Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to current, permanent facility employees, current, permanent agency employees, current, permanent federal employees and CTAP/ICTAP eligibles only.

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Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Serves as assistant to the Radiation Safety Officer at Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, overseeing a comprehensive radiation safety program (ionizing and non-ionizing radiation sources, both radioactive materials and machine radiation producing devices) in support of hundreds of individuals using radioactive materials/ individuals exposed to radiation and/or individuals using radiation sources for medical and research under a single NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
• Monitors operating programs to ensure strict compliance with NRC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
• Conducts radiation audits and surveys to identify and mitigate potential hazards
• Performs personnel dosimetry oversight/monitoring for appropriate action.
• Performs maintenance, calibration, and quality assurance/quality checks on radiation detection instruments
• Independently manages the day-to-day operations of a health care system's Radioactive Waste Disposal Program.
• Manages the shipment of radioactive materials program for the health care system.
• Contracting Officer Representative oversight of contracts within the Radiation Safety section.
• Attends medical physics meetings as appropriate
• Conducts training as appropriate relating to radiation safety responsibilities.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8:00am - 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Physicist - Radiation Safety - Recruitment/Relocation Incentive/PD011290
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/01/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

Individual Occupational Requirements:

• Degree: natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus. OR;
• Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described in paragraph A.

In addition to the statement above, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assists in radiation detection and measurement equipment to define ambient dose equivalent rates and contamination levels as it relates to the performance of Radioactive Material package swipe surveys, user facility inspections, sealed source leak tests, management of wastes from radionuclide therapy patients, radioactive material spill decontamination, and radiological decommissioning of radiation treatment rooms and user facilities; Assists in operation of computer, radiographic and scintillation counting equipment used to detect and monitor radiation; familiar with radiation standards of care for patients and potential occupational radiation exposure limits for staff. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond ???????2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED).

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

1. Health Physics
2. Attention to Detail
3. Health Risk Analysis

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work requires some physical exertion, such as long periods of walking and standing during audits of clinical programs such as nuclear medicine and standing while giving presentations to groups of people. Bending and squatting is necessary when surveying floors and surfaces in use areas to assess radioactive contamination by collecting wipe samples and scanning with radiation survey meters. Time is also spent in formal and informal meetings with many different groups. Much of the work is administrative in nature and requires sitting in an office and utilizing computers. In addition, periods of driving in traffic are required to visit outlying clinics and CBOCs. Lifting up to 50 pounds in weight is occasionally needed, such as when handing containers of radioactive waste.

Work Environment: The incumbent will work much of the time in an adequately lighted and ventilated office environment; in a clinical environment, such as nuclear medicine, regularly; in research laboratories regularly; occasionally in an outdoor environment subject to low or high temperatures; in a storage room/warehouse environment occasionally; and at remote locations such as CBOCs. The incumbent will usually work during normal working hours but must occasionally work outside normal working hours (on call), particularly when incidents or accidents occur or when a patient is hospitalized because of treatment with radioactive material. The work environment will expose the incumbent to radioactive material and ionizing radiation and to chemical, biological, magnetic, laser, and sound hazards. Emergencies involving radioactive material or radiation will potentially expose the incumbent to higher levels of radioactive contamination or ionizing radiation. As a result, appropriate personal protective equipment and monitoring equipment will be required at times to include lead or lead equivalent radiation protective apparel, lead eyewear, powered air-purifying respirators, and fullbody anti-contamination suits. The work also involves other moderate risks or discomforts that require special safety precautions, e.g., working around moving carts,
or machines, exposure to contagious diseases, lead and irritant chemicals. The incumbent may be required to occasionally move large storage containers, such as 55- gallon drums of radioactive waste. In some clinical environments (e.g., procedure rooms and operating rooms), the incumbent will be required to wear protective apparel such as surgical masks, gowns, caps, gloves, coveralls, and shoe covers to protect patients from risk of infection.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.