Duties

As a Nuclear Engineer in NRR's Nuclear Systems Performance Branch, you will be responsible for: 1) Reviewing and evaluating process design parameters, performance of reactor systems, and safety analyses for commercial pressurized and boiling water reactors (PWRs and BWRs), including thermal hydraulic and reactivity phenomena under steady-state, transient and accident conditions for design basis and beyond design basis events; 2) Conducting confirmatory analyses for reactor licensing reviews; 3) Providing subject matter expertise in reactor systems and containment thermal hydraulic analysis to support a variety of regulatory activities beyond licensing for commercial PWRs and BWRs, such as oversight, non-power reactor licensing, and new light water reactor licensing; 4) Reviewing and evaluating policy issues related to reactor systems associated with commercial PWR and BWR technologies and safety analysis methodologies; 5) Preparing safety evaluation reports, audit reports, and other documentation related to a variety of licensing activities for commercial PWRs/BWRs, new light water reactor designs, and non-power reactors including license amendment requests, license renewal applications, topical report submittals, design certification applications, and new license applications; and 6) Presenting results of evaluations before the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) and other technical briefings, providing testimony at commercial reactor hearings, and performing technical audits related to reactor systems performance, containment response, and safety analyses.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• This is a Drug Testing position.
• Subject to security ownership restriction reporting requirements.
• U.S. Citizenship Required
• 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 addition to the educational requirements to qualify for this position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GG-13) 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 power 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 should be addressed in your resume, responses to the vacancy questions, and in the additional space provided for your supplemental response

The ideal candidate for this position will show proof of experience in:

1. Demonstrated knowledge of the theories, principles, and practices in the field of reactor systems and nuclear fuel sufficient to evaluate designs, process design parameters, and review safety system performance for a variety of light water reactor designs.

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 in regards to issues pertaining to design basis event evaluation in the areas of core physics, fuel behavior, reactivity control system and control rod design, and core thermal-hydraulic performance.

3. Demonstrated in-depth knowledge of NRC rules, regulations, and policies pertaining to power reactors through familiarity with the Part 52 and Part 50 reactor regulatory frameworks, topical report methodology processes, system design standards, regulatory guides and practices, and the performance of regulatory reviews associated with the licensing of light water reactors.

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.

Education

Qualification for All Professional Engineering 0800 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:

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.)

More detailed information about these alternatives are described in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards Operating Manual which may be accessed at the following website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/nuclear-engineering-series-0840/

Additional information

As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination by November 22, 2021 or before appointment or onboarding with the agency, if after November 22. Information on the vaccination documentation needed may be found at the Safer Federal Workforce website: https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/. The agency will provide information on our process to request a legally required exception from this requirement when we extend an offer.

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.

Individuals who are eligible for non-competitive appointment under an OPM special appointing authority may apply for consideration under a comparable NRC non-competitive appointing authority. Veterans, please visit: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/

Selectee's 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 will need a favorable education verification, reference, credit, and criminal history checks. If a wavier is granted, the successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication is 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 NRC is a zero tolerance agency with respect to illegal drug use. Individuals selected for this position will be subject to pre-appointment drug testing unless currently in a NRC position subject to random drug testing AND will be subject to random drug testing upon appointment to the NRC.

Following the agency's re-entry date of November 7, 2021, the position advertised in this vacancy announcement is not approved for full-time remote or full-time fixed telework. However, most NRC positions are eligible for some type of telework, in accordance with agency policy.