Utility Systems Repairer-Operator

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Minneapolis, Minnesota

Salary Range: $31.9 - $37.24 Per Hour

Job Summary: Employee serves as a Utility Systems Repairer-Operator within the Maintenance Division of Facilities Engineering Service located at the Veterans Healthcare System in Minneapolis, MN

Major Duties:

Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following: Routinely collects water samples, testing to ensure proper chemical balance and adds chemicals as necessary to the cooling towers, hydronic heating systems, chilled water loops and boilers. Troubleshoots the chemical injection systems in the even of detecting improper dosages of chemicals, per given quantity of medium to be treated. Keeps comprehensive logs to track types and amounts of chemical expended, test results, observations and other pertinent information. Performs Journeyman level boiler maintenance repairs. Inspects, troubleshoots and repairs electric motors, chilled water pumps and shutoff or isolation valves. Repairs leaks to piping by re-torquing fittings or bolting on new components. Monitors Building Automation System control points to check operation of and troubleshoot defective fans, motors, air handlers, compressors, pumps, etc. Repairs or replaces belts, motors, damper actuators, or control valves. Cleans equipment, replaces air filters and cleans air handler chilled water strainers. Adjusts, repairs, replaces, and cleans thermostats and sensors of HVAC and refrigeration systems. Conducts active monitoring of the early start-up and shutdown of automatic guided vehicles (GAV) and performs system reports to ensure food and sterile processing supply deliveries are on time. Checks fire alarm panel during alarm events. Troubleshoots and repairs system faults, automatic doors, tube system faults, trash systems, etc. Performs repairs to windows and doors and associate closer hardware; repairs roofs, expansion joints, or tuck pointing to minimum water intrusion. Repairs leaks in pressurized potable water piping and sanitary drain piping by re-torquing loose fittings or replacing components. Replaces packing on leading shutoff and isolation valves; unplugs toilets, sinks, drinking fountains, bedpan hoppers, etc. Checks operation of pumps; water, medical gases, building air, vacuum and sanitary sewage systems and perform repairs. Performs electrical safety inspections on patient beds and miscellaneous appliances; changes and replaces lamps and light ballasts; resets circuit breakers and replaces fuses. Monitors operation of emergency generations during power outages. Provides backup service for Fire Department on emergency calls. Provides mechanical and electrical assistance; provides crucial building and system information for rapid and safe response from outside agencies during emergencies. WORK SCHEDULE: Full-Time, Rotating Shifts to include days, nights, weekends and holidays to provide 24-hours continuous shift coverage. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Qualifications: PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS: Prolonged physical effort is not routine. Occasionally lifts objects over 50 pounds and lifting equipment is provided for heavier objects. Some standing, stooping, bending, crawling, and working on ladders (occasionally operating equipment) is required. Most work is performed indoors with adequate light and ventilation. Occasionally work is performed in areas of confined space. While working in the central boiler and chiller plant, exposure to temperatures in excess of 100ºF is common. Workers are also exposed to extreme temperature changes while working on outdoor cooling towers, roof exhausts and ventilating fans. Employee is subject to rotating machinery, grease, dirt, chemicals, oils and fumes. Noise level is often high, and hearing protection is often required to prevent hearing loss. Other protective gears such as goggles, gloves and rubber aprons are required when working with chemicals or performing various other tasks. Employee works a regular, rotating shift, to include nights, weekends and holidays to provide 24-hours continuous shift coverage. 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. SCREEN-OUT: Requires the ability to perform the work of a Utility Systems Repairer-Operator without more than normal supervision. Related experience includes working in a Commercial/Industrial environment applying the technical and mechanical techniques and procedures to repair, replace, troubleshoot and diagnose, and inspect major building utility categories of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, pipefitting, electrical, chemical water treatment, boilers and chillers, and automatic transport systems; reading, interpreting and using blueprints and schematics to the various trades above; maintaining and using a wide variety of hand tools, power tools, and test equipment common to the above trades; and maintaining maintenance logs. (Resume(s) must clearly support experience, including type of environment, as described above to be creditable). (NOTE: Experience in a residential setting (i.e., personal home, apartments, etc.) is not typically qualifying for this position. Experience in a hospital/healthcare setting is preferred) You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair 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 11/14/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12830776. 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 (612) 725-2000. 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: 2025-11-14