Department: Department of Veterans Affairs
Location(s): Northport, New York
Salary Range: $34.64 - $40.48 Per Hour
Job Summary: Employee will serve as a Telecommunications Mechanic located within Facility and Engineering Service at the Veterans Healthcare System in Northport, NY, including support for the Community Based Outpatient Clinics.
Major Duties:
Qualifications: SCREEN-OUT: Requires the ability to do the work of a Telecommunications Mechanic without more than normal supervision. Qualifying experience includes installing, upgrading, repairing and removal of communications equipment, communications transport cabling, wireless LAN mounting, fiber optic cable, splicing and termination of fiber option cable, fiber option patch panels, fiber to the desktop, installation of CAT SE/ CAT 6 cabling systems, installation of backboards, cable trays, raceways, J-Hooks, data and voice jacks, telephone punch down blocks and cross connects and television cable installations; reading blueprints and using common tools and equipment of the trade. Data cable installers must possess a thorough knowledge of copper core and fiber optic transmission principles; of different electronic and solid-state voice and data systems and their capabilities, functions of their major circuits, and the associated cables and wiring used to interconnect the systems; of CAT cable, fiber optics, communications transport cabling, RG6U cabling and low voltage wires. (Note: Resumes must clearly detail responses provided to the online questionnaire and the responsibilities of the position as detailed in the duties section of this announcement. We will not make assumptions regarding experience.) PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS: The work requires frequent bending, pulling cables, working in awkward positions, walking and standing for long periods of time, and climbing ladders. In addition, the work requires lifting and carrying items weighing up to 50 lbs. without assistance. Work is performed inside and outside under all types of weather. Inside work areas can range from well lit, heated, and climatically controlled to poorly illuminated work areas such as attics, crawl spaces, and basements. Cable installation and maintenance extends to exterior locations. Workers are exposed to dust, dirt and falls from ladders while installing cable. Workers are exposed to bruises and minor cuts from handling cable and equipment and from using hand tools. Working environments may include trenches, pits, and confined spaces as required such as manholes. Safety goggles, hard hats, and safety boots will be required when work is being completed. 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: Electric Drawings Electrical Equipment Technical Practices Technical Practices (Electrical Electronic) Troubleshooting (Electrical) Use and Maintain Hand Tools (Electrical Work) 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 05/14/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12955040. 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 (631) 261-4400. 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: 2026-05-14