IT Specialist

Summary

Join VA's Infrastructure Operations (IO) to deliver and maintain secure, high-availability IT and cloud solutions. Help protect and modernize mission-critical systems and support quality services for Veterans. Work in a dynamic, innovative environment as an Engineering Technician located in Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology (VA). Apply Now!

Duties

Install, configure, update, maintain, customize, and support enterprise operating systems, hardware, system software, and vendor software in production environments. Formulate, maintain, and enforce system maintenance schedules and operational procedures required to sustain reliable production computing services. Manage system and server resources, including performance, capacity, availability, serviceability, and recoverability, and initiate corrective actions when requirements are not met. Troubleshoot, diagnose, and independently resolve complex operating-system, hardware, system-software, vendor-software, and production-application malfunctions. Plan, test, document, coordinate, and implement operating-system and vendor-software changes, patches, fixes, upgrades, and production installations using established change-management controls. Communicate complex technical information clearly and concisely to management, administrators, programmers, analysts, vendors, contractors, and users during planning, implementation, and troubleshooting. This is a Bargaining Unit Position. This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles: NCWF Code: 651 Category. Work in this category includes performing OPM GDS Cybersecurity Category / Specialty Area: Research and Development Specialist [SP-TRD-001] tasks, as defined by the NIST SP 800-181 National Cyber skills Workforce Framework (NCWF). Develops and maintains business, systems, and information processes to support enterprise mission needs; develops information technology (IT) rules and requirements that describe baseline and target architectures. For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available at Supervisors discretion. Telework: ADHOC, as determined by Agency Policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist/PD20171A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation May serve a probationary period. Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. A complete application package; Resume, SF-50s, etc. Only resumes up to TWO total pages will be accepted. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for position requirements listed in the job announcement. File size must not exceed 5MB. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In 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 probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/09/2026. You must meet the Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirement), Specialized Experience, and the Selective Placement Factor to qualify for this series as described below. Basic Requirements (Individual Occupational Requirement): Applicants must have IT-related experience demonstrating each of the four competencies listed below at a proficiency level equivalent to the next lower grade level in federal service: Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. -AND- Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade, GS-12, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized Experience is defined as experience serving as a senior systems administrator, infrastructure administrator, technical lead, or subject matter expert responsible for the administration, sustainment, security, performance, and modernization of enterprise Linux operating systems and associated infrastructure in on-premises, hybrid-cloud, or multi-cloud environments. Qualifying experience must include independently installing, configuring, patching, upgrading, securing, troubleshooting, and optimizing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or equivalent Linux systems; administering Linux workloads and their associated compute, storage, networking, identity, monitoring, backup, and recovery services within AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, or comparable enterprise cloud platforms; managing system performance, capacity, availability, serviceability, and recoverability; planning, testing, implementing, documenting, and validating operating system, software, configuration, and production changes; developing or using automation and configuration-management technologies such as Ansible, Red Hat Satellite, shell scripting, Git-based repositories, or cloud-native automation services; implementing cybersecurity hardening, privileged-access controls, vulnerability remediation, security patching, and configuration compliance; diagnosing and resolving complex operating system, infrastructure, authentication, storage, networking, application-interface, and performance incidents; supporting disaster recovery, contingency, backup, restoration, and continuity-of-operations activities; developing technical standards, operating procedures, implementation plans, run-books, and system documentation; and providing authoritative technical guidance to administrators, engineers, application teams, cybersecurity personnel, contractors, vendors, customers, and management to evaluate complex requirements, mitigate operational and cybersecurity risk, and ensure the availability, security, reliability, performance, and recoverability of mission-critical enterprise Linux and cloud infrastructure. -AND- Selective Placement Factor: In addition to the minimum qualifications described above, you must meet the following requirement(s) to be considered qualified for the position: Direct, hands-on experience performing production-level Linux administration and engineering duties (not including application support, oversight-only, training, or certifications alone), where you independently managed, troubleshot, and maintained complex Linux environments in a business or operational setting and executed independent judgment, immediate operational contribution, and direct coordination with assigned customers and technical stakeholders. PLEASE NOTE: General IT experience, Linux administration, application support, training, certifications, or oversight-only responsibilities are not sufficient substitutes for direct, production-level Linux administration and engineering experience. Applicants must clearly demonstrate qualifying experience in their resume by describing the duties personally performed, level of responsibility and independence, complexity and scale of the supported environment, and measurable results achieved. Merely listing technologies, certifications, training, or generalized familiarity will not satisfy the requirement. may be required to support planned or emergency maintenance, respond to production outages, participate in disaster-recovery activities, and perform occasional after-hours or on-call work Evidence of the selective placement factor must be reflected in your resume. 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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level. How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Assessment Update Policy: Please be advised that once your application is submitted, the assessment responses cannot be revised or updated. The numerical rating (score) from your initial submission will be final and used for all rating purposes. You may, however, update your eligibility information and submit additional supporting documents (e.g., SF-50s) for this vacancy after your initial submission but BEFORE the closing date of the announcement. Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. 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; religions; 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. 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. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. Other Information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. 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/.