Boiler Plant Operator

The Boiler Plant Operator positions are in Facilities Management service with VA Boston Healthcare System at Jamaica Plain, MA and West Roxbury, MA. These positions are full-time at 40 hours per week. ***This is an open and continuous job opportunity announcement and may close at any time once all positions are filled.***

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until June 30, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be April 27, 2026. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. Uses electronic, hydraulic, and pneumatic controls, and zone charts in conjunction with meters, gauges, and computer-generated data to determine adjustments or corrections necessary for proper boiler operations or changing load requirements. Monitors and tests the operation of high pressure steam boiler systems in order to identify malfunctions and potential problems with equipment such as automatic controls, valves, electrostatic precipitators, lime slurry systems, piping, pumps, and related components. Performs operational maintenance (e.g. lubricate equipment and power clean water tubes) and repairs of limited complexity on mechanical parts and systems and may be required to perform limited or basic electrical repairs. Uses the proper tools for boiler and associated equipment maintenance, including the instrumentation. Take samples of the boiler feed water and test them for the proper level of chemical additives. Based upon the results of these tests, adjusts the level of the chemicals that are fed into the boiler water to achieve the proper operating levels. Performs preventative and scheduled maintenance on plant systems and equipment including boiler feed pumps, fuel oil pumps, air compressors, turbines, generators, boiler fixtures, and combustion fans. Installs, maintains, and repairs a variety of complex equipment and systems involving high pressure steam generating boilers with complicated components, critical requirements, and rigid tolerances. Provides comprehensive control and operational readiness of all high-pressure steam boilers supplying the main hospital and all outlying support structures. Operates and maintains high pressure boilers and their auxiliary equipment controls. Starts up any boiler and bring it to the state where it can take its share of the load. Executes proper boiler blow down procedures and the proper soot blowing procedures. Operates medical center fire safety codes. Set up fire watches till the alarm situation is rectified. Calls in vendors to perform corrective procedures to get buildings out of alarm status. Performs plumbing work involving maintenance and repair of a wide variety of piping, plumbing fixtures (lavatories, commodes, sink, disposals, bathtubs and shower fixtures). Make electrical repairs by removing ad replacing defective parts. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: First 90 days training Monday -Friday 6:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; then permanent schedule: West Roxbury, MA campus: Tuesday-Saturday 6:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. and Jamaica Plain, MA campus: Tuesday- Saturday 10:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. Position Description Title/PD#: Boiler Plant Operator/PD523-00308-A Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Recruitment Incentive: May be Authorized Permanent Change of Station: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. Current and former Federal employees may submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is covered by a special rate. Selectees may be required to work at any VA Boston Healthcare System campus or CBOC, as needed. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required 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. 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.