Industrial Engineer

About the role

The Industrial Engineer is a member of the Strength Analysis team — Workforce Strategy and Standardization (WSS) — within Workforce Solutions — within the Office of Workforce Management and Consulting (WMC) — in the Human Capital Management (HCM) Office. The incumbent is part of a team that functions as the VHA authority and subject matter expert on simulation, forecasting, and staffing models and standards that assess position allocation and demand in support of the VHA mission.

Responsibilities

• Serves as an advisor to program areas on all forecasting and modeling activities, and data collection requirements, processes, and analysis.
• Utilizes various tools and techniques to optimize outcomes and forecast organizational manpower requirements in support of the VHA mission.
• Manages enterprise-level initiatives undertaken to plan, engineer, and implement staffing models, standards, and forecast manpower requirements in support of the VHA's mission, including development of individual and organizational position capabilities, guidance on organization resources, staffing, and planning using requirements development techniques.
• Conducts manpower staffing validation studies using statistical models and other resources.
• Able to interpret broad VA and other Federal policies during this process to assess organizational policy needs that provide a tactical VHA manpower analysis and future implementation.
• Conducts enterprise-wide analytics to determine resource requirements that lead to drafting action plans, resolving critical staffing issues for organizations, and coordinating the demonstration of new and/or enhanced policies and applications.
• Successfully works with stakeholders and end users during the process.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements (must meet A or B):

• A. Degree: Bachelor's degree in engineering from a school with at least one ABET-accredited program, or a curriculum that includes differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas:
  • Statics, dynamics
  • Strength of materials (stress-strain relationships)
  • Fluid mechanics, hydraulics
  • Thermodynamics
  • Electrical fields and circuits
  • Nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties)
  • Any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics (e.g., optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, electronics)
• B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. Adequacy must be demonstrated by one of:
  • Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, DC, Guam, or Puerto Rico (registration by means other than written test limits eligibility to positions within or closely related to the specialty field of registration).
  • Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board.
  • Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences that included the courses specified in Basic Requirement A, fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in A.
  • Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field (e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology) plus at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience.

Selective Placement Factor (prerequisite to appointment; must be reflected in resume):

• Demonstrated experience designing, building, and validating quantitative staffing models (e.g., workload-based, acuity-based, or simulation-based) in a complex service or healthcare environment.

Specialized Experience (in addition to Basic Requirement and Selective Placement Factor):

• One (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.
• Professional engineering experience defined as non-routine engineering work requiring: (1) professional knowledge of engineering, (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems, and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability.
• Proficiency in Industrial Engineering methods such as time and motion studies, process mapping, queuing theory, and capacity analysis as applied to workforce planning.
• Using statistical or operations research tools (e.g., Python, R, Excel/VBA, Arena or similar) to develop and test workforce models.
• Managing databases, dashboards, and statistics.
• Writing policies and performing regulatory interpretation.

Note: Evidence of specialized experience must be supported by detailed documentation of duties performed in positions held on your resume, including hours per week, salary, and starting/ending dates of employment (month and year format) to establish one full year of Specialized Experience at or comparable to the required grade level.

Schedule & Work Arrangements

Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Flexed schedule available.

Telework: This position may be authorized for ad hoc telework; eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual Work: This position may be authorized for Virtual Work for current VA employees who are already subject to the return-to-office mandate in their current position. Virtual Work means the employee works outside the original hiring duty station at a VA-owned or leased space.

Return to Office (RTO): RTO mandates are in effect; selectees will be required to report to in-person work unless approved for an exception or exemption. Any approval for RTO exception, exemption, or extension will occur after a tentative job offer but before a final job offer.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.