Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems) - RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION INCENTIVE

Summary

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) (Biomedical Information Systems) located at the West Texas VA Health Care System (WTVAHCS) - Big Spring - Texas - provides clinical and administrative support to staff - patients and administrators for all matters of concern relating to the facility wide lifecycle management of networks - networked medical equipment and associated systems.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/28/2026.

Basic Requirements

• United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.)
• Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens according to 38 U.S.C.
• 7407(a)
• Education - Experience - or Certification
• Associates or higher degree in the biomedical technology or biomedical engineering field
• OR Associates or higher degree in electronics - a field of information technology - or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program
• OR Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship
• OR Completion of biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program that did not include an internship AND 1 year of creditable experience
• OR Hold or having ever held certification as a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician (CBET) - Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist (CRES) - Certified Laboratory Equipment Specialist (CLES) - or Certified Healthcare Technology Manager (CHTM)
• Continuous maintenance of certification is not required throughout VHA employment 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)
• Grade Determinations: Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (Information Systems) - GS-12 Experience
• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards
• (b) Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces
• (c) Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment - databases - and software
• (d) Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems
• (e) Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) - and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines
• (f) Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection - software updates - and operating system patches
• (g) Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration - Internet Protocol addressing - and network security
• Assignment
• For all assignments above the FPL - the higher-level duties must be of significant scope - administrative independence - complexity - and range of variety - as described in this standard at the specific grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• At the advanced level - the BESS - in addition to the duties at the FPL - manage medical servers and networks - diagnostic software - virtual platforms - and clinical applications software
• They manage projects for medical equipment and clinical systems that interface with the electronic health record or other information systems
• BESSs (Information Systems) manage virtual and physical hardware components including storage - memory - processing - graphical - and network interfaces
• They facilitate operating system updates - upgrades - and virus protection
• BESSs (Information Systems) perform maintenance for networked systems
• They leverage resources and knowledge to minimize the need for unit and intermediate-level service contracts and manufacturer or vendor expenditures for tasks that can be completed in-house
• BESSs (Information Systems) identify and troubleshoot issues related to networked medical equipment and clinical systems
• They evaluate compatibility and adaptability of biomedical devices for integration to the electronic health record
• BESSs (Information Systems) regularly review - coordinate - and implement available software patches - updates - and system or data backups with other BESSs - manufacturers - informatics - and IT staff
• They are responsible for compliance with physical security - privacy - and information standards and infrastructure standards
• BESSs (Information Systems) ensure compliance of networked clinical systems to all Medical Device Protection Program (MDPP) requirements
• They design - implement - and manage appropriate security measures and disaster recovery plans critical to ensure system uptime and prevent loss of patient data from critical medical equipment and clinical systems
• Preferred Experience: 3-5 years' experience in a hospital or medical device provider setting
• Experience with Medical Device Networking - including DICOM and PACS System
• Certifications such as CBET - CRES - or N
• Demonstrated ability to work as a team player
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with clinical staff
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-12
• Physical Requirements: Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination.
  
  

Duties

• Functions include but are not limited to: Lifecycle management of network equipment including but not limited to network switches - servers - routers and related infrastructure for all networked complex medical devices and systems such as imaging - life support - dialysis - and monitoring
• Manages - troubleshoots and maintains complete systems of computerized networks - databases and servers including but not limited to biomedical information systems that store or facilitate patient information
• Implements and plans for new and emerging technologies including but not limited to diagnostic modalities - network management and storage - and virtual data centers
• Designs - implements and manages network incident response due to infection - loss of service or regional and local policy changes according to VA guidelines
• As assigned - employee is responsible for lifecycle management of all medical devices and systems such as imaging - life support - dialysis - and monitoring to include physical and network support
• Maintains functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies including but not limited to The Joint Commission (TJC) - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) - Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) - Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) - American College of Radiology (ACR) - Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
• Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)
• As assigned - functions as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and keeps appropriate certification levels
• Investigates - remediates and documents recalls and safety alerts within established timeframes
• Maintains knowledge of the state of the art in medical technology - including scientific advances - network protocols - and vendor changes
• Provides training and education as appropriate to medical technology end users and clinical staff
• Provides mentoring and technical training to peers and development graded BESS
• May be tasked with leading and managing installation or upgrade projects for biomedical information systems - backup servers - other communication systems and other medical devices and systems
• Additional duties are performed as assigned by supervisor related to maintenance - remediation - and tracking of medical systems (action items - special projects - etc.) to meet mission critical requirements
• Represents Biomedical/Clinical Engineering department on committees and in meetings as delegated by supervisor
• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday - 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: Ad-hoc available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 56350-F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized