Sewing Machine Operator

Summary

This position is in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Mid Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6), Charles George VA Medical Center (VAMC), Asheville NC, in the Linen Section of Environmental Management Service. The primary purpose of the position is to mend and repair surgical linens and clothing made of fabrics using industrial type sewing, button, and patching machines and fabricate specialty linen items.

Duties

• Duties may include, but are not limited to: Mends linens and uniforms consisting of different types of fabrics such as cotton, polyester, polyester/cotton blends, woolen, rayon and nylon fabrics that have numerous parts; examines damaged linens and uniforms to determine the nature and extent of needed repairs; alters employee uniforms by altering inseams, hemming pants, shirts, smocks, lab coats; mends and repairs uniforms according to fitter's pins, chalk marks or verbal instructions making sure to match size and colors of replacement parts to the original garment with the concern of appearance; replaces zippers and buttons. Operates buttonhole machine to make buttonholes in shirts and trousers. Operates a heat seal machine and an industrial sewing machine. Performs minor servicing of the machines, like lubricating, and adjusts/keep machines in good working order. Uses a computerized marking machine for identification to uniforms and linens. Fabricates special surgical drapes, equipment covers, cubical curtains, draperies, etc. using available material, making the proper specifications for size and usage and determines what type of material to use and how much material is needed such as cart covers of many different sizes, removing mesh off of cubical curtains, adding new material to lengthen or shorten cubical curtains for patient privacy. Maintains inventory of uniforms, linens, and laundry items, in conjunction with records of any salvage of items due to fair wear and tear. Maintains uniform and linen storage areas keeping records of all items in storage, items sent out for distribution or incoming linen or uniforms, etc. Maintains records of employee issued uniforms. Issues new employees' correct type and color of uniforms according to appointment and position title; then records the transaction on customer receipt cards. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications

PHYSICAL EFFORT AND WORK CONDITIONS: Requires physical effort involving continuous body and arm movement, sitting, walking, standing, bending, twisting, reaching, sorting, and folding linens and uniforms, and operates sewing machine, button machine, patch machine and label machine. Must be physically able to remain engaged in manual work requiring moderately heavy physical effort during the entire tour of duty. Lifts boxes of linen items and uniforms for storage or uncrating weighing up to 50 pounds. Incumbent will perform work in a well-lighted , noisy and adequate area. May be subjected to minor injuries such as cuts, needle punctures as well as bruises from carts and machinery. Usually works indoors in areas well heated and air-cooled. Exposed to skin irritations from cleaning solutions. May be exposed to lint, continual noise, possible burns and bruises, dirt, and disagreeable odors. Applicants will be rated in accordance with the OPM Federal Wage System Qualifications. For this position, the job element method is used to match what you, the applicant, can do against what the work calls for. Your knowledge, skills and abilities will be compared to the knowledge, skills and abilities (called job elements) needed for success. Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element (WG-2 and higher only; screen-outs are not applicable to WG-1). Applicants who appear to meet the screen out element are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated from consideration. The potential eligibles are rated against the remainder of the job elements. While a specific length of training and experience is not required, your responses to the questionnaire must be supported by detailed descriptions of your experience on your resume. You will be rated on the following Job Elements as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Equipment Assembly, Installation, Repair Interpret Instructions, Specifications (other than blueprint reading) Materials Measurement and Layout Technical Practices Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment Without more than normal supervision IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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.

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 Pre-employment physical required 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 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) 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.

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/13066234. 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. 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. 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. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (828) 298-7911. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) 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/.