Summary
This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT), Infrastructure Operations (IO) serving as a Senior Systems Administrator, IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/OS), responsible for operating systems, related hardware and software, installation, configuration, sustainment, and maintenance in support of VA systems.
Duties
Major Duties: Research, designs, implements, and maintains SA related automated tools supporting provisioning, configuration management, patching, virtual machine administration, directory services, volume management, and system monitoring. Assess security vulnerabilities and evaluate system impact and risks; determines corrective actions. Develop systems security plans and contributes technical security practices for the hardening guides. Monitors and reviews departmental systems' performance on a regular basis to evaluate CPU, memory, network and disk input/output (I/O), as well as other system resources to ensure system performance meets current and future system processing needs. Manages the installation and integration of systems fixes, updates, and enhancements. This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work role: Cybersecurity Code 451: Systems Administrator. Responsible for setting up and maintaining a system or specific components of a system in adherence with organizational security policies and procedures. Includes hardware and software installation, configuration, and updates; user account management; backup and recovery management; and security control implementation. Cybersecurity Code 541: Vulnerability Analysis. Responsible for assessing systems and networks to identify deviations from acceptable configurations, enclave policy, or local policy. Measure effectiveness of defense-in-depth architecture against known vulnerabilities. For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.us-cert.gov/workforce-development/cyber-career-pathways Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/OS)/PD15114A Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs. Compressed/Flexible: As determined by Agency Policy Telework: Yes, as determined by Agency Policy. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Physical Demands: The work is sedentary. Some work may require walking and standing in conjunction with travel and attendance at meetings and conferences away from the work site. Some employees may carry light items such as small IT hardware components, papers, books, or laptops. Working Conditions: The work area is adequately lighted heated, and ventilated. Some employees may occasionally be exposed to circuitry of electronic equipment during hardware installation or testing, and therefore must apply precautions to avoid personal injury. Designated Drug Testing Position: Not applicable This is a Bargaining Unit Position.
Requirements
You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Education
There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
How you will be evaluated
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position: Accountability Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork USA Hire Assessments include a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. 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.