Qualifications

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:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• Education
• (1) 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
• OR (2) 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 (3) 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
• Grandfathering Provision
• All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation
• For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard, but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply: (1) 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
• (2) 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
• (3) 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
• 4 (4) 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
• (5) 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
• 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 in paragraph 3.b
• of this appendix
• Physical Requirements
• See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements
• English Language Proficiency
• Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f)
• 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)
• Preferred Experience: Healthcare Experience 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-14.