Air Conditioning Equipment Operator
What you'd do
About the Position: This position is located at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and is responsible for maintaining operations across all local medical treatment facilities, inpatient clinical environments, and various Branch Medical Clinics. This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. Advanced In-hire may be authorized.
Major duties
Operate and fine-tune over 20 large-scale industrial chillers with individual capacities up to 1,600 tons located across the main medical center and branch clinics. Monitors, evaluate, and manipulate facility parameters including ambient temperatures, water pressures, variable air volume boxes, constant velocity reheat boxes, and fan coil units. Collaborate directly with medical staff to maintain sterile, highly regulated clinical climates such as operating rooms, intensive care units, and airborne infection isolation rooms. Oversee the status of critical medical gas systems including nitrous oxide, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen banks. Perform regular rounds and comprehensive inspections of over 70 equipment rooms around the clock, maintaining a highly detailed shift log of mechanical operations, fluid levels, and system malfunctions. Coordinate command-wide key control during off-shifts, acting as the authorized custodian for facility access, maintaining secure entry logs, and providing technical orientation to contractors navigating complex mechanical areas.
What you need to qualify
Who May Apply: US Citizens 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; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. There is no specific length of training or experience required. However, you must be able to demonstrate, through experience shown in your written application materials that you possess the sufficient knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the work of this position without more than normal supervision. Minimum Qualifications (Screen Out Element): Ability to do the work of an Air Conditioning Equipment Operator - without more than normal supervision. - Failure to meet this Screen out Element will result in an ineligible rating. I have the ability to perform common Air Conditioning Equipment Operator tasks including adding refrigerant, changing filters in air handlers, cleaning strainers, replacing broken or worn drive belts on motors, lubricating the various compressors, fans, shafts and steam glands of pumps, and moving parts of other operating and standby equipment. I can perform simple air conditioning maintenance and repairs. I work under normal supervision of a work leader or journey-level employee who observes tasks in progress and upon completion to make sure they are properly performed. Physical Effort: The position demands regular, physical exertion including walking extensive campus rounds, prolonged standing, bending, stooping, crawling into tight utility spaces, and climbing vertical ladders to access rooftop chillers and cooling towers. Heaviest weights lifted are approximately 50 lbs. Working Conditions: Work is primarily performed in an indoor control center environment but frequently requires exposure to high-decibel equipment rooms, high-voltage spaces, and confined mechanical areas. The incumbent is routinely exposed to extreme heat and cold, high noise levels requiring personal protective equipment, moving mechanical parts, noxious gases, and structural hazards.
Before you apply
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