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Health Physicist - Radiation Safety Officer

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System

Summary

The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) for Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System reports directly to the Deputy Chief of Staff. The RSO serves as the manager of the Comprehensive Radiation Safety Program, oversees the use of all radioactive materials within the research and clinical domains while monitoring the safety of patients and employees exposed to radioactive material.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 08/03/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 3, 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
$106,437 - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Promotion potential
None
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 Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBST-13006446-26-KC
Control number
878085100

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

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Duties

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  • Plans, directs leads, and executes the radiation safety and medical health physics programs of SLVHCS in a technical, scientific, and administrative scope of function with responsibility for all diagnostic, therapeutic and research modalities that require the use of ionizing radiation.
  • Review of experimental procedures including dose specific calculations and development of risk wording, occupational dosimetry determinations for employees, and evaluation of data regarding patient absorbed radiation dose.
  • Plays the lead role in policy development for the organization's multicenter radiation safety program with technical/expert assistance/support to other groups outside the organization.
  • Evaluates shielding requirements for radiographic devices, linear accelerators, and radioactive materials and sets a monitoring program to determine resulting exposure levels.
  • Evaluates the training and experience of the medical staff and other professional personnel relative to regulatory compliance requirements for the use of radioactive materials and machine-produced ionizing radiation in clinical and research settings.
  • Provides clinical support to Radiology, Nuclear Medicine/PET, Cardiology, Dental, Interventional Radiology, Surgery, Pain Management, Research, Pulmonary, Speech Pathology, Spinal Cord Injury, Anesthesia, Urology, Gastroenterology, and Radiation Oncology, for the application of radiation sources for the diagnosis and treatment of disease
  • Reports patient radiation injuries to the appropriate agency including; National Health Physics Program (NHPP), JC, & FDA.
  • Performs or oversees decontamination of staff and patients as required; Performs or oversees decontamination and release of facilities/physical locations for general use.
  • Ensure the safe use of radioactive materials and ionizing machine-produced radiation by performing physical inspections and creating annual training in accordance with NRC regulation; Provide oversight of the safe storage of radioactive materials; Maintain inventory records of all radioactive materials.
  • Develop and implement a program to train all personnel who work with or in areas that use radioactive materials and/or work with or in areas with ionizing radiation-producing machines as required by regulation and VHA directive and encourage facility education efforts.
  • Report quarterly to the RRSC and as necessary to the MPRSC on the status of the radiation safety programs, ALARA exceptions and actions taken, and other pertinent radiation safety information.
  • Provide assistance to the Medical Imagining Quality Control Program by ensuring that all imaging equipment is tested as required by regulatory and oversight agencies, incorporate full participation of the Radiology Quality Management Technologist, Healthcare Technology Management (HTM) Service, and all involved technologist(s) and professional staff (providers and nurses); Oversee and investigate, as needed, patient radiation doses.
Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm. subject to change based on the needs of the facility.
Telework: Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Physicist - Radiation Safety Officer/PD069890
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the 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
  • Physical Requirements: The performance of inspections requires recurrent long periods of standing, walking, climbing, crouching, and lifting and occasional carrying of moderate to heavy items. The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation.
  • 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 identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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, 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, 08/03/2026.

Individual Occupational Requirement: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. To qualify, you must have:

A) 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 (transcripts required).

OR,

B) 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 (transcripts required).

In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: For a GS-13 You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

  • Performs complex dosimetry evaluations for internal exposure, external exposure and skin contamination events and ensure proper documentation of evaluations and dose assignments.
  • Experienced in analyzing situations or data requiring an in-depth knowledge of regulations, directives, and organizational operations and objectives.
  • Established as a subject matter expert by internal and external RP/EHS professionals and internal business colleagues.
  • Assess and operate in hazardous, controlled environments including radiological fields and confined areas.
  • Manages the facility-wide Radiation Safety Program for a medical center, ensuring full compliance with NRC license/permit conditions, Joint Commission standards, OSHA requirements, and all applicable federal, state, and local regulations by maintaining current policies, procedures, and training that reflect the latest regulatory and accrediting agency expectations..
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/.


Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the order in which applicants are received.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork



Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?

DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System provides quality, patient-centered health care to Veterans throughout 23 parishes in southeast Louisiana. We meet the needs of Veterans through seven community-based outpatient clinics located in Slidell, Hammond, St. John Parish, Houma, Franklin, Bogalusa and Baton Rouge, as well as a new Veterans Medical Center in New Orleans. For more information, connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, keyword New Orleans. Please visit our lifestyle/quality of life site https://destinationgno.com/ to learn why New Orleans is home to so many.

Agency contact information

Kathy Carroll
Phone
813-503-7921
Email
Kathy.Carroll@va.gov
Address
New Orleans VA Medical Center
2400 Canal Street
New Orleans, LA 70119
US

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