IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/OS)

Summary This position is located in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information and Technology (OIT) serving as an IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/OS) providing senior Systems Administration/Operating Systems support to public and private cloud hosted enterprise applications for multiple programs supporting the VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC). Learn more about this agency Duties OIT Mission: The mission of the Office of Information and Technology (OIT) is to collaborate with our business partners to create the best experience for all Veterans. OIT Vision: To become a world-class organization that provides a seamless, unified Veteran experience through the delivery of state-of-the-art technology. Major Duties: Responsible for operating systems, infrastructure automation using scripts, runbooks, and orchestration related hardware and software. Performs the installation, configuration, sustainment, and maintenance in support of VA systems. Researches, designs, implements, and maintains SA-related automated tools supporting provisioning, configuration management, patching, virtual machine administration, directory services, volume management, and system monitoring. Provisions, configures, and maintains systems through cloud-native automated tools and processes in accordance with organizational directives, handbooks, and procedures. Develops systems security plans and contributes technical security practices for the hardening guides. Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist (SYSADMIN/OS)/PD20098A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Telework: As determined by Agency policy. Travel Required: Up to 10% travel may be required for this position. 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 the Agency Policy. Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. 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 Requirements Conditions of employment 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 May serve a probationary period. A complete application package; Resume, SF-50s, etc. Only resumes up to TWO total pages will be accepted. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for position requirements listed in the job announcement. File size must not exceed 5MB. 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. This is not a remote position. OI&T has multiple worksites at various duty locations, and the individual(s) selected may be assigned to any federal government work site. This announcement will NOT be used to change duty locations. If selected, and you are a current VA employee, and not on an approved exemption, you will continue to report to your current duty location. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which you will be evaluated for 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/09/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For the GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12 federal level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Basic Requirements Experience:Experience must be IT related; the experience may be demonstrated by paid or unpaid experience and/or completion of specific, intensive training (for example, IT certification), as appropriate. For all positions individuals must have IT-related experience, demonstrating each of the five competencies listed below. The employing agency is responsible for identifying the specific level of proficiency required for each competency at each grade level based on the requirements of the position being filled. Attention to Detail - Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail. Customer Service - Works with clients and customers (that is, any individuals who use or receive the services or products that your work unit produces, including the general public, individuals who work in the agency, other agencies, or organizations outside the Government) to assess their needs, provide information or assistance, resolve their problems, or satisfy their expectations; knows about available products and services; is committed to providing quality products and services. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations. AND Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as: Proven work experience as a Cloud System Administrator with Azure or AWS (3+ years) as well as a proficient understanding of cloud computing technologies, business trends, and performance standards. Candidate must have a strong knowledge of operating systems (Linux/Unix systems and Windows), understanding of network, storage, server, and application technologies, strong problem-solving abilities and excellent communication skills. Candidate must also possess relevant professional certification (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator). 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. Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Additional information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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 for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. 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/. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If selected you will be required to report to one of the following locations: Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA Anaheim, CA Aurora, CO Denver, CO Washington, DC Orlando, FL St. Petersburg, FL Tampa, FL Atlanta, GA Hines, IL Detroit, MI Eatontown, NJ Albany, NY Cleveland, OH Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Nashville, TN Davidson, TN Murfreesboro, TN Arlington, TX Austin, TX Houston, TX San Antonio, TX Salt Lake City, UT Shepherdstown, WV If space is not immediately available a temporary exception to telework may be granted. If/when workspace is identified, the employee is expected to report to their assigned duty location. Expand Hide  additional information Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.