Summary The Plant Operator is assigned to the Main Boiler Plant, Plant Operations Section, Engineering Service at the Northport, NY VAMC. Responsibilities The Plant Operator is required to stand eight-hour watch shifts on any of the tours of duty involved in the twenty-four-hour, seven day per week operation on a rotating basis. In the event of an emergency, the Plant Operator may be recalled to duty, and/or may be required to remain on duty in the absence of the scheduled operator. Regardless of the tour of duty the operator is assigned to, the operator has complete responsibility for the operation of the boiler, auxiliary machinery, instruments, controls, recorders, well water console and all other plant equipment. Duties include but are not limited to: Responsible for the operation of the boiler, auxiliary machinery, instruments, controls, recorders, well water console and all other plant equipment. Receive fuel oil, keep daily logbooks, log sheets and takes readings and sounding for report purposes. Perform preventive maintenance to include periodic checks of machinery, equipment and lubrication of machinery and equipment to reduce wear and preserve parts. Test and maintain proper boiler plant operations, and the ability to detect minor leaks or faulty parts in the system and to make minor repairs. Utilize tools such as wrenches, pliers, hammers, screwdrivers, saws, tube cleaning equipment, ladders, chain hoists and electrical testing motors, in the performance of assigned duties. Mix chemicals for boiler water treatment, regrind and repack valves, and other similar duties involved in the preventative maintenance of boiler plant Perform other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday - Friday 24/7 Rotating 8hour Shifts Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD07597A Physical Requirements: The Boiler Plant Operator's duties may also include the lifting and carrying of tools and heavy equipment up and down ladders, scaffolds, and gratings. The Boiler Plant Operator must also be able to rig scaffolds, carry long ladders to perform maintenance or repair valve fittings, pipes, etc. The Plant Operator may also be required to stand for long periods of time while performing maintenance, inspections, or repairs necessary for proper plant operations. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Designated and/or random drug testing may be required Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for 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). As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. 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: Dexterity and Safety Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Measuring Instruments Operation of Equipment/Machinery Technical Practices 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 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited based on time spent on 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. Education Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly appointed Federal employee credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active-duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used to determine the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
