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

About the role

The Biomedical Equipment Support Specialist (BESS) (Biomedical Information Systems) located at the West Texas VA Health Care System (WTVAHCS) in Big Spring, Texas provides clinical and administrative support to staff, patients, and administrators for all matters relating to the facility-wide lifecycle management of networks, networked medical equipment, and associated systems. Closing date: 10/28/2026. Functional Statement #: 56350-F.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements (must be met by closing date):

• United States Citizenship (non-citizens may be appointed when qualified citizens cannot be recruited per 38 U.S.C. 7407(a))
• Education, Experience, or Certification — one of the following:
  • Associate’s or higher degree in biomedical technology or biomedical engineering
  • Associate’s or higher degree in electronics, information technology, or engineering (other than biomedical engineering) and 1 year of creditable experience
  • Completion of the Department of Defense (DOD) biomedical equipment technician training program
  • Completion of a DOD training program in repair and maintenance of electronic systems or information technology and 1 year of creditable experience
  • Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) certificate program that included an internship or apprenticeship
  • Completion of a biomedical engineering technician or HTM certificate program without an internship and 1 year of creditable experience
  • Hold or have 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 not required during VHA employment
• May qualify under the Grandfathering Provision per the VA Qualification Standard (applicable only to current VHA employees in this occupation who meet criteria)

Grade Determination: GS-12

• One year of creditable experience equivalent to the next lower grade

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) — in addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate:

• Knowledge of Health Level 7 (HL7) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standards
• Knowledge of advanced testing methods to troubleshoot networked medical equipment and clinical system interfaces
• Skill in maintaining computer and server based medical equipment, databases, and software
• Skill in managing medical equipment and clinical system projects that interface with an electronic health record or other information systems
• Skill in applying cybersecurity standards to medical devices and clinical systems (FDA, FISMA, NIST guidelines)
• Ability to apply information security tools including virus protection, software updates, and operating system patches
• Ability to establish a medical network including VLAN configuration, IP addressing, and network security

Assignment (Advanced Level) — higher-level duties must be of significant scope, administrative independence, complexity, and variety, performed at least 25% of the time. At the advanced level, the BESS (Information Systems) also:

• Manages medical servers and networks, diagnostic software, virtual platforms, and clinical applications software
• Manages projects for medical equipment and clinical systems that interface with the electronic health record or other information systems
• Manages virtual and physical hardware components including storage, memory, processing, graphical, and network interfaces
• Facilitates operating system updates, upgrades, and virus protection
• Performs maintenance for networked systems
• Leverages resources and knowledge to minimize unit/intermediate-level service contracts and manufacturer/vendor expenditures for tasks that can be completed in-house
• Identifies and troubleshoots issues related to networked medical equipment and clinical systems
• Evaluates compatibility and adaptability of biomedical devices for integration to the electronic health record
• Regularly reviews, coordinates, and implements software patches, updates, and system/data backups with other BESSs, manufacturers, informatics, and IT staff
• Responsible for compliance with physical security, privacy, information standards, and infrastructure standards
• Ensures compliance of networked clinical systems to all Medical Device Protection Program (MDPP) requirements
• Designs, implements, and manages appropriate security measures and disaster recovery plans critical to system uptime and prevention of patient data loss 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 systems
• Certifications such as CBET, CRES, or Network+ (N+)
• Demonstrated ability to work as a team player
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with clinical staff

Reference: VA Qualification Standards

Responsibilities

• Lifecycle management of network equipment including network switches, servers, routers, and related infrastructure for all networked complex medical devices and systems (imaging, life support, dialysis, monitoring)
• Manages, troubleshoots, and maintains complete systems of computerized networks, databases, and servers including biomedical information systems that store or facilitate patient information
• Implements and plans for new and emerging technologies including 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 per VA guidelines
• As assigned, responsible for lifecycle management of all medical devices and systems (imaging, life support, dialysis, monitoring) to include physical and network support
• Maintains functional knowledge of relevant safety codes and standards of regulatory bodies (The Joint Commission, NFPA, FDA, NRC, AAMI, ACR, FIPS)
• Documents all work performed in the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)
• As assigned, functions as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and maintains 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 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

Schedule

Monday–Friday, 8:00 am–4:30 pm. Telework: ad-hoc available. This is not a virtual position.

Benefits

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

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.