Electrician

This Electrician position is located in the Engineering Service at the VA Boston Healthcare System.
NOTE: This is an open and continuous job opportunity announcement. Certificates are issued on an unannounced periodic basis based on requests from management. Applications will be evaluated and referred for selection as vacancies occur within the organization. This announcement may close at any time once all positions are filled.

Qualifications: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
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. 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:

• Ability to Do the Work of the Position without More Than Normal Supervision
• Ability to Use and Maintain Hand Tools (Electrical Work)
• Ability to Use Electrical Drawings
• Knowledge of Electrical Equipment
• Technical Practices (Theoretical, Precise, Artistic)
• Theory and Instruments (Electrical, Electronic) Used in Shop and Trade Practices
• Troubleshooting (Electrical)

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.
Major Duties

• Installs, modifies, repairs, maintains, troubleshoots, tests, and loads new and existing electrical lines, circuits, systems, and associated fixtures, controls, and equipment. These include secondary power distribution lines and circuits used to supply a wide range of voltage, amperage, phase, and frequency requirements, to distribution panels, switchgear, power and control circuits; industrial multiphase systems; thermocouple sensors; electrical intrusion alarm and fire alarm system; emergency warning systems; lighting protection systems; high intensity lighting systems with associated controls; target mechanisms; AC and DC rectification systems; galvanic and impressed current cathodic projection systems which prevent corrosion on underground or submerged equipment and pipes; amplifier circuits; and related electrical equipment.
• Works from building plans, blueprints, wiring diagrams, engineering, drawings, and electrical maintenance and repair manuals to plan and lay out the routing, placement type, size, gauge, balance, load, continuity, and safe operation of electrical lines, circuits, systems, equipment and controls that support industrial operations, computer complexes, or similar complex electrical loads.
• Traces hard-to-locate defects or problems associated with the completion of repairs and installations. Determines and places distribution panels, boxes, fittings, and connections and install wiring, couplings, conduit, relays, fixtures, transformers and other electrical devices including electrical service entrances.

Skill and Knowledge

• Knowledge of the operation and installation of a variety of complete electrical systems and equipment, such as series, parallel, and compound circuits for single and multiple phase alternating current of varying voltage, amperage, and frequency; wiring systems in industrial complexes and in buildings; and power or regulating and control circuits and distribution panels to industrial machinery, ships' control equipment, computers or laboratory and other electrical equipment in order to plan, lay out, install, modify, troubleshoot, and repair a variety of complete systems as well as any parts of these systems.
• Knowledge of the various gauges, sizes, and types of wire, conduit, couplings, fittings, relays, boxes, circuit breakers, and other electrical devices, and the ability to arrange and install them in ways that insure proper and safe operation of electrical systems and equipment.
• Ability to interpret and apply the National Electrical Code, local codes, building plans, blueprints, wiring diagrams, and engineering drawings, and to use trade formulas to calculate common properties, e.g., voltage, voltage drop and current capability in series and parallel circuits, resistance, inductance, capacitance, power factor, current flow, and temperature, and length in single and multiple raceways, conduits, gutters, and cable trays.
• Skill in the use of hand tools; power tools, such as cable pullers, hydraulic benders, and pipe threading machines; and a wide variety of test equipment, for example, meggers, multi-meters, frequency meters, watt meters, power factor meters, vibro-grounds, phase rotation meters, audio tone location equipment, high potential testers, ground fault interrupter testing equipment, recording amp meters, circuit analyzers, circuit breaker testers, resistance bridges, and cathodic protection test sets.
• Knowledge of National Electrical Code requirements in order to ensure the safe and proper operation of systems and equipment.
• Basic familiarity with electronics to recognize parts, such as resistors, capacitors, and transistors; operate basic test equipment such as signal generators, signal tracers, and oscilloscopes; and read schematics of uncomplicated assemblies to determine locations of defective parts.

PHYSICAL EFFORT: Repairs and installations are made from ladders, scaffolding, platforms and other hard-to-reach places. This requires the employee to stand, stoop, bend, kneel, climb, and working in tiring and uncomfortable positions. The work requires frequently lifting and carrying of tools, equipment and parts that weight up to 20 pounds and occasionally up to 40 pounds.
WORK CONDITIONS: The work is performed both inside and outside. The Electrician is sometimes required to make repairs and installations in bad weather and work in areas that are noisy, dirty, dusty, and greasy on scaffolding or cranes at heights of 30 feet or more and in close quarters such as manholes and attics. There is exposure to the possibility of injury from falling, electrical shock, burns, and injuries from rotary devices such as electrical motors and is frequently exposed to the possibility of cuts and bruises.Education: This job does not have an education qualification requirement.Employment Type: FULL_TIME