Supervisory Biomedical Engineer

US-Department-of-Veterans-Affair; Temple (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Supervisory Biomedical Engineer at the Central Texas VA Healthcare System leads the hospital wide Biomedical Engineering Program and oversees Healthcare Technology Management. The position reports to the Chief, Healthcare Technology Management and supervises engineers, technicians, and staff to ensure equipment readiness and patient safety.

Applicants must have an engineering degree (ABET-accredited) or a CCE, with grandfathering provisions for current VA employees.

Qualifications

• United States citizenship as required by VA policy.
• Education requirements include ABET-accredited engineering programs or CCE with a non-listed degree.
• Grandfathering provisions apply to certain current VA employees.

Responsibilities

• Oversee hospital-wide Biomedical Engineering Program and healthcare technology management.
• Lead and supervise biomedical engineering staff and budget resources.
• Develop and implement performance standards, policies, and training needs.
• Ensure compliance with medical device cyber security and reporting.

Skills

Resource management

Policy development

Prioritization & delegation

Data-driven decision making

Interpersonal leadership

Education

Bachelor's or higher in Engineering

Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE)

Job description

The Supervisory Biomedical Engineer is responsible to provide support for the hospital-wide Biomedical Engineering Program serving all Services throughout the campus of the Central Texas VA Healthcare System, and modern, state of the art outpatient clinics. He/she serves as a leader to the hospital in Healthcare Technology Management and is administratively under the Chief, Healthcare Technology Management.

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 and/or Experience: The individual must meet either item (1) or (2) below to meet this requirement:
  • 1. Bachelor's Degree or Higher in Engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must be from a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), as a professional engineering curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering degrees include: Biomedical Engineering, Clinical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biochemical Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time. OR
  • 2. Certification as a Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) and a bachelor's degree not listed above.
• Grandfathering Provision: All persons employed in VHA in this occupation, on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, including positive education, and/or certification/registration that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  • Such employees in an occupation that does not require a certification/registration, may be reassigned, promoted, or demoted within the occupation.
  • 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 initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or certification/registration, that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
  • If an employee, who was retained in an occupation listed in 38 U.S.C. § 7401(3) under this provision, leaves that occupation, the employee loses protected status, and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.
• English Language Proficiency: Biomedical Engineers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with chapter 2, section D, paragraph 5a, this part.

Grade Determinations

Supervisory Biomedical Engineer (Clinical), GS-13 (Above Full Performance)

• Experience: Completion of at least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower level, and must fully meet the KSAs at that level.
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
  • Knowledge of the management of overall department resources, i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, and staffing at the local level.
  • Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare technology management.
  • Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions.
  • Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems to develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the area of responsibility.
  • Skill in interpersonal relationships in leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers, both within and outside the biomedical engineering program, to include conflict management, dispute resolution, mediation, or reasonable accommodations.
• Assignment: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At this level, employees are supervisors and are at the facility level. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for the professional and administrative management of a facility biomedical engineering program. Such individuals have responsibility supervising technical staff, including lower level engineers, biomedical engineering technicians, and other staff. The range of supervisory responsibility includes development of performance standards and performance evaluations; recommendations for appointments, awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions; and identification of continuing training needs etc. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for financial management of budget resources allocated to support quality assurance and maintenance activities necessary to assure the facility's medical equipment is available for patient care activities. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for compliance and reporting of medical device cyber security and isolation for facilities under their management oversight.

Preferred Experience

• Graduate of the Biomedical Engineer TCF program
• 3 years' experience in NAC ordering
• Knowledge of medical servers/networks
• Demonstrated medical equipment project management
• Medical 3D printing experience

References: VA Handbook 5005/104 Part II Appendix G38 Biomedical Engineering Qualification Standard GS-0858 Veterans Health Administration March 25, 2019.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary. Some work may require movement between offices, hospitals, warehouses, and similar areas for meetings and to conduct work. Work may also require walking/standing, in conjunctions with travel to and attendance at meetings and/or conferences away from the work site. Incumbent may carry and lift light items weighing less than 15 pounds.

Functional Requirements

Individuals, including wage-grade drivers, title 5, title 38, and hybrid title 38 employees or volunteers who are required to operate a government owned or leased vehicle to successfully carry out their assigned duties must be medically cleared prior to appointment (positions that require a CDL are covered under a separate OF-178). Assessment must be made for any acute or chronic medical/physical condition or medication use which interferes with the ability operate the appropriate Government-owned or -leased vehicle safely and without undue risk to themselves or others. The following requirements must be met:

• distant vision 20/40 in one eye with or without correction,
• field of vision 70 degrees,
• ability to distinguish red, green and amber,
• whispered voice at five feet, or average hearing loss of not greater than 40 dbs. at 500, 1000 and 2,000 Hz.