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Duties

The incumbent(s) will serve as a Physical Science Technician providing radiation safety services and regulatory compliance monitoring in support of NIST's mission as a measurement standards and materials research laboratory at the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR). The NCNR Health Physics group consists of Professional Health Physicists and Physical Science Technicians. The group is responsible for radiation safety training, dosimetry, bioassays, radioactive materials (RAM) accountability, shipping and receiving, effluent and environmental monitoring, laboratory instrumentation, contamination monitor, survey instrument calibrations, laboratory surveillance, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Transportation regulatory compliance, incident response, and other radiation safety support duties. As a ZT-II you will work under direct supervision to support the radiation safety program. This includes conducting surveys, collecting radiological samples, and analyzing radiological samples. The individual will use detailed procedures to perform the work. As a ZT-III, you will work independently providing radiation safety services. This includes conducting surveys, collecting radiological samples, and analyzing samples. They will provide radiation safety training and respond provide radiation safety support to NCNR personnel. They will review analysis results and compare to applicable standards. They will assemble reports for review and identify trends or issues with sample results. As a ZT-IV you will provide radiation support services and implement portions of the NCNR radiation safety program at the NCNR. They will ensure procedures are current. They will author or update procedures to address new requirements. They will review the work of others to ensure it was conducted in accordance with applicable requirements. They will identify and address programmatic issues by changing procedures, developing training. They will provide training on radiation safety program elements.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Merit applicants must meet time-in-grade/band requirements, as applicable
• Satisfactory completion of a pre-employment medical examination
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: To Qualify for ZT-II: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 level (or ZT-I at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience working with radioactive materials or radiation producing machines such as Xray units or accelerators. OR Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in an appropriate field of physical science, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses of physical science, engineering, or any branch of mathematics, except financial and commercial mathematics. OR Combination of education and experience. NOTE: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement. One full academic year of study (30 semester hours) beyond the second year is equivalent to 6 months of specialized experience. To Qualify for ZT-III: One year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-8 (ZT-II at NIST) level. Specialized experience is defined as experience working with radioactive materials or radiation producing machines and experience in performing work as a health physics technician. OR Master's degree in a field of study that is directly related to the work of the position. OR Two full years of graduate education (36 semester hours) in a field of study that is directly related to the work of the position. OR An equivalent combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first 1 1/2 years (27 semester hours) of progressive graduate study. Graduate education must be in a field of study that is directly related to the work of the position. To Qualify for ZT-IV: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-10 (or ZT-III at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience in performing work as a health physics technician. Experience in independently overseeing health physics programs. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done. We will credit all qualifying volunteer experience in your application. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. If requesting reconsideration of your qualification determination, please refer to the following site: Applicant Reconsideration

Education

For ZT II and ZT III: This position allows applicants to qualify with education. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required prior to a final offer of employment.

Education completed outside of the U.S. must be evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with a course by course listing) is required with your application.

For ZT IV: Qualifications are based upon meeting specialized experience only. Education cannot be used to qualify for this position.

Contacts

• Address NIST Center for Neutron Research 100 Bureau Drive Building 235/Room K108 Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Amanda Reliford
• Phone: (202) 309-8886
• Email: [email protected]