Department: Department of Veterans Affairs
Location(s): Hines, Illinois
Salary Range: $68999 - $108533 Per Year
Job Summary: This developmental level position at Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital. Advancement thru the developmental level to the full performance level will be recommended only after it has been determined that the incumbent meets all regulatory and statutory requirements, satisfactorily progressing in the training, successfully performing the currently assigned range of duties as outlined in the target position GS11, and is capable of taking on expanded duties and responsibilities with greater independence.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/11/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Basic Requirements: Must have one of the following: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- interior design or other field that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in interior design, interior architecture, or interior environmental design; or passage of the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. OR Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience that required the performance of work concerned with the design and alteration of interior spaces to meet functional and aesthetic needs such as: Identifying, researching, and creatively solving problems pertaining to the function and quality of the interior environment. Performing services relative to interior spaces, including programming, design analysis, space planning and aesthetics, using specialized knowledge of interior construction, building systems and components, building codes, equipment, materials, and furnishings. Preparing drawings and documents relative to the design of interior spaces in order to enhance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Coordinating and integrating the mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering disciplines within the interior context. Managing projects, developing cost estimates, evaluating bid proposals, reviewing construction documents, participating in on-site construction visits, conducting pre- and post-occupancy evaluations, etc. IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-9 Grade Requirements: Must have one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience that required the performance of work concerned with the design and alteration of interior spaces to meet functional and aesthetic needs such as: - Identifying, researching, and creatively solving problems pertaining to the function and quality of the interior environment. - Performing services relative to interior spaces, including programming, design analysis, space planning and aesthetics, using specialized knowledge of interior construction, building systems and components, building codes, equipment, materials, and furnishings. - Preparing drawings and documents relative to the design of interior spaces in order to enhance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. - Coordinating and integrating the mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering disciplines within the interior context. - Managing projects, developing cost estimates, evaluating bid proposals, reviewing construction documents, participating in on-site construction visits, conducting pre- and post-occupancy evaluations, developing standards for efficient space management, etc. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.B or J.D., if related. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and higher level graduate education as stated above. GS-11 Grade Requirements: Must have one of the following: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience that required the performance of work concerned with the design and alteration of interior spaces to meet functional and aesthetic needs such as: - Identifying, researching, and creatively solving problems pertaining to the function and quality of the interior environment. - Performing services relative to interior spaces, including programming, design analysis, space planning and aesthetics, using specialized knowledge of interior construction, etc. - Preparing drawings and documents relative to the design of interior spaces in order to enhance and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. - Coordinating and integrating the mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering disciplines within the interior context. - Managing projects, developing cost estimates, evaluating bid proposals, reviewing construction documents, participating in on-site construction visits, etc. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M., if related OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and higher level graduate education as stated above. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Computer Skills Interpersonal Effectiveness Organizational Awareness Technical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps) and other organizations. 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. Physical Requirements: Work can vary from seated at a desk in front of a computer to extensive walking throughout the facility/grounds and visitation to construction sites and several off-site facilities. Work may require some lifting (<50 lbs.), light furniture moving/rearranging, carrying heavy and bulky catalogs/artwork/samples etc. and travel/driving as needed to showroom, furniture dealers and satellite facilities. Dexterity is required related to duties performed in drafting, sketching, and writing. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 03/11/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12894920. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. 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. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Application Deadline: 2026-03-11