Pharmacy Technician-Inpatient Sterile Compound and Controlled Substance
- Seattle, United States
Posted 26 days ago
About the role
Summary
This position functions in the Inpatient Pharmacy at the Seattle campus, primarily in the controlled substance vault and patient care areas managing controlled substance inventory in automated dispensing cabinets. Also functions in the unit dose, and sterile compounding areas which includes the preparation of IV admixtures and anti neoplastic agents, medication distribution and inventory control, emergency crash cart replenishment, simple maintenance of automated dispensing equipment.
Learn more about this agency
This job is open to
The public
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Clarification from the agency
NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below. This announcement is open to The Public - US Citizens Veterans' Preference: Does not apply to this announcement per OCHCO Bulletin, Annual Determination of Staffing Shortages, dated September 25, 2025
Duties
Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
- Abides by laws and regulations pertaining to controlled substances and follows all applicable VHA, DEA, and facility requirements.
- Maintains complete, accurate, and readily retrievable controlled drug accountability records in accordance with standard operating procedures.
- Trains new employees in controlled substances distribution, vault operations, and procedural compliance.
- Evaluates automated dispensing cabinet inventory reports and provides recommendations for optimization to supervisors.
- Receives, stores, and restocks controlled substances from vendors according to established procedures.
- Fills inpatient, clinic, and outpatient prescriptions and requests for controlled substances with accuracy and efficiency.
- Participates in routine inventory counts and inspections, promptly reports discrepancies, investigates vault variances, and recommends process improvements.
- Processes return stock into inventory, ensures complete and accurate documentation and audit trail, and oversees preparation of expired/unusable controlled substances for destruction.
- Works with procurement technicians to maintain inventory balance and ensures proper filing of invoices and DEA 222 forms.
- Ensures all vault inventories are conducted per department guidelines and supports adherence to vault security and integrity policies.
- Fills unit dose and automated dispensing cabinet orders, receives inventory, applies barcode labels, and restocks shelves as needed.
- Maintains and operates pharmacy equipment, including automated dispensing machines and barcode printers; repackages pharmaceuticals with proper labeling for verification.
- Prepares sterile hazardous and non-hazardous CSPs using aseptic technique; verifies, mixes, inspects, labels, and delivers products in accordance with USP 797 and 800.
- Provides training to pharmacy technicians, students, pharmacists, and inspectors on controlled substances, sterile compounding, and unit dose management procedures.
- Participates in total quality management (TQM) activities, reports medication errors, assists supervisors with special assignments, interacts with multidisciplinary staff, and supports outpatient pharmacy workflow as needed.
Work Schedule: Monday Thru Friday 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM, with occasional weekends and holidays. Evening and night shifts may be required on a very limited basis to meet operational needs.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentives (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases.
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year).
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 41484F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
- All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
- Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
- Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
- Subject to background/security investigation.
- 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.
- Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
- Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Qualifications
NOTE: THE 2-PAGE RESUME REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS OCCUPATIONAL SERIES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, REFER TO REQUIRED DOCUMENTS BELOW.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.
Basic Requirements:
- Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).
- English Language Proficiency: Pharmacy Technician candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English to be appointed as authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f)
- Education or Experience: None required.
- For all grade levels and positions that accept both education and experience to qualify, equivalent combinations of qualifying education and experience that total at least 100% are qualifying. The combined percentage is determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level to the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level.
- Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
- Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). OR
- National Health career Association (NHA), Certified Pharmacy Technician (ExCPT)
- Foreign Education: To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must be deemed at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. program by a private organization specializing in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials.
Pharmacy Technician, GS-8
Experience: Candidates must possess one year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and demonstrate the KSAs below.
Certification: For positions above the full performance level, the employee must pass a national certification exam and hold an active national certification through either:
- PTCB as a CPhT. OR
- NHA as a ExCPT.
- In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs for all GS-08 assignments and meet any additional KSAs for the assignment, if indicated:
- Comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, methodology and policies in a specialized area or section of pharmacy (such as sterile compounding, controlled substances, automation, clinical pharmacy, contact center, etc.) Note: See Specialized Area.in the Definitions Section.
- Skill in training and orienting new and existing pharmacy facility employees and students on proper policies and procedures.
- Ability to evaluate, analyze and coordinate workflow and work activities within a specialized area or section of the pharmacy.
Preferred Experience: Two years of pharmacy technician experience with controlled substances and compounding sterile products in a hospital pharmacy setting.Two years' experience using inpatient pharmacy equipment to include experience with Automated Dispensing Cabinets (Omnicell or Pyxis), outpatient pharmacy robotic systems, or TPN compounding devices (BAXA, Pinnacle, etc).
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.
The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-8.
Physical Requirements: There are no physical requirements for this occupation per OCHCO Communications email to VA Handbook 5019, updated on 4/17/2026.
Education
Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
Additional information
Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.
During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.
This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.
VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.
If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.
Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.
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.
The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.
It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.
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.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- Full Resume/CV with no page limits.
- Resume
RESUME REMINDER: Your resume must include the following information for each job listed:
- Job title-Month & Year start/end dates (e.g. June 2016 to April 2018)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Duties (be as detailed as possible)
- Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held.
Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.
Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.
The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.
- Cover Letter
- DD-214/ Statement of Service
- Disability Letter (VA)
- License
- Full Resume/CV with no page limits.
- CPhT or ExCPT certification required
- Performance Appraisal
- Professional Certification
- Resume
- SF-15
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/13/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13025342.
- To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
- Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.
NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
Agency contact information
Jovita Murphy
Phone
253-583-3850
jovita.murphy@va.gov
Address
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
1660 South Columbian Way
Seattle, WA 98108
US
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.
You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.
NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.
Overview
Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 08/13/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 13, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Seattle, WA
1 vacancy
No matching locations found.
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$86,866 - $108,302 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 8
Promotion potential
None
Learn more about pay scale and grade
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
- 0661 Pharmacy Technician
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
Yes
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Other
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
- Credentialing
- Suitability/Fitness
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBSV-13025342-26-JM
Control number
878713700