Healthcare Engineer

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a Healthcare Engineer - Project Engineer to plan, design, and manage Minor Construction and NRM projects across medical facilities.

The role emphasizes maintaining patient care continuity while adhering to healthcare codes and safety standards. The incumbent will evaluate project requirements, collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, and ensure compliance with federal regulations and industry best practices to deliver safe, functional healthcare

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Architecture - required.
• Knowledge of healthcare codes, standards, regs relevant to facility projects.
• Ability to interpret codes and regulations to ensure compliance.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design and manage healthcare construction projects.
• Ensure projects meet regulatory and safety standards (TJC, NFPA, OSHA).
• Coordinate with architectural/engineering teams and facilities operations.
• Minimize patient care disruption during construction through phased approaches.

Skills

Engineering knowledge

Regulatory compliance

Healthcare operations

Project planning

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Architecture

Job description

Summary

Healthcare Engineer - Project Engineer This position performs project planning - produces designs - manages designs - manages construction - and provides construction administration for Minor Construction Projects - Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) Projects - Station Level Projects - and Leases.

Summary

Healthcare Engineer - Project Engineer This position performs project planning - produces designs - manages designs - manages construction - and provides construction administration for Minor Construction Projects - Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM) Projects - Station Level Projects - and Leases.

Qualifications

All requirements must be met by the close date of this announcement - 09/21/2026.

Basic 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
• OR - Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination 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
• Evidence of current professional registration or licensure can be from any State - the District of Columbia - Guam or Puerto Rico
• Foreign Education: To be creditable - engineering - architecture or related education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to a Bachelor's degree
• English Language Proficiency: Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C.
• 7403(f)
• Grade Determinations: GS-7 Healthcare Engineer Experience: None beyond the basic requirements
• GS-9 Healthcare Engineer Experience or Education: Candidates at this level must meet one of the following: (a) One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade - GS-7; OR (b) Master of Engineering degree or Master of Architecture degree or Master of Science degree in Engineering or a related field of study
• OR (c) Bachelor's degree plus two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in a related field of study - provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the core competencies for GS-09 level assignment
• AND Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of the principles - theories - concepts and practices of the engineering profession
• (b) Ability to interpret relevant codes - regulations - guidelines and standards to make recommendations to assure compliance with healthcare facility programs
• (c) Ability to understand the operational professional engineering needs of clinical services in the healthcare system
• (d) Ability to prepare material on current technical topics and trends for presentation to other technical staff and mid-level hospital management and to keep abreast of changes in engineering technology related to a healthcare facility
• GS-11 Healthcare Engineer Experience or Education: Candidates at this level must meet one of the following: (a) One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade - GS-9; OR (b) Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in Engineering or a related field of engineering
• OR (c) Master of Engineering degree - Master of Architecture degree - Master of Science degree in Engineering or a related field of study - plus 1 full year of progressively higher level graduate education in a related field of study - provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge - skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment
• OR (d) Bachelor's degree plus 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education in a related field of study - provided the applicant's total background demonstrates the knowledge - skills and abilities for GS-11 level assignment
• AND Knowledge - Skills and Abilities (KSA): In addition to the experience or education above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of either mechanical - electrical - structural - civil or other engineering/architectural principles - practices and their applications in the healthcare environment
• (b) Knowledge of basic project management principles as applied to the healthcare setting
• (c) Ability to apply healthcare engineering related standards - codes - policies and regulations - inclusive of - state and local codes
• (d) Ability to communicate effective orally and in writing with internal and external customers with tact and diplomacy
• (e) Ability to develop material for clinical or administrative staff that addresses the principles and application of engineering technology and/or theory used in healthcare
• (f) Ability to advise staff on emerging engineering technology related to a healthcare facility - while keeping abreast of changes in such technology and utilizing the information to solve healthcare facility engineering challenges
• GS-12 Healthcare Engineer Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade - GS-11
• 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 mechanical - electrical - structural - civil and other engineering/architectural principles - practices and their applications in the healthcare environment
• (b) Knowledge of healthcare industry standards and related regulatory agency and organization (including - but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC) - Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) - etc.) regulations - requirements - guides - policies - procedures - directives - standards and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering
• (c) Knowledge of construction standards - methods - practices and techniques - materials and equipment to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards
• (d) Skill in researching and analyzing information - conditions - human factors and projections to make sound engineering and business recommendations and decisions to proactively identify problems and develop innovative solutions within the context of applicable rules - regulations and procedures
• (e) Ability to plan and execute complex - multi-faceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work - contract documents and budgets
• (f) Ability to organize and lead multi-disciplinary task forces with members from different departments and divisions - as well as design and construction firms
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-7 to GS-12
• Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position
• Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

Duties

• Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Duties include - but are not limited to: The position determines the requirements for healthcare projects in relation to the needs of the Healthcare System - inclusive of the parent site - as well as off-site locations under the auspice of the Healthcare System - whether VA owned or leased
• Project needs are determined for the organization down to the department level based on a broad array of guidelines - standards - regulatory requirements and mission priorities
• The position evaluates how to accomplish the requirements of the project and determines the associated risks necessary to complete the construction within the healthcare facility and identify ways to mitigate project risk
• A unique task of a Healthcare Engineer during the construction phase of a project is to minimize the impact to patient care operations - and in many cases - to ensure patients are able to continue to be cared for in a safe and secure manner due to the inability for the medical center to stop seeing patients during the construction phase of a project
• The position is responsible for determining what temporary means and methods are necessary to be executed to reduce any risk of danger to patients or staff while a standard of medical care is met for all patients
• A detailed knowledge of healthcare operations is required to include how utilities and services support healthcare operations for each type of care provided
• The position is responsible for evaluating programs and projects to assure compliance with all environmental - safety and security standards
• The position plans and designs a phased approach for the means and methods of construction activities to be executed for complex medical construction projects in order to minimize risk and impact to patients and patient care operations and the daily patient treatment procedures that cannot be impacted without severe patient hazard
• The position provides a broad review of all disciplines of Engineering when applied to a healthcare environment to support construction document reviews and preparation
• Work requires a broad knowledge of all Engineering disciplines - to include Architectural - Civil - Mechanical - Electrical - Structural and Fire Protection
• The position provides in-depth reviews on all design submissions to include healthcare code compliance and references within the documents for regulations and codes applied to healthcare
• The position represents the healthcare system's quality assurance for project designs to be complete and meet all current applicable health care code requirements for all types of utility services - safety - security and operation
• A working knowledge of The Joint Commission (TJC) requirements - NFPA 101 the Life Safety Code and NFPA 99 Healthcare Facilities Code - in addition to VA design requirements is necessary to provide direction to Architectural/Engineering firms on complex healthcare designs to ensure compliance and regulatory requirements are met for the medical facility
• The position has the knowledge and background of how construction work flows and products are to be used
• The position plays an essential role in resolving conflicts in designs and in the construction field to reduce and prevent large cost and time impacts for projects while ensuring the project VA standards and adopted codes
• The position performs evaluations on medical care programs and services to ensure assigned projects are aligned and support the healthcare organization's needs and requirements for expansion of service and/or efficient flow of operation
• Work Schedule: Full-time
• 0700-1530 Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases 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)
• 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: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000