Surgical Technician

Description:

The Surgical technician (ST) is a member of the surgical team and provides assistance to the surgeon and other team members during surgical procedures. The Surgical Technician participates with the surgical team members in planning and implementing complex procedures under the general supervision of the surgical team.


DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/21/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement : Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement. An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the 0640 occupational series. Applicants must meet the following requirements:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Positions in this series range widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists. Therefore, you must possess technician experience that requires application of knowledge, methods, and techniques of the position to be filled. (This position is part of a series that ranges widely in type and include support duties to medical or health personnel such as audiologists, speech pathologists, medical officers, and optometrists.) In addition to the IOR, applicant must also meet the minimum qualifications for the GS-06 grade level:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Experience preparing the outpatient surgical room for a variety of simple to major surgical procedures; stocking, replenishing, and preparing supplies and equipment for use; performing scrub and other support services for simple and major cases; handling instruments, supplies and equipment during surgical procedures; and assisting with receiving surgical patients into the OR and ensuring the safety of patients. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one full (1) year of graduate level education or an internship that is directly related to the work of the position. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond: Must have equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and experience to meet total qualification requirements. Note: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation .

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/ .