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Nuclear Engineer

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
Office of Enterprise Assessments
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is part of the Office of Enterprise Assessments, Department of Energy. As a Nuclear Engineer, you will lead teams of Department of Energy (DOE) and contractor technical experts in the conduct of, and/or personally conducts, assessments, special technical analyses and studies at DOE's nuclear facilities and laboratories.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
10/23/2025 to 11/06/2025
Salary
$148,070 to - $195,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Washington, DC
Germantown, MD
Albuquerque, NM
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You will be expected to travel for this position up to 30%
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-EA-00187-12816755-IMP
Control number
848705100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all current Department of Energy (including employees of BPA, WAPA, SEPA, SWPA, NNSA) employees on a career or career-conditional competitive service appointment. DOE employees participating in either the OPM or DOE Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) are not eligible to apply for this announcement. DRP participants are not considered active DOE employees because they have agreed to separate from the agency.

Duties

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As a Nuclear Engineer, you will:

  • Oversee high-hazard nuclear facilities for Department of Energy sites.
  • Conduct assessments of nuclear facilities and laboratories to ensure safety guidelines are being met.
  • Review nuclear facilities plans to spot risks and suggest safety fixes.
  • Advise senior management on issues related to nuclear facilities designs.
  • Ensure employees are informed of the agency requirements and objectives.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
  • If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
  • If selected, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • This position is not remote, the selectee will be expected to report to the duty station(s) listed. If selected, military spouses, veteran caregivers, and spouses of foreign service employees may be eligible for applicable workplace flexibilities.
  • You are required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
  • This position has been designated as Critical-sensitive and requires a security clearance at the Q level. The incumbent is required to obtain and maintain this clearance; failure to do so may result in separation from federal service.
  • You will be expected to travel for this position up to 30%
  • This position is not included in a Bargaining Unit.
  • This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) subject to applicant testing and random drug testing thereafter. Failure to test or a positive result on random drug tests conducted after appointment may result in removal from Federal employment.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

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.)

In addition to meeting the "Basic Requirements" described above, you must also meet the "Specialized Experience Requirement" described below.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:

  1. Advising senior management, stakeholders, or multi-functional teams on nuclear engineering issues.
  2. Ensuring safety regulations are being followed in nuclear facilities.
  3. Providing solutions to critical vulnerabilities in nuclear and radiologic systems.
There are no substitution of education for experience for this position.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.

Time-in-Grade:
Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

Additional information

  • New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the FedsHireVets website.
  • If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the OPM ICTAP/CTAP website for more information. In order to be considered under the ICTAP program, your application must score within the pre-established "well qualified" category as stated in the Qualifications section.
  • More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.
  • Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.
  • Many positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
  • Your performance appraisal and incentive awards will be given due consideration in the selection process based on their relation to the duties of the position and the consistency with which they may be considered in evaluating you against other candidates.
  • Hiring incentives may be authorized in accordance with agency policy and if funding is available.
  • Equal employment opportunity policy.
  • Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement.
  • Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://www.energy.gov/hc/department-energy-reasonable-accommodation-program
  • Veterans Information: https://www.energy.gov/careers/veterans-military-spouses
  • Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/
  • The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.
  • Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Offices or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications.

Structured Resume Review: After it has been determined that you meet the minimum qualifications, Human Resources Offices or Subject matter experts (SMEs) may review the first two pages of your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required competencies. Additional documentation (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) may not be considered. Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

Once the announcement closes, we will conduct a review of your application package to verify your eligibility and qualifications. If you are found qualified, your application will move forward to additional phases of the review process.

Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position.

  • Leadership
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Technical Competence



Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date ( 11/06/2025) of this announcement.

To preview the Applicant Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12816755.

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