Healthcare Engineer - Project Engineer

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Veterans Affairs, Phoenix VA Healthcare System is seeking a Project Engineer to plan, design, and manage construction for Minor Construction, NRMs, Station Level Projects, and Leases across multiple engineering disciplines in a healthcare setting.

The role requires deep knowledge of regulatory standards and construction practices, with an emphasis on delivering complex projects on time and within budget. Excellent collaboration across multidisciplinary teams is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering/Architecture from an ABET-accredited school or equivalent.
• Evidence of passing FE exam or licensure as PE/Registered Architect.
• Foreign education evaluated for equivalency may be credited for creditable experience.

Responsibilities

• Plan, design, manage construction for Minor Construction Projects, NRMs, Station Level Projects, and Leases across architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural scopes.
• Provide construction administration and project oversight for healthcare engineering projects.
• Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams and external design/CON firms to ensure regulatory compliance and project success.
• Monitor project scope, budgets, and schedules to deliver within approved scopes of work.

Skills

Project management

Leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Architecture

ABET accreditation knowledge

FE exam or licensure evidence

Foreign education equivalency review

Job description

The position serves as a Project Engineer at Phoenix VA Healthcare System (PVAHCS). 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, including all areas and aspects (architectural, electrical, life safety, mechanical, civil, structural, etc.).

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements

• Language: Proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).
• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education: Applicants must meet one of the following
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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 as outlined above.

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.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

GS-12 Experience: Applicants must have at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

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

• Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications in the healthcare environment.
• 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.
• Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices and techniques, materials and equipment to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards.
• 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.
• Ability to plan and execute complex, multi-faceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents and budgets.
• 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/.

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.