Location: Rockville,MD, USA
Summary This position is located in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Division of Reactor Oversight (DRO), Reactor Assessment Branch (IRAB). The supervisor is David Aird. This position is Bargaining Unit with the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 208. This position is subject to Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting requirements. This position is subject to security ownership restriction reporting requirements. Responsibilities The successful candidate will perform the full range of Reactor Operations Engineer or Scientist duties. Such duties include but are not limited to: Participates in activities related to the management of the Reactor Oversight Processes, with an emphasis on improving knowledge of key safety and risk aspects related to inspections and assessment activities. Develops inspection procedures and related program guidance for NRC inspections of nuclear power facilities, including operating facilities and those under construction. Identifies and prioritizes generic reactor inspection related issues and formulates office positions. Provides headquarters support for regional inspections, notifying supervisor of any reactor safety concerns. Develops estimates of resources that are needed to perform all elements of the assigned program, whether established or under development. Represents the division on technical working groups and provides independent input on related matters. Prepares and presents technical briefings to NRC management as requested. May be required to act as Branch Chief in the absence of the supervisor. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship Required This is a Drug Testing position. Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires. You must meet the qualifications for this position by no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position. Qualifications In order to qualify for this position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: 1. Demonstrated knowledge of the NRC Reactor Oversight Process, including significance determination as applied to operating, construction, and decommissioning commercial nuclear power plant inspections, operations, maintenance, engineering, and plant support areas of performance. (Describe experience in applying oversight experience to nuclear power plant operations.) 2. Demonstrated ability to coordinate a broad range of technical tasks. (Describe specific assignments where you worked or acted as a project coordinator of complex technical issues. Describe your work experience in performing effectively in an environment where coordinating the efforts of others across organizations and disciplines was important to success.) 3. Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) rules, regulations, and policies governing implementation of the reactor oversight process (ROP) and nuclear reactor systems regulatory reviews through familiarity with codes and standards, regulatory guides, and practices. (Describe specific experience, training, and accomplishments which demonstrate your knowledge of industry codes and standards, and NRC rules, regulations and guidance governing the ROP and operation of commercial nuclear reactor power systems. Include several examples of such work and describe the complexity of the issue.) 4. Demonstrated ability in identifying complex commercial nuclear power reactor regulatory and safety issues and recommending successful approaches for resolution. (Describe specific experience, training, and accomplishments which demonstrate your skill with identifying complex commercial nuclear power reactor issues and recommending successful approaches for resolution. Highlight examples that demonstrate resourcefulness, initiative, and ingenuity in completing the work. Describe novel and never-before tried solutions.) 5. Demonstrated ability to communicate technical information effectively, both orally and in writing; demonstrated ability to establish effective working relationships with supervisors, government and industry officials, utility employees/managers, professional committees, and coworkers. (Describe your experience, education, training, and accomplishments which demonstrate your ability to participate in and lead complex technical discussions; write clear papers or reports; and establish effective working relationships with supervisors, peers and individuals of diverse backgrounds. Provide specific examples which demonstrate your ability to lead discussions, present briefings and write papers or reports.) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as: experience that demonstrates thorough knowledge of the regulations, criteria, standards, guides, and policies pertaining to the NRC's regulatory posture and enforcement over the nuclear industry; experience in the review and/or inspection of the physical functional requirements of reactor sites, structures, systems, components, staffing and procedures during the siting, design, construction, operation, and/or decommissioning phases of reactor life. A description of how you possess the specialized experience as well as how you meet the qualifications desired in an ideal candidate should be addressed in your resume. Education You must include an unofficial or official copy of your college and/or university transcripts with your application. Transcript must include the School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). Education must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of credibility of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. If you have multiple degrees (e.g., BS, MS, PhD) please submit transcripts for each degree. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: GG-0801 (General Engineering Series): Basic Requirements: A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. Combination of education and experience: college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) You must meet OPM's basic education and professional knowledge requirements that apply to Federal engineering and sciences positions for the grade levels to which you are applying. This knowledge is met by having a bachelor's or higher degree in a relevant professional engineering/science discipline from a school of engineering with at least one engineering curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) (or by documenting how you meet the minimum OPM qualification standards for the 800 Occupational Series. GG-1301, (General Physical Science Series): Basic requirements: A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Additional Information The duty location of this position is Rockville, Maryland. In general, employees are expected to be in the office at a minimum of 4 days per pay period. Telework schedules, including full-time telework, are approved, on a case-by-case basis. If selected, telework will be determined in accordance with Agency policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, if applicable.