Nuclear Engineer (Agency Employees Only)

Nuclear Engineer (Agency Employees Only)

Department: Other Agencies and Independent Organizations

Location(s): Atlanta, Georgia, Naperville, Illinois, Salt Lake City, Utah, Seattle, Washington, Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, San Francisco, California, Denver, Colorado, Washington, District of Columbia, Miami, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, Indiana, New Orleans, Louisiana, Boston, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kansas City, Missouri, Albuquerque, New Mexico, New York, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas, Rockville, Maryland, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Arlington, Texas

Salary Range: $142488 - $185234 Per Year

Job Summary: This position is located in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Division of Safety Systems (DSS), Nuclear Systems Performance Branch (SNSB), and Nuclear Methods and Fuels Branch (SFNB). The supervisors are Nicholas Difrancesco and Scott Krepel. This position IS subject to Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting requirements. This position IS subject to security ownership restriction reporting requirements.

Major Duties:

• The successful candidate will perform the full range of Nuclear Engineer duties. Such duties include but are not limited to: 1. Performing complex reviews and evaluations of design, process design parameters, and performance of reactor thermal-hydraulic systems for operating reactor designs and for new reactor designs, with an emphasis on improving the knowledge of key safety and risk aspects related to reactor licensing activities. 2. Performing complex reviews and evaluations of nuclear and thermal-hydraulic aspects of the reactor core under steady-state, transient, and accident conditions, including issues pertaining to core physics, fuel behavior, and reactivity control system and control rod design. 3. May perform reactor systems analyses using advanced computer simulation for licensing review, including independent calculations and engineering analyses to confirm or verify the applicants' or licensees' predictions of systems and component performance, including fuel and core performance, under postulated transient and accident conditions. 4. Supporting the project leader in the resolution of highly complex technical problems such as emergency core cooling systems performance, containment systems performance, balance of plant systems performance, equipment qualification, uncertainty qualification, and verification and validation of methods. 5. In performing design certification, combined license, license amendment or topical report reviews, coordinates with other review branches as may be needed to draft questions and positions or request meetings with the applicant, licensee, or vendor through the Project Manager to obtain additional or clarifying information, and to resolve inconsistencies in interpretation of safety criteria.

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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as: experience technically and analytically reviewing and evaluating design, process design parameters, and performance of reactor systems and nuclear fuel designs for nuclear reactors, including both thermal hydraulic and reactivity phenomena under steady-state, transient and accident conditions for design basis events. 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. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: 1. Demonstrated knowledge of capacity to apply the theories, principles, and practices in the field of reactor core, fuel and thermal-hydraulic systems design and nuclear methods sufficient to perform complex reviews and evaluations of nuclear and thermal-hydraulic aspects of the reactor core under steady-state, transient, and accident conditions, including issues pertaining to core physics, fuel behavior, and reactivity control system and control rod design for operating or new light-water or non-light-water power or non-power reactor or nuclear fuel designs. Describe specific experience, education, and training that demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge related to reactor core, fuel and thermal-hydraulic systems design and nuclear methods for operating or new light-water or non-light-water power or non-power reactors or nuclear fuel designs. Include examples relative to both thermal hydraulic and reactivity phenomena under steady-state, transient and accident conditions for licensing basis events and issues related to qualification of nuclear fuel designs. Highlight experience in performing computer-assisted analyses in the area of nuclear fuel, reactor thermal-hydraulics and/or core physics for licensing basis event analysis. 2. Demonstrated ability in formulating sound technical judgements, making technical or policy recommendations, and finding solutions to unique first of a kind technical or policy challenges regarding issues pertaining to event evaluation in the areas of core physics, fuel behavior, reactivity control system and control rod design, and core thermal-hydraulic performance. Describe education, training and experience that demonstrate your ability to formulate technical judgments. Provide examples of judgments, recommendations, or actions you have taken regarding unique first of a kind technical or policy issues pertaining to core physics, fuel behavior, reactivity control system and core thermal-hydraulic performance. Describe your ability to identify complex issues and recommend successful approaches for resolution for areas representing a departure from past precedent, or in the absence of applicable guidance. Highlight examples that demonstrate resourcefulness, initiative, and ingenuity in reaching work objectives. Include specific examples that describe the complexity of the work, and your ability to organize, prioritize and accomplish work such as reactor systems reviews, or authorship of technical or policy papers. 3. Demonstrated knowledge of NRC rules, regulations, and policies pertaining to light-water or non-light-water power or non-power production or utilization facilities through familiarity with NRC’s advanced reactor vison, strategy, and policy activities, reactor licensing regulations, passive reactor design policies, system design standards, and regulatory guides and practices. Describe specific experience, training, and accomplishments that demonstrate your familiarity with NRC rules, regulations, and policies pertaining to light-water and non-light-water power or non-power production or utilization facilities. Include several technical work examples and describe the complexity of the issues. 4. Demonstrated ability to communicate information, ideas, and advice in a clear, concise, and logical manner, both orally and in writing. Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective work relationships with management and staff, colleagues, and representatives of external organizations. Describe education, training, and experience which demonstrate your ability to present information, ideas, and advice in a clear, concise, and logical manner both orally and in writing. Describe your ability to deal effectively with various levels of staff, to coordinate and prepare documents using various inputs. Describe the various types and levels of individuals you routinely interact with and for what purposes. What types of original writing do you generate? With whom do you communicate orally and for what purpose? What types of working relationships have you made, with whom, and how frequently? Include examples of situations where it was necessary for you to use tact, diplomacy, and negotiation skills to achieve cooperation or consensus when interacting with staff, management, or the general public. PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

How to Apply: We strongly encourage you to complete your USAJOBS profile before you submit your application for this position. Please read the entire announcement. Your application for this vacancy must be received online via the USAJOBS application system BEFORE 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online application, you will not be considered for this position. Paper applications will not be accepted unless hardship circumstances can be demonstrated. Requests for extensions WILL NOT be granted. If applying online poses a hardship for you, the Human Resources Specialist listed on the announcement will provide assistance to ensure that applications are submitted online by the closing date. Applicants must contact the Human Resources Specialist during business hours BEFORE the closing date of the announcement and speak to someone who can provide assistance for your online submission. You must answer any job specific vacancy questions. You will be rated based on your responses to any vacancy questions and especially the information provided in your resume. Breadth, recency, and length of experience in the field; training, awards, and commendations; past and current performance; and community or outside professional activities will be considered to determine your level of knowledge, skill or ability for this position. Abbreviated responses to the vacancy questions, such as “significant experience” or “see resume” do not provide enough information and should not be used. You will not be considered for this position if you leave any of the vacancy questions unanswered. To begin the application process, select the "Apply On-line" button to the right on this screen. Then follow the prompts to login/register, submit all required supplemental documents, and complete the application process.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-27