Duties

As a Senior Attorney for one of four OGC Divisions, your duties will include but are not limited to the following:

You will provide day-to-day advice to the Commission and senior members of the NRC with respect to legal and legal policy matters involving the licensing and regulation of nuclear facilities or materials and/or the operation and administration of the agency, including high-profile, complex matters.

You will represent the agency or agency staff in litigation before or administrative tribunals, and in interactions with other Federal agencies, state officials, and stakeholders on important regulatory and management issues before the agency. You will be expected to independently and simultaneously address high-profile matters requiring frequent interactions with Commissioners, Commission staffers, congressional staffers, senior NRC staff leadership, advisory committees (e.g., the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards or the Advisory Committee on the Medical Use of Isotopes), and counterparts at other federal agencies, particularly the Department of Justice and the Department of Energy.

You will draft, analyze and/or provide comments on legal materials related to matters such as: 1) the licensing and regulation of nuclear power and non-power reactors; 2) licensing and use of nuclear materials, fuel cycle facilities, and the disposal and storage of low-level and high-level waste; 3) the preparation, analysis, and review of NRC regulations and policy statements; 4) agreement state program and Tribal policy issues; and 5) nuclear security and enforcement.

You will perform comprehensive legal research and analysis to support legal positions, reviews of sensitive documents, correspondence and other written materials prepared by NRC staff; in addition, you will recommend revisions of client-produced material to conform to legal requirements.

You will provide leadership to other OGC attorneys, paralegals, and support staff by engaging in mentoring/training and by providing guidance or advice to others. This may involve leading teams and work groups on special projects, and/or reviewing the work products of other NRC attorneys providing resulting feedback to the author and/or division management. Duties are performed with substantial independence, requiring exercise of sound judgment and only limited supervisory oversight.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• This is a Drug Testing position.
• This position is subject to prohibited security ownership restrictions.
• This position is subject to confidential financial disclosure reporting.

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 meet the following requirements:

Basic Qualifications: You must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D., LL.B., or equivalent degree, and you must be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Specialized Experience Requirement: In addition to the basic requirements, 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 attorney or judicial work experience in a government legal office (NRC or other government entity), federal or state judiciary, or the private practice of law which provided the candidate with the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the work of this position.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include but are not limited to: Providing legal support to the Commission and senior staff officials on high-priority matters associated with evolving issues (e.g., subsequent license renewal, interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, licensing of small modular reactors, recently enacted legislation or Executive Orders) including issuance of orders, rules, and guidance; providing legal support to senior management relating to alleged misconduct of a management official or proscribed discrimination by management; advising in evolving EEO issues and diversity initiatives; representing NRC or the NRC staff in litigation associated with new reactor licensing, license renewal, materials licensing, high-level waste issues, enforcement matters, or license amendments; representing NRC in interactions with other government agencies on environmental issues; drafting or reviewing draft rules; preparing analyses of the Chairman and Commission authorities; preparation of legal memoranda on administrative and judicial decisions affecting the NRC and complex rulemaking documents; reviewing complex NRC staff safety or environmental documents; reviewing complex contract and acquisition materials; advising on complex labor and employee relations matters, including whistleblower matters; providing legal analysis of complex issues associated with fiscal and appropriations law; providing training and reviewing the work products of junior attorneys; or leading teams and work groups.

A description of how you possess the specialized experience should be addressed in your resume or in the space provided for your supplemental response.

Education

You must be a graduate of an accredited law school with a J.D., LL.B., or equivalent degree, and you must be an active member in good standing of the Bar of a state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia.

Additional information

The duty location of this position is (Add applicable Duty Station). In general, employees are expected to be in the office (4 days per pay period). Telework schedules 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.

Based on the staffing needs of the agency/area of consideration, additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the NRC will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. The NRC will request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Individuals with disabilities may contact the Selective Placement Coordinator for assistance with the application or hiring process via Disability.Resource@nrc.gov. Deaf applicants may contact the Disability Program Manager by calling the NRC videophone at 240-428-3217.