Branch Chief Job in Rockville, MD

Vacancy No. NRR-2025-0009 Department Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Salary $167,603.00 to $195,200.00 Grade 15 to 15
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/7/2025 Close Date 7/16/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Status Candidates
Locations:
Rockville, MD


Summary

This position is located in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Division of Advanced Reactors and NPUF (DANU), Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch (); Supervisor Mehdi Reisi Fard; and Division of Operating Reactor Licensing (DORL), Licensing Projects Branch (); Supervisor Aida Rivera-Varona

The position is subject to Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting requirements and security ownership restriction reporting requirements.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

Accepting applications from current NRC employees on a permanent appointment or NRC competitive Term appointment.

Duties

As the Branch Chief in DANU and DORL, you will support the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) mission to protect public health, safety and the environment by providing overall management of regulatory activities involving engineering issues, and the infrastructure within the Branch’s scope of responsibility.

You will be responsible for implementing organizational change, supervising people, facilitating resolution of policy, technical, and administrative issues, and planning and executing activities. You will also be responsible for the administration of NRC human resources programs relative to employees under your supervision. You will assist the Division Director in the development and maintenance of operating plans, infrastructure documents, and policies. You will also develop and implement management controls to measure individual and branch performance and to achieve agency goals.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • This is a Drug Testing position.
  • Must be able to meet/maintain security & suitability requirements.
  • U.S. Citizenship Required

You must meet the qualifications for this position by no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for this position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GG-14) in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.  

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as: Experience supervising or providing direction, guidance, or leadership to a technical or projects organization, group, team, on policy or technical issues. Experience participating in managing work processes and/or utilization of resources. Experience collaborating with internal and external stakeholders to accomplish goals and objectives.  

A description of how you possess the specialized experience should be addressed in your resume, responses to the vacancy questions, and additional space provided for supplemental response.

Education

Qualification for 0801 Series:

Basic Requirements:

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.)

More detailed information about these alternatives are described in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards Operating Manual which may be accessed at the following website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/

Qualification for 1301 series:

Basic Requirements:

Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

Please ensure that you indicate your preference of interviewing for DANU or DORL or both.

Based on the staffing needs of the agency/area of consideration, additional selections may be made from this vacancy announcement.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the NRC will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. The NRC will request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

The NRC provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate.  Individuals with disabilities may contact the Selective Placement Coordinator for assistance with the application or hiring process via Disability.Resource@nrc.gov.  Deaf applicants may contact the Disability Program Manager by calling the NRC videophone at 240-428-3217.

The NRC is a zero tolerance agency with respect to illegal drug use.  Individuals selected for this position will be subject to random drug testing.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

As an NRC employee you will enjoy excellent Federal Benefits, including: comprehensive health and life insurance plans; Flexible Spending Account Program for health and dependent care; Dental and Vision Insurance; retirement savings and investment plan similar to 401(k)  (Thrift Savings Plan); annual (vacation) and paid sick leave; family friendly leave policies; 11 paid holidays per year; transit benefits.  This link provides an overview of the benefits currently offered to Federal employees.  https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Pay_and_Benefits

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

When the application process is complete, your application will be reviewed to determine if you meet the job requirements.  You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to any vacancy questions to determine your level of knowledge, skill and ability related to the job requirements.  If you are among the top candidates for this position, your application will be referred to the hiring manager.

Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position.  Therefore, we encourage you to submit a thorough resume that directly relates to this position.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

As a NRC employee you are required to submit your most recent Rating of Record (Performance Appraisal) or a statement explaining why one is not available. 

All supplemental documents can now be collected electronically and should be submitted before the closing date of this vacancy announcement.  File uploads are limited to 5MB in size per document. If your file size exceeds 5MB it will not upload.  You can reduce the file size by using the reduce file size feature in Adobe Acrobat before upload. You have three choices for submitting your supplemental documents:

1.  Use the "USAJOBs" feature to download documents from your USAJOBs portfolio; or
2.  use the "Upload" feature to upload documents directly from your computer.  The following types of documents can be uploaded:
.gif, .jpeg, .png, .rtf, .pdf, and .doc; or
3. use the "Fax" feature to print the Fax Cover Sheet and fax it, along with your supplemental documents to 1-571-258-4052.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of 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.

How to Apply

We strongly encourage you to read the entire announcement before you submit your application for this position.

Your application for this vacancy must be received online via the USAJOBS application system BEFORE 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online application, you will not be considered for this position.

The NRC requires that applicants submit resumes built using the USAJOBS Resume Builder tool. The Resume Builder tool is activated upon selecting "Build New Resume" under the "Resumes" section of your USAJOBS account.

To ensure you are using the correct resume type when applying to our vacancies, please make sure that the resume you are using during the application process is listed with a format type of "USAJOBS Resume" and a source type of "Built with USAJOBS Resume Builder. Verifying this information on your USAJOBS resume before applying will ensure the successful submission of your application to the NRC job vacancy.

Paper applications will not be accepted unless hardship circumstances can be demonstrated. Requests for extensions WILL NOT be granted. If applying online poses a hardship for you, the Human Resources Specialist listed on the announcement will provide assistance to ensure that applications are submitted online by the closing date. Applicants must contact the Human Resources Specialist during business hours BEFORE the closing date of the announcement and speak to someone who can provide assistance for your online submission.

You must answer any job specific vacancy questions. You will be rated based on your responses to any vacancy questions and especially the information provided in your resume. Breadth, recency, and length of experience in the field; training, awards, and commendations; past and current performance; and community or outside professional activities will be considered to determine your level of knowledge, skill or ability for this position. Abbreviated responses to the vacancy questions, such as “significant experience” or “see resume” do not provide enough information and should not be used. You will not be considered for this position if you leave any of the vacancy questions unanswered.


To begin the application process, select the "Apply On-line" button to the right on this screen. Then follow the prompts to login/register, submit all required supplemental documents, and complete the application process.

Agency contact information

Lindsey Redden
Phone
301-287-0519
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
lindsey.reddden@nrc.gov
Website
https://www.nrc.gov
Address
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer
Attn: M/S T2-A77M
Washington, District of Columbia 20555
United States

Next steps

You may check the status of your application at any time after the announcement closes by logging onto USAJOBs and selecting “Application Status.”


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.