IT Specialist

Summary

This position is in Office of Information and Technology (OIT), End User Services (EUS), Enterprise Command Operations (ECO). Provides technical oversight for VA applications within an ITIL/DevOps agile framework, collaborating with developers and monitoring operations to deliver efficient solutions. Serves as a strategic resource during the early design and engineering phase, helping gather requirements and ensuring end-to-end monitoring needs are vetted and validated with application owners.

Duties

Analyze user needs and requirements to plan architecture and write detailed functional specifications documenting the architecture development process for enterprise monitoring solutions. Plan implementation strategies for new systems and interfaces, document impacts to the current and target environments, and ensure enterprise components can be integrated and aligned across procedures, databases, policies, software, and hardware. Consult with customers and organizational stakeholders to evaluate functional requirements and translate business and functional needs into technical requirements, operational capabilities, and monitoring solutions. Develop enterprise technical strategy and recommend new tools, technologies, platforms, architecture standards, and technical quality guidelines for enterprise-wide implementation of monitoring capabilities. Lead complex technical project-planning sessions and provide subject matter expertise on monitoring key performance indicators, metrics, performance, and availability requirements with business units, developers, and operations teams. Develop and facilitate data-gathering methods and data-collection frameworks, collect metrics and trending data from multiple disparate sources, and support data mining and data warehousing activities. Analyze data sources and large data sets, assess the validity of source data and findings, identify trends or patterns, and provide actionable recommendations to critical stakeholders based on data analysis. This position is primarily aligned to the following NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework work roles: 422: Data Analyst 641: Systems Requirements Planner 651: Enterprise Architect For more information about these work roles, where they fit within the larger Cyber Workforce, and how they can support your unique career journey, please visit the Cyber Career Pathways tool on the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies website: https://niccs.cisa.gov/tools/cyber-career-pathways-tool Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00AM - 4:30PM EST; Tour of duty may be subject to change based on organizational needs. Compressed/Flexible: As determined by the Agency Policy Telework: Adhoc telework may be authorized at management discretion. Travel Required: Up to 20% travel may be required, as needed, for this position. Virtual: This is NOT a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: IT Specialist/PD17598A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized Physical Demands: The position is sedentary in nature requiring little physical activity such as lifting or extended periods of standing or walking. Working Conditions: Work is typically performed in a well-lighted, climate controlled office. Designated Drug Testing Position: Not Applicable

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/02/2026. Applicants must meet all requirements when a request is received to fill a vacancy. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: 1. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) Basic Requirement 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 four 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 2. 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: Designing, configuring, and updating monitoring solutions using Application Performance Monitoring (APM) tools (e.g., Dynatrace or comparable platforms); developing monitoring solutions aligned with cybersecurity and architecture guidelines; analyzing requirements and consulting with stakeholders to translate business needs into technical and monitoring solutions; conducting application monitoring assessments, including customer engagement, technical validation, and compliance with established standards; conducting in-depth technical reviews to determine root cause following major incidents; recommending tools and platforms (e.g., container orchestration, serverless computing, and middleware services) to support enterprise-wide monitoring; analyzing performance metrics and improving standards to support monitoring and reporting; and performing process and documentation improvements. 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 substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.