Electronics Mechanic

Summary

This position is located within the Maintenance & Operations section of the Engineering Department at the VA Medical Center located in Des Moines, Iowa. The Electronics Mechanic performs work involving fabricating, overhauling, modifying, installing, troubleshooting, repairing, and maintaining electronic equipment.

Duties

• Major duties include but are not limited to: Maintains, repairs, installs, and makes operational checks on a variety of complex equipment and complete systems. Maintains, tests, and repairs directional finding systems, satellite communications systems, navigational aids, etc. Installs, modifies, overhauls, maintains, troubleshoots, and repairs complex electronics equipment and complete operational system(s) consisting of numerous complex integral components which require knowledge of a wide range of electronics principles and practices. Routinely deals with sophisticated electronic systems/networks, including nurse call systems, fire alarm systems, CCTV network, security systems, entertainment MATV/Cable TV systems, production TV systems, microwave, and telecommunication and distribution network, phone system, Guest Wi-Fi system, voice paging systems, overhead paging systems, Ham radio antennae system, intercom/public address systems, patient wandering alarm systems, satellite TV systems, and automated data processing (ADP) equipment. Performs installation, troubleshooting, repair and calibration of other sophisticated electronic equipment, including audio recorders, audiometers, bridge and impedance amplifiers, video cameras, monitors, video recorders, radios, pagers and electronic controls. Performs troubleshooting on complex electronics equipment and complete operational systems consisting of numerous complex integral components. Documents all maintenance, repairs, installations and checks performed on equipment and systems. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:00am to 3:30pm Position Description Title/PD#: Electronics Mechanic/PD30226A Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/23/2026. EXPERIENCE: A specific length of training and experience is not required, but you must show evidence of training or experience of sufficient scope and quality of your ability to do the work of this position. Evidence which demonstrates you possess the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of this position must be supported by detailed descriptions of such on your resume. Experiences consists of performing first-line maintenance and repair, including preventive maintenance, troubleshooting, testing, adjustment and calibration of more complex electronic systems equipment such as integrated electronic controls as well as computer video data terminals; Making independent judgments and decisions regarding methods and procedures for completing assignments that may involve extending the use of conventional test equipment and improvising fault analysis, repair, and calibration techniques; using of a wide variety of electronic test equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, signal generators, and other specialized instrumentation. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualification Standards. SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements: Electronics Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair Ingenuity Test Equipment - Electronics Troubleshooting (Electronic Equipment) Use Hand and Power Tools - Electronics Without more than normal supervision 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. Note: 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. PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: Performs tasks requiring moderate physical exertion, including frequent medium lifting (up to 40 pounds), pushing, pulling, carrying, climbing, bending, stooping, crawling and negotiating confined spaces, as well as occasional heavy lifting (more than 40 pounds) and strenuous exertion. The employee is standing or walking much of the time and must be in good overall physical condition. Physical capability to regularly walk long distances, dexterity and accurate eye-hand coordination and corrected 20/20 vision and accurate color perception are required. Most work is performed inside buildings, usually adequately lighted, heated, ventilated or cooled. Occasionally work may be performed in very cold, hot or unventilated areas, or outside. Exposure to lubricants and other chemicals, and fumes is common, as well as the ever-present hazards of electrical shock and burns, and the physical hazards of electro-mechanical equipment. Exposure to radiation and contamination or infectious biological hazards may occur. Working Conditions: Most work is performed inside buildings, usually adequately lighted, heated, ventilated or cooled. Occasionally work may be performed in very cold, hot or unventilated areas, or outside. Exposure to lubricants and other chemicals, and fumes is common, as well as the ever present hazards of electrical shock and burns, and the physical hazards of electro-mechanical equipment. Exposure to radiation and contaminated or infectious biological hazards may occur.

Requirements

You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Pre-employment physical required 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). Must have a valid unrestricted state issued driver license. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial 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 or trial 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 requirement for this position.

How to apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 09/23/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13064238. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. 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. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified, you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.