Iconicx Critical Solutions DoD SkillBridge Frequently Asked Questions



QUALIFICATIONS & APPLICATION


Q: Do you have to have an engineering background, degree, or PE License to apply?

A: No, you do not.

It helps considerably to have experience working with electrical and mechanical equipment (generators, power distribution equipment, HVAC… etc), but the idea for our approach to SkillBridge is to take the experience you have from the military and bridge the knowledge/experience/skill gap to our industry.

We completely understand this is the SkillBridge program. We expect to fill in any technical gaps as part of the program.

It’s difficult to train an Airman/Soldier/Sailor in 90+ days, so our program is geared towards training electricians, mechanics, and technicians in that timeframe.


Q: What is Iconicx looking for in an applicant?

A: Iconicx is built around the idea of true customer and employee satisfaction. We’ve found to accomplish that, we have to have people that are excited to work here and have really personable interviews because our employees have tons of client interaction.

An interview is looking for energy, positive attitude, adaptability, perseverance, culture/personality fit, and proof that you aren’t just looking for A job – you’re looking for THIS career with US.

Some electrical/mechanical experience is necessary, but we are concerned more about the person and the cultural fit for the company.


Q: Do I need command approval prior to applying?

A: We prefer command approval prior to because we’ve had several issues of people expecting approval and then not receiving it.


Q: Do you hire all of your DoD SkillBridge Program participants?

A: Our approval for SkillBridge from the Department of Defense implies that we have to make offers to a significant portion of our successful candidates. It is our intention to hire everyone that we make an offer for internship to through DoD SkillBridge. Whether you get an offer will be based on your successful completion of and performance during the program.



TIMELINE


Q: What is the typical hiring timeline for Iconicx’s DoD SkillBridge Program?

A: The typical timeline for DoD SkillBridge is as follows:

  • SkillBridge Intern researches companies and contacts candidate companies to seek more information and confirm interest
  • SkillBridge Intern seeks and receives verbal/informal approval for program duration for programs that you’re interested in
  • SkillBridge Intern applies for an Internship with candidate company(ies)
  • Candidate company reviews application and decides if an interview request will be made
  • Candidate company interviews SkillBridge Intern (At Iconicx, this this typically 3 interviews: One with an Engineer, one with the DoD SkillBridge Program Manager, and one with the Managing Partner)
  • Candidate company informs candidate if they’ll be accepted into the SkillBridge Internship Program for their company
  • If approved, an offer for internship is made by the SkillBridge candidate company
  • The offer is reviewed and approved by the SkillBridge Intern (pending formal command acceptance)
  • Final request for Skillbridge Internship (called several different things by different commands) is routed and approved through military chain of command
  • Approved request is returned to the candidate company
  • Candidate company approves any adjustments made by the military chain of command
  • Military command out processing
  • DoD SkillBridge Program start with candidate company

To determine your hiring timeline, you'd first need to figure out how much time you'll be approved for from your command. Our program is targeted specifically at 90-180 days to get you fully up to speed – there is flexibility either way there. Here’s our typical program target timeline:

  • Eligible to start
  • + 2-3 weeks to bring you on after your final interview
  • + 1-2 weeks to schedule the final interview
  • + 1-2 weeks to get your first interview done
  • + 1-2 weeks to process the application and get in touch with you
  • + 6 weeks for the command/military to process

So, about 11-15 weeks in advance of your available start date.


Q: What is the earliest I should submit my application?

A: The earliest you should be submitting an application is 16 weeks prior to your DoD SkillBridge Internship Program start date. This allows you to be far enough along on the process to have most of the information we need to process your application, while also giving you as much notice as possible for your future plans. We’ve had several applicants that applied significantly earlier than this and most of them had a significant change at their command or personally that affected their SkillBridge plans.



TRAVEL & LOCATION


Q: Do you require relocation?

A: We don't require relocation. Our engineers live all over the country and both travel/commute and work from home. Generally, most of our employees do travel. The amount of travel required is heavily dependent on where you choose to live.


Q: Is there an option to stay working at one location indefinitely?

A: We work on a contractual basis, as such, we don’t promise that there’s any location that wouldn’t require any travel. Our largest location is Northern Virginia. That comprises a significant portion of our company’s total portfolio, and it is the largest and densest location in the world for mission critical infrastructure.

  • Some other larger locations (some continuous and some not):
  • Southern Virginia
  • Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Central Oregon

Our locations are all over the country, but not at our headquarters


Q: What is the address of the physical building where I will be doing a majority of the on-site work?

A: Our engineers work remotely at their home when completing remote work and work on one of our many job sites for onsite work. These sites change frequently as we start and complete projects. Some of our projects are as small as 3 weeks in duration and some of our projects are as long as 3 years in duration.


Q: What does travel and onsite work look like as far as working hours are concerned?

A: Our SkillBridge program is a hybrid program. Depending on the pathway, it’s work from home for 3-4 weeks followed by onsite time. Onsite time is generally divided between local (commuting) workers and traveling workers. Local workers work onsite Monday through Friday like most traditional jobs. Traveling workers work 3 weeks onsite (home on the weekends) and one week working from home.


