• Assists consulting architects and engineers with design of competitively bid construction and maintenance and repair work
• Provides existing as built drawings - field measurements - VA construction standards and VA construction specifications
• Reviews preliminary design drawings and specifications for errors and omissions and technical soundness
• Performs field measurements and gathers engineering data necessary for preparing construction drawings and specifications
• Reviews shop drawings and submittals from contractors during construction of new structures or renovation of existing structures for compliance with specifications
• Prepares construction progress reports and payment requests for contract construction projects
• As required - assists in orientation of any temporary technician or draftsman when assigned to the project section
• Prepares detailed cost estimates for competitively bid construction projects and maintenance and repair work
• Serves as Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) on projects and inspects competitively bid construction and maintenance and repair projects to insure compliance with drawings and specifications
• Works with General Contractor to resolve problems that arise due to error or differing site conditions
• Coordinates all projects with using service - from conception to completion
• Reviews change order requests from contractors for accuracy and cost control and negotiates - when necessary
• Maintains record drawings of all Station and Domiciliary structures and grounds utilizing AutoCad programs
• Makes necessary changes to keep drawings current as remodeling occurs
• Record drawings are low priority and accomplished only as time allows
• Performs energy audits of buildings and building service equipment and systems
• Performs calculations on energy consumption and prepares proposals for reducing energy consumption
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm
• (Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs) - The tour of duty may include holidays - weekends - and rotating shifts
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician/PD01283A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized