Senior Pharmacy Systems Engineer (VA ESOM)

Kentro • Charleston, SC

33d • Onsite

About The Position

Kentro is hiring for an Senior Pharmacy Systems Engineer to support the VA ESOM contract. This role provides dedicated, on-site OIT support for the information systems, automation interfaces, and infrastructure that sustain daily prescription fulfillment at the Charleston CMOP. The specialist will serve as the single accountable presence embedded in a high-volume, time-sensitive dispensing operation, combining standard IT specialist competencies with working knowledge of VA pharmacy technology. The role involves diagnosing and resolving issues locally where possible, escalating accurately where necessary, and translating between pharmacy operations and VA OIT to ensure clear understanding of changes, outages, and requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Mathematics, or Business Administration.
• 8+ years of working knowledge of pharmacy information systems and pharmacy operations sufficient to understand prescription workflow, dispensing processes, and the operational consequence of a system failure.
• Knowledge of automated dispensing, barcode verification, and material-handling technology and the interfaces connecting such equipment to host applications.
• Knowledge of Windows endpoint and server administration, Active Directory, networking fundamentals, printing services, and enterprise support tooling.
• Familiarity with ITIL-aligned incident, problem, change, and configuration management practices.
• Knowledge of federal information security requirements applicable to systems processing protected health information.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly with both technical peers and non-technical operational leadership, including during high-pressure outage conditions.
• Ability to work independently as the sole on-site technical resource, exercising sound judgment on when to resolve locally and when to escalate.
• Progressively responsible experience in IT systems administration, applications support, or technical customer support, including demonstrated experience supporting a production operation where system downtime has immediate business impact.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting across layers — application, interface, network, and hardware — and correctly isolating fault domains.
• Experience working directly with end users in an operational or clinical setting, including translating non-technical problem reports into technical diagnoses.
• Ability to obtain and maintain the background investigation and suitability determination required for the position.
• US Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card)
• Willing and able to obtain and maintain Public Trust Clearance

Nice To Haves

• Prior direct VA EHRM Outpatient Pharmacy or CMOP experience is strongly preferred; equivalent experience with commercial pharmacy dispensing or automation systems will be considered.
• Prior VA or VHA experience, particularly with VA EHRM or CPRS operations.
• Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) credential, or comparable pharmacy operations background.
• Certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+, Security+, ITIL Foundation, or Microsoft endpoint/server credentials.
• Experience with technical documentation and knowledge base development.

Responsibilities

• Provide first- and second-tier support for VA EHRM Outpatient Pharmacy and CMOP package functions as they affect Charleston operations, including prescription transmission queues, suspense processing, and release/return files.
• Monitor and troubleshoot data exchange between VA medical center systems, the national CMOP hub, and site-level systems; identify transmission failures, rejected records, and data integrity issues and drive them to resolution.
• Diagnose failures at the boundary between VA applications and dispensing automation, determining whether an issue originates in the application, the interface, the network, or the equipment.
• Support pharmacy-adjacent applications and reporting tools used by CMOP leadership for workload, throughput, and quality monitoring.
• Support the IT-dependent components of the dispensing line: barcode scanning and verification devices, label and manifest printers, workstations and thin clients on the floor, conveyor and material-handling control interfaces, and associated network connectivity.
• Serve as the local technical point of contact for automation vendors; coordinate diagnosis and remediation when a fault crosses the boundary between VA-owned and vendor-owned components, and validate vendor-recommended changes against VA configuration and security requirements.
• Maintain accurate asset inventory and configuration records for all in-scope equipment.
• Participate in equipment refresh, expansion, and line-reconfiguration projects, providing IT requirements and implementation support.
• Provide endpoint, peripheral, network, and telecommunications support for the facility, coordinating with enterprise infrastructure and network operations teams as required.
• Administer user accounts, group memberships, PIV/authentication issues, and application access consistent with VA identity and access management policy and least-privilege principles.
• Support backup, recovery, and continuity arrangements for site-critical systems, and participate in continuity of operations testing.
• Own the intake, triage, categorization, and resolution of CMOP-related tickets, ensuring accurate classification so that reporting reflects true system impact.
• Conduct root cause analysis for recurring incidents and drive permanent corrective action rather than repeated workarounds.
• Review the OIT change calendar against the dispensing and mail-out schedule; assess and communicate operational impact, negotiate implementation windows, and coordinate on-site validation after changes.
• Serve as the local escalation coordinator during outages, providing accurate technical status to CMOP leadership and accurate operational context to VA OIT.
• Maintain patch, configuration, and STIG compliance for in-scope assets within established VA timelines, scheduling remediation to avoid disruption to dispensing operations.
• Support security scanning, POA&M remediation, audit response, and inventory reconciliation activities.
• Ensure handling of protected health information within CMOP systems complies with HIPAA, VA Directive 6500, and applicable privacy and records management policy.
• Report suspected security incidents in accordance with VA-CSOC procedures.
• Develop and maintain runbooks, configuration baselines, escalation paths, and troubleshooting guides specific to the Charleston CMOP environment, converting undocumented tribal knowledge into retained institutional records.
• Translate operational problems reported by pharmacy staff into accurate technical requirements, enhancement requests, and escalations.
• Provide informal training and floor-level guidance to pharmacy staff on correct system use and first-response steps.
• Contribute to defined performance measures (mean time to restore, local resolution rate, unplanned downtime, change-induced incidents) and identify improvement opportunities.

Benefits

• Competitive benefits package including paid time off, healthcare benefits, supplemental benefits, 401k including an employer match, discount perks, rewards, and more.
• Education reimbursement for certifications, degrees, or professional development.
• Flexibility for professional growth and networking opportunities.
• Funds for activities – virtual and in-person – e.g., happy hours, holiday events, fitness & wellness events, and annual celebrations.
• Participation in charity galas/events.

What This Job Offers

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