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Criticality Safety Engineer

Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration
Savannah River Field Office

Summary

The incumbent serves as a Criticality Safety Engineer responsible for technical analysis of the Document Safety Analyses for Hazard Category 2 and 3 nuclear facilities at the Savannah River Site.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 06/12/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 12, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$125,776 - $201,205 per year
Pay scale & grade
EN 4
Promotion potential
4
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-NA-SV-XE-00604-NAT
Control number
871012800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to United States Citizens

Duties

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As a Criticality Safety Engineer, you will have the following duties and responsibilities:

  • Reviews design criteria, construction, and operations of new equipment or modifications related to nuclear safety activities, e.g., critical experiments, activities, and operations.
  • Maintains familiarity with current processes, materials, and status of facilities at the SRFO through frequent site visits, discussions, and reviews of reports to provide timely advice concerning nuclear safety. Based on oversight activities, makes decisions, provides guidance and technical expertise, assistance and direction regarding the safety of such activities and related programs.
  • Provides Safey Base management to ensure that Nuclear Criticality Safety Programs are established at SRFO. The incumbent comprehensively addresses critical safety with all identified risks to acceptable levels; fully documents management authorizations to operate and assures protection of the public, employees, property and the environment from the effects of a critical accident.
  • Investigates accidents and other abnormal conditions concerning safety/criticality issues ensuring that corrective actions are taken by contractor personnel to prevent recurrence. Technically evaluates such data to determine if trends are evident, which could indicate further problem areas and independently takes action to mitigate such.
  • Plans (short- and long-term), manages coordinates, reviews, evaluates, develops and implements safety basis programs, providing technical consultation to senior NNSA/DOE managers on sensitive nuclear safety and security issues.
  • Serves as a recognized expert regarding NNSA SRFO Safety Basis Programs. In this capacity, serves as a member or chairs NNSA or DOE, industry, or national technical committees, and provides expert technical and programmatic advice to other NNSA and DOE offices as well as contractor facilities where unique and highly complex problems arise.
  • Monitors, reviews, and evaluates contractor's program performance and all related activities by conducting program reviews, establishing performance measures, and monitoring compliance and corrective actions and providing performance evaluation to assure compliance with all applicable DOE and NNSA orders, safety codes, technical specification, operating procedures, ANS standards, and other regulations and policy.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Subject to Random Drug Testing
  • Must pass a pre-employment drug test.
  • Favorable suitability determination required.
  • Financial Disclosure is required.
  • Must be able to obtain/maintain a Q level Security Clearance.
  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
  • Compliance with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12) governing personal identity which will require that you provide two forms of identification.
  • A two (2) year trial period may be required. Employees serving on a trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.
  • More than one position may be filled from this vacancy announcement.
  • Federal Technical Capability Program
  • Must be able to obtain certification in the DOE's Technical Qualification Program (TQP) within 18 months of start date. This position is covered by the Technical Qualification Program (TQP), which requires the incumbent to acquire and demonstrate competencies identified in the TQP Functional Area Qualification and Field Office specific standards and requires certification of the competencies by NNSA supervision and TQP qualifying officials. https://ntc.doe.gov/student/stp/techqualprogram
  • Please limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, you will be disqualified.
Trial periods are required for all excepted service employees. Trial periods served in the same position and agency with no break in service will satisfy the requirement.

Qualifications

A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower NNSA pay band level or GS grade level in the Federal Service, i.e.. EN-03, NN-03 or GS-13. Specialized experience for this position is defined as evaluating overall performance of a Nuclear Criticality Safety program, either in management or oversight role.


Examples of Qualified Experience:
1. Experience leading a team that evaluates or is responsible for performing oversight assessments focused on nuclear criticality safety.
2. Experience applying and/or evaluating compliance with Nuclear Criticality Safety regulatory requirements.
3. Experience evaluating the overall health of safety management programs or key aspects of safety management programs, either as a manager or in an oversight role.

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 application how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the KSAs identified below. Cite 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. DO NOT write "see resume" in your application!

  • Communication
  • Nuclear Engineering
  • Safety Engineering


"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.

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

Education

In addition to meeting the Specialized Experience, all applicants must meet the Basic Requirement/Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for the Engineering Series:

Basic Requirement/IOR:
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 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (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), 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) 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).

EDUCATION: Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. A written evaluation of any foreign education must be provided with your application in response to this vacancy announcement or be received by the closing date of this announcement. Failure to provide this evaluation will result in you being found unqualified for the position. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education, see the Department of Education website, and for a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, visit The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.


**FOREIGN EDUCATION: Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside of the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. A written evaluation of any foreign education must be provided with your application in response to this vacancy announcement or be received by the closing date of this announcement. Failure to provide this evaluation will result in you being found unqualified for the position. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education, see the Department of Education website, and for a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, visit The National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Please Note: If your foreign education has already been accepted by an accredited U.S. educational institution as part of a degree program with that institution, you do not need to provide an evaluation of foreign education but must submit a copy of the transcripts listing the degree from the U.S. accredited institution that accepted your foreign education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

**If you are selected, official transcripts will be required.

Additional information

  • 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.
  • All positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
  • All males born after December 31,1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register. If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government.
  • A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a highly qualified applicant in accordance with Agency policy and applicable regulations
  • In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to the four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answers to these questions are not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.

EEO Policy: Click HERE.
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Click HERE.
Veterans Information: Click HERE.
Telework: Click HERE.
Selective Service Registration: Click HERE

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.

Your application will be rated by our application system using the Self-Assessment Rating procedure.

Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Office will review the first two pages of your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications. Additional documentation (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) may not be considered.

Your application and resume shall demonstrate that you possess the Competencies listed above. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your application how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the Competencies. Cite 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. DO NOT write "see resume" in your application.

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

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified'.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the link below.
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12971920

National Nuclear Security Administration

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), NNSA - Savannah River Field Office has the perfect employment opportunity for a Criticality Safety Engineer. In this position you'll play an important role in accomplishing the national security mission of the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. You will utilize your expertise to provide high level technical exchanges, leadership management to NNSA nuclear safety programs.

Agency contact information

Crystal Wells
Email
crystal.wells@nnsa.doe.gov
Address
NNSA - Savannah River Field Office
24600 20th St SE
Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5507
US

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