Summary

The Supervisory Biomedical Engineer (Clinical) position is in the Clinical Engineering Service at the VA Maine Healthcare System located at the Augusta, ME location. This position is full time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

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The Supervisory Biomedical Engineer (Clinical) position is responsible for the professional and administrative management of the Biomedical Engineering Service. Duties include, but are not limited to:

1. Ability to develop and implement local level policies and/or directives.

2. Skilled in leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers, to include conflict management, dispute resolution, mediation, or reasonable accommodations.

3. Responsible for HR-related duties of their subordinates including, but not limited to, performance standards, disciplinary actions, performance evaluations, and recommendations for advancements and awards.

4. Responsible for the financial management of budget resources to support quality assurance and maintenance activities. Ensuring appropriate contracts/service agreements are in place to assure the facility's medical equipment is available for patient care activities.

5. Responsible for compliance and reporting of medical device cybersecurity incidents and isolation for facilities under their purview.

6. Uses engineering principles to provide professional, biomedical services for the institution and functions as a subject matter expert in the field. Skilled in communicating and working collaboratively with key stakeholders at various levels of the organization.

7. Skilled in balancing multiple, conflicting responsibilities; setting priorities; delegating tasks; meeting multiple deadlines; analyzing organizational problems; and developing and implementing effective solutions.

8. Stays abreast of emerging technology, identifies trends, and effectively advises administrative, technical, and clinical staff at senior levels of the organization.

9. Ability to conduct a medical equipment management program compliant with applicable healthcare standards and regulatory agencies.

10. Ability to manage a recall and safety alert program including medical device hazard investigations and assures compliance with the patient safety goals, the Safe Medical Devices Act (SMDA), and TJC requirements.

Work Schedule: Full-Time Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm

Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized

Telework: Ad-hoc

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement# F7909

Relocation Incentive: May be authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): May be authorized

Financial Disclosure: Required

NOTIFICATIONS:

• This position is in the Excepted Service.
• This position is on a special salary rate.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• May have to travel to area CBOC's.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. No award SF50s will be accepted.
• Narrative responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) may be required from the selectee in order to proceed with the appointment.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• 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.
• May be subject to satisfactory completion of our credentialing process.
• 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• 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 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;
• 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.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. a7 7407(a).

English Language Proficiency. Biomedical Engineers must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with Chapter 2, Section D, paragraph 5A, VA Handbook 5005, as required by 38 U.S.C. 7403(f).

Education and/or Experience: The candidate must meet either item (1) or (2) below to meet this requirement:

(1) Bachelor's Degree or Higher in Engineering: To be creditable, the curriculum must be from a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), as a professional engineering curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering degrees include: Biomedical Engineering, Clinical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biochemical Engineering. Note: Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time.

OR;

(2) Certification as a Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) AND a Bachelor's Degree not listed in item (1) above.

Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) - Certification means having successfully passed a CCE written and oral examination administered by the American College of Clinical Engineering. Individuals with CCE certification demonstrate competency and professional recognition, as measured by an examination designed by their peers. Certification promotes healthcare delivery improvement through the continuing assessment and recognition of the competency of professionals. These professionals support and advance patient care by applying engineering and management skills to healthcare technology. If appointed with a CCE requirement, the employee must maintain certification throughout employment. The American College of Clinical Engineering determines acceptable educational preparation and degree requirements for CCE eligibility.

Driver's License: A current, valid state issued Driver's License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore, please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state issued Driver's License. A clean driving record report from the DMV and a copy of your driver's license will be required during the online onboarding process if you are selected.

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).

GS-13 EXPERIENCE: Must have one (1) year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-12. Experience includes but is not limited to: Work under general supervision, with wide latitude to exercise independent judgment. Drawing upon extended professional and technical experience, employees demonstrate an intimate understanding of complex clinical and biomedical subject matter. They serve as institutional resources, working extensively with clinical stakeholders, supporting clinical services by leading market research, technology assessments, integration planning, and implementation of both current and emerging medical technologies. The employee shares responsibility for managing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), network security issues for medical systems, and the information communicated across these systems. Support the clinical mission by contributing to the continuing education program for clinical staff, helping ensure safe and efficient healthcare delivery. They support the institution by assisting with capital asset and infrastructure planning, to help ensure successful strategic planning. They may collaborate frequently with contracting to execute judicious healthcare technology procurements. Within the Biomedical Engineering Department, the employee provides leadership that ensures high quality and responsive customer service is an integral component of biomedical engineering service delivery. They are highly effective communicators, capable of serving as subject matter experts directly supporting the life cycle management of clinical technology, to include ongoing service, system administration, training, and quality assurance. At this level, employees may assist in clinical research projects in the biomedical engineering field.

Assignment: At this level, employees are supervisors and are at the facility level. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for the professional and administrative management of a facility biomedical engineering program. Such individuals have responsibility supervising technical staff, including lower-level engineers, biomedical engineering technicians, and other staff. The range of supervisory responsibility includes development of performance standards and performance evaluations; recommendations for appointments, awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions; and identification of 10 continuing training needs etc. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for financial management of budget resources allocated to support quality assurance and maintenance activities necessary to assure the facility's medical equipment is available for patient care activities. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for compliance and reporting of medical device cyber security and isolation for facilities under their management oversight.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:

1. Knowledge of the management of overall department resources, i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, and staffing at the local level.

2. Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare technology management.

3. Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions.

4. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems to develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the area of responsibility.

5. Skill in interpersonal relationships in leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers, both within and outside the biomedical engineering program, to include conflict management, dispute resolution, mediation, or reasonable accommodations.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service.

Education

Transcripts: If you are basing your qualifications on education, you must submit your transcripts with your application.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit for 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

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.

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