Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Intensive Care)

Major duties include but are not limited to:

• Performs manufacturer-level maintenance on life-support high-risk surgical or intensive care medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Performs advanced testing and troubleshooting of advanced intensive care / high risk medical devices involving their interfaces and connections to other medical devices or information systems either directly or through the facilitys hardwired and wireless networks. Adheres to Medical Device Isolation Architecture (MDIA) Guidelines in both pre-procurement and during system implementation and system management. Loads operating system (OS) and clinical application software as needed. Executes VA guidelines when responding to network incident response (due to infection loss of services or regional and local policy changes).
• Manages network systems databases and interfaces on life-support high-risk surgical or intensive care medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Coordinates and implements cybersecurity measures and disaster recovery plans.
• Manages the planning acquisition and installation of life-support high-risk surgical or intensive care medical equipment and clinical systems. May be tasked with leading and managing installation or upgrade projects for intensive care or high risk surgical devices and other medical devices and systems. This includes but is not limited to pre-implementation planning and coordination with end users vendors and other onsite support staff (OI&T Informatics SPS etc.)
• Serves as a subject matter expert on assigned committees projects and workgroups.
• Manages the lifecycle of medical equipment and clinical systems. Lifecycle management encompasses the following: technology assessment including defining requirements and analyzing alternatives with clinical users; technology acquisition including technical evaluation and best value determination of proposed equipment and systems; technology implementation including site preparation device/system integration network device security implementation and clinical/technical training; technology sustainment including regular and unscheduled maintenance upgrades and enhancements continuing education; end of useful life tasks including decommissioning data sanitization and technical evaluation for condition prior to disposal; and strategic planning for end of life replacement in conjunction with clinical services.
• Troubleshoots medical equipment and clinical systems using a variety of technical data and completes corrective action.
• Performs incoming inspections and planned maintenance on medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Documents all work in the designated Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
• Responds to and remediates hazard alerts recall notifications and incidents concerning medical equipment and clinical systems. Documents all actions in the appropriate system.
• Monitors system backups ensures network connectivity mitigates cybersecurity vulnerabilities and maintains clinical systems.
• Utilizes test equipment in accordance with manufacturer instructions.
• Manages projects involving medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Provides customer support to staff evaluates issues and needs responds with solutions and keeps customers abreast of status.
• Educates staff on the safe operation and user-level maintenance of medical equipment and clinical systems.
• Serves as a Contracting Officers Representative (COR) Subject Matter Expert for related contracts. As assigned functions as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and keeps appropriate certification levels. Uses knowledge of government contract procedures and documentation requirements to develop statements of work sole source justifications other applicable documentation (6550 Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE) etc.) and to oversee vendor work. Collaborates with Logistics and Contracting to procure parts and services; functions as a purchase card holder as required.
• Develops documentation to purchase commodities and/or vendor services. Manages monitors and evaluates contractor performance and addresses issues or deficiencies.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00am-3:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc only per Supervisors discretion
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 000000
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7 2025 drivers licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• A current valid state-issued Drivers License is required for this position.
• Must pass pre-employment driving physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the Required Documents section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public 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 trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification in writing that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Creditable Experience. To be creditable the experience must have required the use of knowledge skills and abilities associated with current health care industry and required using knowledge skills and abilities (KSAs) directly applicable to the assignment and associated within the scope of the BESS profession. Experience is only creditable if it was acquired in the health care industry and is either directly related to the position to be filled or a related field (for example Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist Biomedical Equipment Technician Field Service Engineer Medical Equipment Repairer or Information Technology (IT) Specialist). Experience satisfying this requirement may be paid or non-paid employment as a BESS.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• Education Experience or Certification.
  1. Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field; OR
  2. Associates or higher degree in electronics a field of information technology or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  3. Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program; OR
  4. Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  5. Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship; OR
  6. Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience; OR
  7. Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES) Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES) or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM). Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grandfathering Provision. Employees in VHA in this occupation under a permanent appropriate and legal placement on the effective date of the qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the grade and assignment held including positive education and certification. For employees who do not meet all the basic or assignment-specific requirements in this standard but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed the following provisions apply:

1. Employees may be reassigned promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or be changed to a lower grade within the occupation but they may not be promoted beyond the journey level or be newly placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
2. Employees who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
3. Employees retained in this occupation under this provision who subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of re- entry to the occupation.

• NOTE: This provision is not intended to regularize appointments/placements.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
• English Language Proficiency. Candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Intensive Care) GS-12.

Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities. In addition to the experience above the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of HL7 and DICOM standards.
2. Skill in applying standards including National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the Joint Commission (TJC) and the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) for safe operation of medical equipment and clinical systems.
3. Skill in operating test equipment for specialized high-risk surgical or intensive care medical equipment such as ventilator testers mechanical lungs and anesthetic gas monitors.
4. Skill in maintaining specialized high-risk intensive care or surgical equipment such as ventilators heart-lung bypass anesthesia and intra-aortic balloon pumps.
5. Skill in performing advanced testing to troubleshoot specialized networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces.
6. Ability to resolve complex failures on specialized medical equipment and clinical systems.

Assignment. For all assignments above the FPL the higher-level duties must be of significant scope administrative independence complexity and range of variety as described in this standard at the specific grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level the BESS in addition to the duties at the FPL leverage advanced knowledge in performing manufacturer-level maintenance on specialized high-risk surgical or intensive care medical equipment and clinical systems. This includes systems such as anesthesia intensive care ventilator equipment intra-aortic balloon pumps heart-lung bypass systems and other advanced operating room or intensive care unit equipment. They manage specialized network systems databases and interfaces such as Clinical Information Systems (CIS) Anesthesia Record Keeping (ARK) or other networked medical systems. BESSs (Intensive Care) use specialized diagnostic software quality assurance tools and test equipment. They assist in designing and implementing security measures and a disaster recovery plan to prevent loss of patient data from medical equipment and clinical systems. BESSs (Intensive Care) serve as a facility VISN or national subject matter expert (SME). They manage projects for specialized high-risk surgical and intensive care medical equipment and clinical systems.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard please visit Equipment Support Specialist Qualification Standard

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS12. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS12.

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.