Q: What does working from home look like?

A: Work from home has a couple of different priorities:

  • Completing any remaining work from the previous week.
  • Being prepared for the next week onsite
  • Completing any required reports
  • Other billable work
  • Work requested by your Project Manager
  • Work requested by your Team Leader
  • Training
  • Work distributed by our Work Distribution Coordinator

Working from home is generally around 40 hours per week.

The location of your home office is completely up to you. Our training program is structured such that the first few weeks are conducted from your home office.


Q: How does travel work at Iconicx?

A: Generally, employees need to be onsite on Monday morning at 7:00am. Iconicx has the flexibility to allow you to live where you want to live. This clearly impacts the amount (and duration) of travel you’ll be asked to do. For instance, if you live near a major airport, you’re more likely to get direct flights and minimize connections at airports, which significantly cuts down on travel duration. If you live near one of our major work areas, the amount of travel will likely be less.


Q: What if I don’t want to travel or want to travel less than described?

A: There are other DoD SkillBridge opportunities that would be a better fit.


Q: What are typical working hours?

A: If we have local work that you’re assigned to, it works like any traditional local job: Typically Monday through Friday roughly 7:00am through 3:30pm. If you’re traveling, we target a 3 weeks onsite (home on the weekends) and 1 week working from home rotation. Travelers need to plan to support the typical onsite schedule for the weeks in which they are traveling.


Q: Where will my training be?

A: The first 3-4 weeks will be working from home to complete our onboarding, basic systems training, and the beginning of pathway training. So that would be at your home office. The next several weeks will depend on which pathway your assigned to.

  • QA/QC: We try to get you out to multiple sites with different scopes and sizes for maximum training impact.
  • Commissioning: We try to get you to a single site starting at the beginning of commissioning all of the way through Integrated Systems Testing so you’re trained on the entire process.

The locations depend on which sites align best to those training opportunities.

The location of your home office is completely up to you. Our training program is structured such that the first few weeks are conducted from your home office.

See the SkillBridge Training Plan for more details.


Q: What if I want to be in one of the more major areas, could there be a guarantee that I’ll stay at that location indefinitely?

A: Our engineers are not tethered to an office or location. Employees choose their location and travel as necessary based on project requirements. We do make every effort to have employees working where they desire to work, but there are no guarantees. Our work is contracted, and any location has ebbs and flows depending on IT infrastructure demand in a particular area. Travel is typically required at some point either short or long-term between contracts in the area.



OTHER FAQ


Q: How is this SkillBridge paid for?

A: The military pays for your salary. Iconicx pays for all training and all expenses.

All training expenses, certification tests, work flights, hotels, rental cars, rental gas, and meals (up to $75 per day) are reimbursed. Reimbursements are due weekly on Wednesdays, and they are paid on Fridays.


Q: Should I apply to be a Quality Engineer or a Commissioning Engineer?

A: I usually tell people the choice between Cx Engineering and QA/QC Engineering should come down to how you approach things in life. QA/QC is more of a detail-oriented role that has longer project durations where you see the project progress throughout construction. Cx is a big picture role where your focus is performance of a construction completed project to test the facility operation, equipment performance, and system interrelationships.


Q: Does Iconicx support its team members to start Cx and then over time add QA/QC?

A: It depends. We have Cx Engineers that do QA/QC part-time and QA/QC Engineers that do Cx part-time. This usually comes when you’re exceling in your field and show interest in expanding your expertise. We welcome this type of flexibility and initiative.


Q: What certifications will I earn?

A: During the SkillBridge Internship:

  • OSHA-10 Certification
  • NFPA-70E Certification
  • Red Cross CPR, AED, & First Aid Certification
  • 3M Low Voltage Certification (QA/QC path)
  • 3M Medium Voltage Certification (QA/QC path)
  • QA/QC Inspector-1 or Commissioning Engineer-1 Qualification

Following the SkillBridge Program, you may seek Lean/Six Sigma, Certified Quality Engineer/Inspector/Technician, Commissioning Authority, US ACE Construction Quality Management, LEED Green Associate/AP, CAPM, PMP, and many more.


Q: Are you flexible for family events and military requirements during SkillBridge?

A: Yes, we are flexible for things such as family events, VA appointments, leave… etc. Some of these must be coordinated through your military chain of command and Iconicx Team Leader.


Q: How often are program start dates?

A: The training and internship dates are relatively flexible because of the nature of our program being hybrid (both working from home and working onsite). We’ve requested an update to the DoD SkillBridge website to adjust our program duration to 90+ days based on experience from the first several SkillBridge interns to come through the program.


Q: What duration are you approved for through DoD SkillBridge and how much should I apply for?

A: We’re approved with the DoD for durations up to 180 days. Our recommendation is to list the entire eligible duration on the application as based on recent experience, this becomes a negotiation between the soldier/sailor and their command. Military leave is approved for use during SkillBridge, and the paperwork is routed through your military chain of command and your Iconicx Team Leader.