Healthcare Engineer

Veterans Health Administration • Cleveland, OH

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Healthcare Engineer serves as a Project Engineer in Engineering Service at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The position plans projects, produces and manages designs, manages construction, and provides construction administration for Minor Construction, Non-Recurring Maintenance (NRM), Station Level, and lease projects at the medical center and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs).

The engineer plans and manages healthcare design and construction activities, assessing project needs across the healthcare system and reviewing engineering disciplines as they apply to healthcare facilities. The role coordinates projects involving medical technologies and spaces such as cardiac catheterization laboratories, operating rooms, pharmacy compounding suites, sterile processing facilities, radiology suites, and computer systems. It also supports regulatory compliance, facility staff training, and security and documentation for engineering databases and building automation systems.

The position is located at the medical center and is not virtual. The work schedule is 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The work is primarily sedentary, but may involve outdoor work in all weather and occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. Some walking, standing, ladder climbing, stooping, kneeling, carrying light items, driving, or motor-vehicle travel may be required.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture from a qualifying accredited program; alternatively, evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering examination with a bachelor's degree, or current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• At least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, directly related to the position, demonstrating the required competencies.
• Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, or other engineering or architectural principles and their application in healthcare environments.
• Knowledge of healthcare engineering project-management principles.
• Ability to apply healthcare engineering standards, codes, policies, and regulations, including state and local codes.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing with internal and external customers tactfully and diplomatically.
• Ability to develop materials for clinical or administrative staff addressing engineering technology principles and applications used in healthcare.
• Ability to advise staff on emerging engineering technology and apply relevant developments to healthcare-facility challenges.
• Knowledge of healthcare industry standards and regulatory requirements, including those of The Joint Commission, OSHA, and NFPA.
• Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices, techniques, materials, and equipment sufficient to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards.
• Skill in researching and analyzing information, conditions, human factors, and projections to make sound engineering and business recommendations and decisions and develop solutions within applicable rules and procedures.
• Ability to plan and execute complex, multifaceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes, contract documents, and budgets.
• Ability to organize and lead multidisciplinary task forces with participants from different departments, divisions, design firms, and construction firms.
• U.S. citizenship is required, except that non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens under VA policy.
• Must meet applicable Selective Service registration requirements for males born after December 31, 1959.
• Must complete background/security investigation and required onboarding and application documentation.
• Must participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program for VA healthcare personnel.
• Must serve a two-year trial period.

Nice To Haves

• Five years of healthcare construction management and mechanical engineering systems design experience.

Responsibilities

• Determine healthcare project requirements based on the needs of the healthcare system, including the parent facility and off-site VA-owned or leased locations.
• Review engineering disciplines as applied to healthcare environments and support construction-document reviews and preparation.
• Evaluate medical care programs and services to ensure projects support organizational needs, service expansion, and efficient operations.
• Manage healthcare design and construction administration, including scheduling, operational layout, inspection, and surveillance of construction materials, methods, and equipment.
• Manage changing priorities and deadlines based on the engineering workload.
• Train facility maintenance staff on new equipment and complex utility systems so they can maintain and operate them appropriately.
• Provide direction and guidance to contractors performing construction within the facility.
• Apply infection-control requirements, including risk assessments and methods for separating active construction from the healthcare environment.
• Assist with medical-center construction projects, space changes, and planning involving medical and medical-related technologies.
• Manage planning, construction design reviews, construction, and equipment installation for clinical and technical areas, including cardiac catheterization laboratories, operating rooms, pharmacy compounding suites, sterile processing facilities, radiology suites, and computer systems.
• Assist in monitoring and reporting on construction and utilities management programs to support compliance with accrediting-organization requirements, including The Joint Commission.
• Share responsibility for managing information-security issues for engineering databases and building automation systems, including documentation of backup, disaster recovery, and security.
• Organize and lead multidisciplinary task forces involving departments, divisions, design firms, and construction firms.
• Plan and execute complex projects and inspections, prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents, and budgets.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including annual leave, sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment.
• Potential childcare subsidy for eligible full-time employees after 60 days of employment, subject to income and other eligibility conditions.
• Traditional federal pension, with five-year vesting.
• Federal 401(k) with VA contributions of up to 5%.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs may be carried into retirement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level