Supervisory Diagnostic Medical Physicist Job in Philadelphia, PA

Vacancy No. CBSZ-12759066-25-WCS Department Veterans Health Administration
Salary $137,222.00 to $178,388.00 Grade 14 to 14
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 7/17/2025 Close Date 8/1/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Philadelphia, PA


Summary

The Corporal Michal J. Crescenz VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC) is recruiting for a Diagnostic Medical Physicist (DMP). The DMP supports the clinical operations, research programs, and teaching activities that deal with ionizing radiation and radioactive material. The CMCVAMC is part of VISN 4 and serves as an acute referral center for VA healthcare facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey.

Duties

Duties include, but not limited to the following:

This position is a Diagnostic Medical Physicist (DMP) located within the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC), a Level 1B Complexity VHA Healthcare System in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving more than 62,000 unique patients and providing more than 60,000 radiological procedures annually across four sites of care in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to include: Burlington County, NJCBOC, the Victor J. Saracini VA Outpatient Clinic in Horsham, Pennsylvania, and the CMCVAMC's Community Living Center (CLC). The DMP supports the clinical operations, research programs, and teaching activities that deal with ionizing radiation and radioactive material. The CMCVAMC is part of VISN 4 and serves as an acute referral center for VA healthcare facilities in eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey.

  • The Health Physicist serves as the Radiation Safety Officer overseeing a comprehensive program in support of individuals in the departments of Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Oncology, and various Medical and Surgical specialties using ionizing radiation in a clinical/academic/research setting under a single Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) broad scope license permit.
  • Instructs as needed all personnel using sources of radioactive material, but not less than once annually, concerning the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA)program, safety procedures, disposal policy and procedures and compliance with regulations and local policy and procedures.
  • Inspects all facilities where radionuclides are used and stored as needed but not less than once each year for compliance with Federal regulations and local policy and procedures.
  • Manages the timely distribution and collection of personnel monitors and maintains records of personnel exposure including accounting for all missing or lost badges.
  • Responsible for budgetary requirements of the radiation safety program, including writing contracts with oversight of several contracts as the contracting officer representative (COR).
  • Performs dosimetry calculations for and consults with patients receiving unsealed radiopharmaceuticals.
  • Establishes the proper technique associated with the physical detection and quantitative measurement of radiation from internal and external contamination and exposure of radiation with the measurement of various internal dosimetry values for the various possible conditions.
  • Provides radiation educational services in clinical care and research areas at both the main hospital as well as associated CBOCs.
  • Provides consultative support to the hospital's Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Biosafety Committee, and Safety Committee.
  • Assists PENTAD and Service Chiefs in establishing overall service goal and policies related to radiation safety and the uses of radiation sources.
  • Manages the storage, handling, transportation, transfer, and disposal of all radioactive materials.
  • Packaging and preparing the shipment of manifests, burial site licensing applications, and arrangements for off-site shipping, allotment and oversight of radioactive qualities disposed of in the sanitary sewage, air exhaust system, and by incineration.
Supervisory controls:
  • The incumbent is responsible for planning, designing, and carrying out programs, projects, studies in terms of established requirements of specifications for meeting the objectives of the Radiation Safety Program. Coordination of the employee's work and establishment of priorities in relation to the total mission and management direction of the safety program is performed independently.
  • Work results submitted by the incumbent are considered technically authoritative and normally accepted without significant change. New projects and programs are evaluated with recommendations for appropriateness to the facility mission, utilization, and radiological implications.
Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:Not available.
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
  • You may be required to serve a trial period.
  • 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).

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:
  • United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
  • Applicants for a Physicist position within the VHA must possess a Master's degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.
  • Board Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to Physicist positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of medical physics by an approved certifying body. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. The Physicist must maintain current board certification.
    • Approved Certifying Bodies and DMP subspecialty certifications are as follow:
    • (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) certifications include:
      • i. Diagnostic Medical Physics or Diagnostic Radiologic Physics
      • ii. Nuclear Medical Physics or Medical Nuclear Physics
      • iii. Radiologic Physics
    • (b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) certifications include:
      • i. Diagnostic Imaging Physics
      • ii. Nuclear Medicine Physics
      • iii. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Physics
    • (c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) certifications include:
      • i. Diagnostic Radiological Physics
      • ii. Nuclear Medicine Physics
      • iii. Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    • (d) The American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine certifications include:
      • i. Nuclear Medicine Physics and Instrumentation
      • ii. Molecular Imaging
May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Specialized Experience GS-14: In addition to the GS-13 requirements, you must have 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level and must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  • 1. Knowledge of instructional methods.
  • 2. Skill using written and verbal communication to explain complex technical issues.
  • 3. Ability to assess the qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees to include staff performance evaluations and professional development.
  • 4. Ability to collaborate with the members of other disciplines and supervisors and to represent the profession both in and outside of organization. This includes knowledge of the roles, contributions, and interrelationships with other health care specialties and supporting divisions.
  • 5. Ability to manage and supervises employees and the ability to perform administrative duties to include, but not limited to: coordinating staffing, workload, and schedules; setting priorities and delegating tasks and responsibilities; reviewing qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees; interviewing and selecting candidates; providing training and departmental orientation overseeing technical operations; granting promotions; and reviewing competencies and conducting performance appraisals..
Certification and Transcript Reminder - Due to the positive education requirement unofficial conferred transcripts or an appropriate course listing must be submitted with your application. Applications will not be considered without appropriate conferred transcripts.

The full performance level of this vacancy is 14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of 13 to 14.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: See VA DIRECTIVE 5019

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

Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

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.

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

This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status.

VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

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.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

  • Resume


The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

  • Cover Letter
  • DD-214/ Statement of Service
  • Disability Letter (Schedule A)
  • Disability Letter (VA)
  • License
  • Other (1)
  • Performance Appraisal
  • Professional Certification
  • Resume
  • Separation Notice (RIF)
  • SF-15
  • SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
  • Transcript


SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):
  • Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
  • An SF-50 showing 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
  • Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
  • Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
    • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
    • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
    • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.

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

All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 08/01/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12759066.

  1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.

NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Agency contact information

William Simmons
Address
Corporal Michael J Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center
3900 Woodland Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19104
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. After we receive application packages (including all required documents) and the vacancy announcement closes, we will review applications to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email. Referred applicants will be notified as such and may be contacted directly by the hiring office for an interview. All referred applicants receive a final notification once a selection decision has been made.

You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.

NOTE: Participation in the seasonal influenza program is a condition of employment and a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP). It is a requirement that all HCP to receive annual seasonal influenza vaccination or obtain an exemption for medical or religious reasons. Wearing a face mask is required when an exemption to the influenza vaccination has been granted. HCP in violation of this directive may face disciplinary action up to and including removal from federal service. HCP are individuals who, during the influenza season, work in VHA locations or who come into contact with VA patients or other HCP as part of their duties. VHA locations include, but are not limited to, VA hospitals and associated clinics, community living centers (CLCs), community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs), domiciliary units, Vet centers and VA-leased medical facilities. HCP include all VA licensed and unlicensed, clinical and administrative, remote and onsite, paid and without compensation, full- and part-time employees, intermittent employees, fee basis employees, VA contractors, researchers, volunteers and health professions trainees (HPTs) who are expected to perform any or all of their work at these facilities. HPTs may be paid or unpaid and include residents, interns, fellows and students. HCP also includes VHA personnel providing home-based care to Veterans and drivers and other personnel whose duties put them in contact with patients outside VA medical facilities.


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


© 2006-2025, exclusive of U. S. government job opportunity announcements