Utility Systems Operator

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Reno (NV); On-site; USD 52,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Reno, NV is seeking a Utility Systems Operator to operate and maintain heating, cooling, and ventilation in the VA Medical Center.

You will start/stop equipment, monitor meters, and supervise safety controls to ensure safe, economical operation. Responsibilities include operating two 500 hp and one 350 hp boilers, maintaining pumps, valves, and piping, and coordinating with the Johnson METASYS system for HV​AC.

Qualifications

• Evidence of training or experience sufficient to perform the duties as described.
• Reviewed against the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards.

Responsibilities

• Operate and repair two 500 hp and one 350 hp Nebraska D-type water tube boilers.
• Maintain feed water pumps, fuel oil pumps, transfer pumps, condensate make-up pumps, valves, and regulating stations.
• Operate central air conditioning plant (1350 tons) and Johnson METASYS HVAC system.
• Monitor fire alarm, emergency generators, and plant logs; manage emergency preparedness and response.
• Inspect main water and natural gas supplies for leaks; perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Equipment operation

Boiler maintenance

HVAC systems

Safety compliance

Troubleshooting

Job description

Summary

This primary purpose of the position is to operate and maintain the machinery that provide heating - cooling - and ventilation in the VA Medical Center. Starts and stops equipment and monitors meters and safety controls. Ensures that the systems operate safely and economically by regularly inspecting meters - gauges - values - and instruments.

Summary

This primary purpose of the position is to operate and maintain the machinery that provide heating - cooling - and ventilation in the VA Medical Center. Starts and stops equipment and monitors meters and safety controls. Ensures that the systems operate safely and economically by regularly inspecting meters - gauges - values - and instruments.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required - but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge - skills - and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards. SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element - which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Equipment Assembly - Installation - Repair Interpret Instructions - Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Measuring Instruments Operation of Equipment/Machinery Technical Practices Without more than normal supervision Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience - including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g. - Peace Corps - AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g. - professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies - knowledge - and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience - including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Beginning September 27 - 2025 - Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages - and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge - skills - abilities - and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility - minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF - JPG - JPEG - PNG - RTF - TXT - PDF - ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato - if available. Other widely available options are Calibri - Helvetica - Arial - Verdana - Open San Source Sans Pro - Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

• ***This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT until September 30 - 2026
• Qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available.*** Major duties include - but are not limited to: Operation and repair of two 500 h.p
• and one 350 h.p
• Nebraska "D" type water tube multi-fuel gas/oil-fired high-pressure boilers which are capable of producing 46 -750 lbs./hr
• steam each at 125 P.S.I
• Operation and repair of all equipment relevant to the operation of these boilers
• This includes feed water pumps - fuel oil feed pumps - fuel oil transfer pumps - feedwater pumps - condensate make up/feed transfer pumps - values - regulating valves - reducing stations - unit heaters - emergencies repair of air compressor systems - all piping - condensate return tank - blow down tank - D.A
• tank - and pollution control equipment
• Maintaining the water softeners and regenerating as necessary
• Operation and repair to the central air conditioning plant - equipment consisting of 1350 tons of electrically generated air conditioning capacity
• Operation of the Johnson METASYS Computer System which controls heat - ventilation - air conditioning (H.V.A.C.) throughout various locations of this station
• Operation and monitoring of the fire alarm panel - phone - police radio - elevator alarms - medical gas alarms - emergency generators - all plant logs - and responsible for calculation of the VA Medical Center emergency needs during the shift and running procedures for emergency call back and emergency preparedness plans
• Inspect main water and natural gas supplies to ensure there is no damage or signs of leakage
• other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Rotating shifts Position Description Title/PD#: Utility Systems Operator/PD03236A Physical Requirements: There can be a great deal of physical effort involved with this position as the equipment is large and must be maneuvered into and out of specific locations while dismantling and reassembling
• The incumbent frequently carries and sets up parts and equipment that could weight up to 100 pounds
• Incumbent makes repairs and installations from ladders - scaffolding and platforms where the parts of systems worked on are frequently in hard-to-reach places - therefore - stooping - bending - and kneeling maybe required for long periods of time
• He/she needs to be familiar with lifting dynamics and heavy object handling and must pass an annual physical for plant operators.