Department of Veterans Affairs

Pest Controller

Amarillo, Texas Full time

Pest Controller

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Amarillo, Texas

Salary Range: $28.67 - $33.45 Per Hour

Job Summary: The employee will serve as the Pest Controller at the Amarillo VA Health Care System in Amarillo, TX. The employee is responsible for implementing and carrying out a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management Program.

Major Duties:

  • Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Conduct environment of care rounds to check for signs of pests or things which may attract pests. Identify pests, locate the source and determine appropriate control method (either physical or chemical) and sanitation needs to achieve the most effective results. Remove and clean areas where dead pests, rodents and animal fowl have been identified, such as attics, basements, light diffusers, etc. Mix and apply pesticides using specific product label instructions. Perform arithmetic calculations to determine rate, use and quantity of pesticides. Adjust various manuals and power operated spraying, fogging, dusting and fumigating equipment. Select and set various types of baits and traps. Use common hand and power tools such as hammers, electric drills, screw drivers and wrenches when surveying structures for infestations. Selects and maintain pesticide par levels and equipment used in operations such as hand sprayers, fogging devices, power sprayers, dusters and traps. Determine and dispense agents to control a wide variety of insects, vertebrate pests, plant pests and weeds. Comply with health, safety and environmental rules and procedures and perform work in a manner that enhances the safety of the work environment. Perform other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 3:30 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following requirements. Specialized Experience: Identifying pests, locating the source and determining the appropriate control method; removing and cleaning areas where dead pests, rodents and animal fowl have been identified; mixing substances and applying pesticides; setting various types of baits and traps; using common hand and power tools; dispensing agents to control a wide variety of insects, vertebrate pests, plant pests and weeds; and complying with health, safety and environmental rules and procedures. And Occupational Licensure requirement: You must have or be able to obtain licensure in the state of Texas within 11 months of your start date. PHYSICAL EFFORT: The employee may lift and handle materials weighing over 50 pounds and carry chemical solutions weighing up to 50 pounds for extended periods. The employee may work in cramped and uncomfortable positions. Frequent stooping, bending, kneeling, climbing and working in uncomfortable conditions will be encountered. The employee will move furniture, equipment, etc., as part of the treatment process. The employee will have to crawl into areas that are not normally accessed by staff or human beings in order to inspect and treat areas properly. The employee may use ladders or lifts and will frequently work from heights exceeding 20+ feet, e.g. removing pests such as bees from trees or buildings, pests in the roofing, etc. WORK CONDITIONS: The employee may complete assignments indoors or outdoors. The employee may encounter heat, cold, dust, mud, unpleasant odors, etc. The employee may be exposed to areas with minimal ventilation and/or limited access. The employee is required to wear necessary safety equipment (i.e., respirators, gloves and other personal protective devices) while completing and preparing all applications. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Dexterity and Safety Interpret Instructions, Specifications (includes blueprint reading) Materials Measuring Instruments Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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.

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 05/06/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12948532. 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/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (806) 355-9703. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-06