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Health Physicist (Radiation Safety)

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration, Orlando VA Healthcare System

Summary

The Health Physicist (Radiation Safety Officer) reports to the Medical Center Assistant Director. Directs the managerial aspects of the Radiation Safety Program ensuring all procedures and regulatory requirements are in compliance with Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rules and regulations. Position plays the lead role in policy development for the organizations multicenter radiation safety program with technical and or expert assistance and support to other groups outside the organization.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—AD-HOC Telework
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
CBTC-13016402-26-CP
Control number
878803100

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Duties

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Duties includes but are not limited to:

  • Prepares correspondence, license amendments, applications and written communications required with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
  • Instructs personnel using sources of radioactive material annually.
  • Provides instruction using sources of ionizing radiation concerning the ALARA program, safety procedures, and local policy and procedures.
  • Investigates overexposures, ALARA exceptions, accidents, spills, thefts, unauthorized receipts, uses, transfers, disposals, medical events, and any other deviation from approved radiation safety practice and implement corrective actions.
  • Inspects all facilities where radionuclides are used and stored as needed by not less than once each year for compliance with Federal regulations and local policy and procedures.
  • Maintains inventory records and performs required surveys and wipe tests for all facilities and sources assigned to the Radiation Safety Office.
  • Manages the timely distribution and collection of personnel monitors and maintains records of personnel exposure including accounting for all missing or lost badges.
  • Maintains written records of all activities of the Radiation Safety Office/Officer.
  • Provides radiation safety support for each clinical therapeutic case.

Physical Requirements: The work involves a certain amount of strenuous activity associated with small work spaces to change radioactive material activated charcoal air flow filters, preparing radioactive materials waste in 55-gallon drums and the handling of such drums, lifting heavy boxes of liquid scintillation vials and other solid waste materials for disposal, as well as facility roof surveys via tall ladder and small space access for motor contamination prior to equipment maintenance. Work is divided approximately equally between sedentary desk work and walking, bending and climbing required to inspect laboratory and equipment installations. Some occasional crouching, stooping, reaching, and pushing of moderately heavy items such as carts may be required. Lifting up to 45 pounds in weight may occasionally be required.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Telework: Ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Physicist (Radiation Safety)/PD065360
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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
  • 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.
  • 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, 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, 08/14/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirements - Health Physics Series 1306:

Basic Requirements

  • 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. 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. 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.

GS-13 Grade Level Minimum Qualification Requirement:

In addition to the Time-In-Grade and Individual Occupational Requirements, you must also have the following specialized experience required for the GS-13 grade level.


Specialized Experience: 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: Planning, directing, performing the execution of the radiation safety programs, Consultative of each different scientific/research/dental/medical areas. Advising other health physicist, researchers, technical, and medical personnel relative to the use of radioactive materials and devices producing ionizing radiations. Reviewing experimental procedures, clinical therapeutic dosimetry calculations, occupational dosimetry determinations for employees, and evaluative measurements for patient absorbed doses. Act to control and prevent ionizing radiation hazards. Developing and implementing radiation safety program and training. Managing the storage, handling, transportation, and transfers of all radioactive materials and decontamination policies and procedure. Calibrating radioactive sealed source. Mathematically and practically determines radiation shielding needs and the associated dose assessment model. Determining radiation dose assessment and Federal Regulatory requirements for internal/external contaminations, establishing the emergency response to radiation accident incident. Establishing proper technique associated with physical detection and quantitative measurement of radiation. Applying radiation safety standards associated with the interaction of ionizing radiation exposure and contamination upon living tissue. Establishing and overseeing the programs for all acquisition, storage, and use, of radioactive materials; and maintaining a budget with oversight of radiation safety equipment and personal dosimetry programs.
Preferred Experience: 5+ years of experience in Radiation Safety.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

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?

The Orlando VA Healthcare System, serving more than 110,000 Veterans in Central Florida, is one of seven medical centers that make up the VA Sunshine Healthcare Network (VISN 8). Established as a medical center in October 2006, it is recognized as one of the Top 100 Companies in Central Florida for working families. The Orlando VA Healthcare System includes a 120-bed Community Living Center in Lake Nona, a 60-bed Residential Rehabilitation Program (Domiciliary) in Lake Nona and a 56-bed Residential Rehabilitation Program (Domiciliary) located at Lake Baldwin, Outpatient Clinics in Lake Baldwin, Viera and Daytona Beach and four Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Clermont, Kissimmee, Tavares, and Orange City. The Orlando VA Healthcare System is part of a 650-acre health and life sciences park known as the Lake Nona Medical City. The 65-acre medical campus has 134-inpatient beds and provides acute care, complex specialty care, advanced diagnostic services, a large multispecialty outpatient clinic, and administrative and support services.

Agency contact information

Christine Padgett
Phone
(813) 816-7155 X100244
Email
christine.padgett@va.gov
Address
Orlando VA Medical Center
13800 Veterans Way
Orlando, FL 32827
US

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