Duties

Serves as a Senior Technical Advisor in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulations (NRR) with broad responsibilities in the areas of human factors engineering (HFE) and human performance evaluation to: (1) maintain a consistent source of expertise and mentoring during periods of turnover in the HFE technical staff, (2) ensure NRC is prepared to address the many new human factors and human performance issues that are anticipated with risk-informed, performance based licensing of advanced reactors, and (3) provide the technical expertise and leadership that will be necessary for timely resolution of unforeseen reactor licensing matters, specifically those not addressed by available HFE guidance and requiring substantial engineering judgment. Responsibilities include developing, coordinating, and integrating agency-wide regulatory activities applied to the development of technical basis for and guidance for the review of systems and programs that can influence or be influenced by human performance, including the identification and review of research to support guidance development and performance assessment. Functions as agency expert on all aspects of human performance as applied to reactor licensees, applicants, and coordinates research related to human performance.

Duties may include, but are not limited too:

• Serves as the senior technical staff expert and advisor in the areas of Human Factors Analysis and Human Performance Evaluation, serves as the principal technical contact and liaison within the agency with regard to such activities and identifies and coordinates potential changes to Human Factors programs and application of program results to regulatory activities. Provides strong engineering judgment to help develop NRC response to time-critical decisions.
• Recommends and prepares modifications to HFE and human performance guidance and consensus standards and research programs in coordination with NRC senior management. Assures that proposed recommendations and modifications are based upon well-founded results and that proposals have been thoroughly coordinated within all cognizant offices of the NRC. Counsels office and agency management regarding the likely effect of regulatory or policy actions in, or related to, the area of responsibility.
• Maintains liaison with senior agency management and technical professionals and coordinates crucial agency interactions with industry organizations, other federal agencies,, as well as with key researchers in National Laboratories and universities. Acts as the primary spokesperson and coordinator of activities with researchers, regulators and utilities in foreign countries. Ascertains the state of knowledge, including any uncertainties and implications, related to NRC's implementation of enhanced human factor requirements.
• Represents the NRC at government, academic, international and industry conferences, seminars and meetings.
• Serves as the lead technical mentor and trainer for human factors and organizational factors technical review and research staff.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship Required
• Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires.
• This is a Drug Testing position.

U.S. Citizenship Required Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires. This is a Drug Testing position. 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.

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

To qualify for this position, you must have at least seven to ten years of specialized experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience (e.g., graduate degree) that demonstrates expert knowledge of the basic principles, theories, and practices in the field of human factors. Demonstrated knowledge of state-of-the-art human and organizational factors issues in complex technological and socio-technical systems, related human factors analysis and human performance evaluation research, and potential solutions.

A detailed description of how you possess the specialized experience as well as how you meet the qualifications desired in an ideal candidate; including types and complexity of projects or work assignments you have undertaken and your specific role (e.g., lead, contributor, etc.) that demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the area, should be addressed in your resume and additional space provided for supplemental response.

The Ideal Candidate for this position will have:

Demonstrated, extensive knowledge of, and experience as a recognized expert in, the application of the principles, theories, and practices in the field of human factors analysis and human performance evaluation to evaluating or ensuring the safety of complex technical systems or socio-technical systems (e.g., commercial nuclear power plant operations).

Demonstrated ability to conduct reviews, assessments, or research addressing human factors analysis and human performance evaluation, to evaluate technical reports and research results, and to make sound technical judgments on the relative merit and feasibility of different or competing points of view.

Demonstrated skill in analyzing, evaluating, and resolving complex technical and policy issues in the areas of human factors engineering and human performance evaluation.

Demonstrated advanced oral and written communication skills, and experience effectively conveying and presenting complex and detailed information of a technical and/or policy nature to colleagues, peers, senior management officials, and representatives of other institutions, agencies, or organizations.

Demonstrated ability to function as an organization representative and liaison on substantive technical and policy issues, and to achieve cooperation and consensus among parties engaged in joint or parallel efforts.

A detailed description of how you possess the specialized experience as well as how you meet the qualifications desired in an ideal candidate; including types and complexity of projects or work assignments you have undertaken and your specific role (e.g., lead, contributor, etc.) that demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the area, should be addressed in your resume and additional space provided for supplemental response.

Education

Education Requirements:

0801 Basic Requirements:

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

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.)

0180 Basic Requirements

Degree: major or equivalent in psychology for all specializations except clinical psychology and counseling psychology. These two specializations have additional educational requirements, as stated below:

• Clinical psychology: For positions at grades GS-11 and above, satisfactory completion of all the requirements for the doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) directly related to full professional work in clinical psychology is required.
• Counseling psychology: For positions at grades GS-9 and above, satisfactory completion of 2 full academic years of graduate study directly related to professional work in counseling psychology, or satisfactory completion in an accredited educational institution of all the requirements for a master's degree directly related to counseling psychology is required.

Additional information

The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Disability Program Coordinator at (301) 415-2294.. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Selection for this position will be made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, non-disqualifying physical or mental handicap, age, membership, or non membership in an employee organization, personal favoritism or other non- merit factors. Selectees will be required to complete a "Declaration of Federal Employment", (OF-306), prior to being appointed to determine their suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. False statements or responses on your resume or questionnaire can jeopardize your employment opportunity and subject you to disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service, A transferable security clearance from another agency or a background investigation leading to a clearance is required for all new hires. To begin work at the NRC without a security clearance, you must be granted a temporary waiver of the required clearance, referred to as a 145 (b) waiver. To be eligible for a 145 (b) waiver you need favorable education verification, and reference, credit, and criminal history checks. If a wavier is granted, the successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication are required for continued employment. If you have resided outside the U.S. for an extended period of time, the agency may not be able to (1) grant the 145(b) waiver where the required investigation cannot be completed in a timely manner, or (2) achieve timely completion of the background investigation required for a security clearance.

The duty location of this position is Rockville, Maryland. 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.