Supervisory Healthcare Engineer (Recruitment/Relocation Incentive)

Veterans Health Administration • San Antonio, TX

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The Supervisory Facility Planning & Activations Engineer (Section Chief) leads the Facility Planning & Activations team and serves as a principal advisor to the Associate Director for Operations on facility planning, design, activation, and capital planning. The role oversees facility master planning, space and occupancy management, strategic growth planning, construction activations, relocations, furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) implementation, and facility decommissioning. The incumbent coordinates multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders, and external partners on construction, leasing, renovation, and healthcare expansion projects; develops business plans, transition budgets, activation plans, and strategic reports; oversees space allocation, SEPS programming, and CAD/BIM development; and provides executive-level planning support and technical guidance.

The position directs facility planning, engineering, construction, inspection, and activation activities, ensuring compliance with project requirements, specifications, safety standards, and regulations. It supervises technical staff, contract oversight, quality assurance, and construction inspections; monitors progress, resolves deficiencies, enforces safety requirements, and secures final project acceptance. As a technical authority, the incumbent leads compliance reviews and performance assessments, evaluates operational effectiveness, oversees inspection programs, and directs corrective actions, process improvements, and special studies.

The role also maintains relationships with educational institutions, government agencies, accrediting bodies, veteran organizations, and community stakeholders. It represents STVHCS through presentations, committees, public outreach, and executive briefings, and prepares executive reports, strategic communications, and media-related materials. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telework is not available, and the position is not virtual. Recruitment/relocation incentive is authorized; permanent change of station relocation assistance is not authorized.

This is a GS-13 position. Applicants must meet the stated engineering or architecture education, examination, or licensure requirements, and demonstrate the required experience and supervisory knowledge, skills, and abilities. A pre-employment or post-employment physical examination may be required depending on organizational needs.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship, subject to the stated exception under VA policy for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Proficiency in written and spoken English.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture from a qualifying accredited curriculum, or a bachelor's degree plus evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering examination, or current professional registration/licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect.
• For GS-13, at least one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12).
• Knowledge of data analysis techniques for managing workload, quality, performance, and productivity.
• Knowledge of managing department resources, including finances, space, equipment, supplies, schedules, and staffing.
• Knowledge of supervisory duties, including assigning work, evaluating performance, selecting staff, training and development, and recommending awards, advancements, and disciplinary actions.
• Skill in effective communication and managing interpersonal relationships with employees, team leaders, labor representatives, and managers.
• Ability to balance responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and implement effective solutions.
• Ability to draft or recommend local policies or directives related to healthcare engineering management.
• Ability to recognize and assess evolving scenarios and use initiative, self-direction, and assigned resources to resolve them.
• Compliance with applicable pre-employment requirements, including background/security investigation, onboarding, acceptable identification, and seasonal influenza vaccination.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to evaluation and written certification for continued employment.
• A physical examination may be required depending on organizational needs.
• Foreign education used to meet qualification requirements must be accompanied by a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency and transcript.

Nice To Haves

• Experience formulating transition budgets, creating phasing and transition plans, and coordinating ongoing communications with Project Development Section project managers and STVHCS contract officer’s representatives on building activations.
• Experience evaluating workload and demographic data and using VSSC to identify future patient population healthcare needs, relate them to the VHA Strategic Plan, and develop a supporting Facility Master Plan and functional space layouts.
• Ability to interpret CAD/BIM drawings and/or create new CAD/BIM floor plan files.
• Ability to provide technical guidance regarding space management.
• Experience initiating investigations and studies to develop planning and design criteria and find solutions to critical problems in design, construction, or operations.
• Project management experience emphasizing construction projects and building systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as principal advisor on facility planning, design, activation, and capital planning initiatives.
• Lead facility master planning, space management, occupancy planning, and strategic growth planning.
• Manage construction activations, relocations, FF&E implementation, and facility decommissioning.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders, and external partners for new construction, leases, renovations, and healthcare expansion projects.
• Develop business plans, transition budgets, activation plans, and strategic reports.
• Oversee space allocation, SEPS programming, and CAD/BIM development.
• Provide executive-level planning support, presentations, and technical guidance on facility development.
• Direct facility planning, engineering, construction, inspection, and activation activities.
• Ensure compliance with project requirements, plans, specifications, safety standards, and regulations.
• Supervise technical staff, contract oversight, quality assurance, and construction inspections.
• Monitor project progress, resolve deficiencies, enforce safety requirements, and secure final project acceptance.
• Serve as technical authority on facility design, operations, and construction-related issues.
• Lead compliance reviews and performance assessments to ensure adherence to VA, JC, OSHA, OIG, and other regulatory standards.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses to evaluate operational effectiveness and identify improvement opportunities.
• Oversee inspection programs covering safety, maintenance, cleanliness, equipment utilization, and operational compliance.
• Direct corrective actions, process improvements, and special studies to address organizational challenges.
• Maintain relationships with educational institutions, government agencies, accrediting bodies, veteran organizations, and community stakeholders.
• Represent STVHCS through presentations, committee participation, public outreach, and executive briefings.
• Develop executive reports, strategic communications, and media-related materials.
• Provide leadership regular updates on project performance, risks, efficiencies, and improvement opportunities.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
• 37–50 days of annual paid time off per year, including 13–26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, and 11 paid federal holidays.
• Potential credit toward annual leave accrual for prior work or military service, subject to approval.
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave after 12 months of employment in connection with birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Child care subsidy may be available to eligible full-time employees after 60 days of employment, subject to income and other limits.
• Traditional federal pension with five-year vesting and federal 401(k) with up to 5% in VA contributions.
• Federal health, vision, dental, term life, and long-term care insurance; many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement.
• Recruitment/relocation incentive authorized.

What This Job Offers

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