"Alerted.org

Summary What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position? Salary: $138,850 (Step 01) to $180,504 (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. This is being advertised concurrently with the following announcement: USGS-DEN-26-12830662-ST-AJG. Open to current or former Federal employees. Only one selection will be made from either announcement. Responsibilities The Supervisory Nuclear Engineer position serves as Director of the US Geological Survey TRIGA Reactor (GSTR). The Director reports to the Rocky Mountain Regional Director and ultimately to the USGS Director. (The USGS Director holds the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license which authorizes the operation of GSTR by USGS.) The mission of the GSTR is to support USGS science by providing a source of intense neutron and gamma radiation for the irradiation of geologic and biological specimens, and to advance analytical methods and techniques unique to nuclear reactors. Major duties for this position are as follows: Supervises GSTR personnel. Assigns work, sets deadlines, and establishes priorities at the project level. Responsible for ensuring a safe working environment, including the development, implementation and continued maintenance of a Safety Conscience Work Environment, and the development of appropriate safety policies and procedures. Develops training programs to keep staff in compliance with NRC policy and directives. Provides technical oversight of all GSTR operations. Evaluates, categorizes, and approves all proposed experiments for technical soundness, compatibility with GSTR capabilities, and safety. Directs the efforts of GSTR staff in developing equipment and procedures for enhancing GSTR capabilities. Responsible for the financial and operational management and administration of GSTR. Develops budgets and policy in concurrence with the Rocky Mountain Region (RMR), the Reactor Operations Committee (ROC), and the NRC. Determines the GSTR fee structure and balances appropriated and reimbursable funding sources to fully support GSTR operations and staff. Develops new capabilities and initiatives in alignment with the mission of the GSTR and in a financially sound manner. Represents GSTR and its capabilities to internal and external customers and stakeholders, develops customer relationships, and establishes financial and operational agreements. Ensures that GSTR activities comply with all applicable Department and Bureau policies, including USGS Quality Assurance principles. Revises GSTR policy, guidelines, and procedures as necessary for safe and compliant operation of the reactor. Maintains a continuing liaison with the NRC, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, emergency response organizations, and other regulatory agencies as necessary for safe and effective facility operation. Obtains any permits, licenses, or clearances that are required for reactor operation. Serves as permanent Secretary of the ROC and is a permanent member of the USGS Radiation Safety Committee. Advise the USGS Radiation Safety Officer on radiation safety. Operates a government owned/leased vehicle as an incidental driver. Requirements Conditions of Employment Key Requirements: Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record. Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam. Selectee must be able to obtain a Reactor License. Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position? This position requires completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period, if one has not previously been completed. Prior to appointment, the selectee will be required to take and pass, at Federal expense: (1) a physical exam; and (2) a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use. From thereon, the incumbent may be subject to random drug testing. Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued. A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system. Qualifications Definitions: UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite. GRADUATE EDUCATION: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Nuclear Engineer, all grade levels. 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: 1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. GS-14 In addition to the basic requirements listed above, you must also possess at least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13. Examples of such experience may include managing complex technical operations of a nuclear facility, providing significant and innovative recommendations for the design, construction, test, evaluation, troubleshooting, repairing, and maintenance of a nuclear reactor that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement. Conditions of Employment for this Position: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probation period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This Probation period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: - 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. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probation period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Education 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; religious; 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. Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs Additional Information Other Information: Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position. USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361. DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify. As part of the application process, a series of four short essay questions will be included. Applicants must certify that their own words were used to answer the questions. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. Agency Benefits: USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies. Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.