Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist

Overview

Serves as an entry‑level, developmental position for a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) within a Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) department at the Lexington VA Health Care System in Lexington, Kentucky. Works in support of the medical equipment management program. Troubleshoots and performs planned maintenance on medical devices and clinical systems under frequent supervision. Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

• 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:
  
  
  • Associate's degree in Biomedical Electronics Technology, Biomedical Equipment Technology or Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related technical field such as Electronic Technology or Information Technology AND two years of experience as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist, Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer, or Information Technology Specialist
  • OR a Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering Technology or in a related field such as Electronics Engineering Technology (EET) or Information Technology.
  • OR Completed a military training program in biomedical equipment and two years of experience as a Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist or Biomedical Equipment Technician, Field Service Engineer, Medical Equipment Repairer or Information Technology Specialist.
• 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).

In addition to the Basic Requirements, the following qualification criteria must be met for each grade. The candidate's qualifications must clearly demonstrate the level of competence required for the grade.

• GS-5 (Entry Level) – Applicants will need to meet the Basic Requirements listed above.
• GS-7 – Candidate's must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS‑5 grade level. Specialized Experience at this grade level includes
  • (a) Ability to read, interpret, and apply a great variety of technical data such as schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, table charts, mathematical expressions and formulas;
  • (b) Ability to learn equipment maintenance, operating procedures, and repair procedures from training materials and courses;
  • (c) Fundamental knowledge of electronics to include analog, digital and microprocessor theory, pneumatics, hydraulics, optics, electro‑mechanics, physics, basic networking, and chemistry;
  • (d) Knowledge of the use of standard level test equipment to include, but not limited to, multi‑meters, electrical safety analyzers, patient simulator, storage oscilloscopes, manometers, tachometers, etc;
  • (e) Knowledge of anatomy, physiology, medical terminology, medical equipment, and technology;
  • (f) Knowledge of basic networking, computer/server hardware/software and information technologies and computer virus protection software, available software patches and upgrades, and information security tools (i.e. Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems, McAfee, etc.).
• GS-9 – Candidate's must have one year of experience equivalent to the GS‑7 grade level. Specialized Experience at this level includes
  • (a) Knowledge of electronics and electricity including analog and intermediate digital electronics to test, calibrate, maintain, and repair biomedical equipment and moderately complex biomedical instrumentation systems;
  • (b) Skill in the setup and use of standard and advanced level test equipment to perform precise and detailed analysis of the operating and design characteristics of equipment and initiate repairs, reconfiguration, or redesign of moderately complex medical systems;
  • (c) Skill in applying theory, concepts, techniques, design characteristics, operation, and functions to assist and support installation, operation, test, maintenance, repair, design, and modification for a…