Director, Division of Reactor Projects

Background

This Senior Executive Service (SES) position is located in Region II Division of Reactor Projects, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atlanta, Ga.   

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proud to be ranked among the best places to work for compensation, work-life balance, and performance for mid-sized agencies in the Federal Government. 

The NRC protects public health and safety and advances the nation’s common defense and security by enabling the safe and secure use and deployment of civilian nuclear energy technologies and radioactive materials through efficient and reliable licensing, oversight, and regulation for the benefit of society and the environment.

Duties

 The Director, Division of Reactor Projects provides programmatic leadership and direction, and assists the Atlanta Office Regional Administrator in providing implementation policy oversight and direction for Reactor Oversight Process inspection and assessment of power reactors, including inspection program management, resident inspection and allegation follow-up.

Provides for prompt onsite response to reactor events.

Provides specialized technical support; and coordinates with the technical divisions in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, and other offices (such as other regions, Office of General Council) as needed to implement the agency's safety and security programs.

Serves as the contact with licensees, Headquarters offices, and the public for power reactors in the Region.

Duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Provides programmatic leadership, and implementation policy oversight and direction for Reactor Oversight Process inspection and assessment of power reactors, including inspection program management, resident inspection, Inspection program leadership, and allegation follow-up.
• Provides leadership for supplemental inspections.
• Provides oversight and direction for risk assessments and implementation of the Reactor Oversight Program's Significance Determination Process related to power plant equipment performance and reliability in all modes of operation and normal, off normal, and event conditions.
• Serves as the contact with licensees, Headquarters offices, and the public for power reactors in the Region. Provides for prompt onsite response to reactor events.
• Ensures that staff performance is managed effectively, and performance plans identify key performance priorities and appraisal results indicate meaningful distinctions are made in staff performance assessments.
• Evaluates staff and organizational effectiveness in accomplishing assigned tasks, and trouble-shoots problems that arise in accomplishing the goals and objectives of the agency.
• Develops and implements more efficient and streamlined methods and procedures to accomplish the goals and objectives of the agency.

Qualifications

This opportunity is open to all groups of qualified individuals from the Public; Current employees within the Federal Excepted/Competitive Service; and current Career SES and SES reinstatement eligible. SESCDP graduates may also apply for noncompetitive consideration.

In order to qualify for this position, you must have specialized experience in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as: broad knowledge and understanding of scientific and engineering disciplines sufficient to assess significant reactor safety and security issues and vulnerabilities associated with the design, licensing, construction and operation of nuclear reactor facilities.

As a basic requirement, applicants must demonstrate progressively responsible leadership experience that is indicative of senior executive level managerial capability and directly related to the skills and abilities outlined under the Professional/Technical Qualifications and Executive Core Qualifications listed below. Typically, experience of this nature will have been gained at or above the equivalent of the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service or its equivalent with state and local government, the private sector, or non-governmental organizations. Failure to meet this basic qualification requirement and all executive and technical qualification factors will automatically exclude you from further consideration.

All candidates for SES positions with the Federal Government must demonstrate leadership experience indicative of senior executive level management capability.

It is recommended that your resume emphasize levels of responsibility, scope and complexity of programs managed, and program accomplishments and results.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, you must show that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) and Professional Technical Qualifications (PTQ) related to this position within your resume -NOT TOEXCEED 2 PAGES.
Resumes over the 2-page limit, will not be reviewed beyond page 2 or may be disqualified.

PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS
PTQ 1:Broad knowledge and understanding of scientific and engineering disciplines sufficient to assess significant reactor safety and security issues and vulnerabilities associated with the design, licensing, construction and operation of nuclear reactor facilities.
PTQ 2: Broad knowledge and understanding of national nuclear policy, the regulatory program and process, and the regulated industry, including understanding of current technological and security issues and their implications.
PTQ 3:Broad knowledge of nuclear safety standards, regulations, codes and guides and their implementation to assure that the construction and operation of licensed reactor facilities will not endanger the health and safety of the pubic or the environment.
PTQ 4:Demonstrated ability to serve as an organizational representative and liaison with senior officials of Federal, state, and local government agencies, senior industry executives, members of Congress, foreign governments, international organizations, the media, and the public.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS
ECQ 1: Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding-This core qualification requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.
ECQ 2: Driving Efficiency- This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.
ECQ 3: Merit and Competence-This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.
ECQ 4: Leading People- This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable.
ECQ 5: Achieving Results- This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

A description of how you possess the specialized experience as well as how you meet the qualifications desired in an ideal candidate must be addressed in your resume. Applicants may also use the supplemental vacancy question to provide additional information pertaining to the specialized experience and ideal candidate criteria.

Education

General Physical Science Series, 1301 Basic Requirements:
1. 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
2. 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.

All Professional Engineering Positions, 0801 Basic Requirements:
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 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 fi elds 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)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.
2. 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.
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.)

You must include an unofficial or official copy of your college and/or university transcripts with your application. Transcript must include the School Name, Student Name, Degree and Date Awarded (if applicable). Education must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you have multiple degrees (e.g., BS, MS, PhD) please submit transcripts for each degree.

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. Your application will be evaluated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to any vacancy questions to determine your level of knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the job requirements. 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 resume that directly relates to this position.

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education (if applicable). Your application will be rated and ranked by an Executive Resources Board (ERB) Panel, comprised of at least three SES members, using only the information required within the application package. Applicants who do not demonstrate in their application sufficient possession of the Fundamental Competencies, ECQs, and PTQs will be determined ineligible for further consideration. As part of the Resume Based recruitment method, the ERB Panel conducts a structured interview for all applicants, both competitive and non-competitive, who are determined to be in the top category from the ERB Rating Panel.

Based on the Panel's evaluation, applicants who are determined Best Qualified will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. Once a candidate has been identified for selection, reference checks may be completed. The Department's appointing official(s) will make a final approval of the selection, and in competitive cases,

OPM's Qualifications Review Board (QRB) must certify the candidate before final appointment can occur. If OPM approval is required, the candidate is required to assist in the development of the QRB template for submission to the QRB. Verification of performance, suitability and security information from reference checks will be taken into consideration when making offers of employment.

How to Apply

Visit www.nrc.gov Review the NRC Career Opportunities page, click on “Apply Now” then “Search for New Opportunities” and click on “view a list of current NRC vacancies at USAJOBS.”  Or, click on the apply button/link on this site to be taken to NRC ‘s USAJOBS.gov employment page.  Find the Director, Division of Reactor Projects Announcement Number ST-12998465-26-DP and apply on-line by August 7, 2026.  Note:  The official Job Opportunity Announcement found on USAJOBS will provide precise information about the qualifications requirements and the exact documents to submit for you to be evaluated.

Your complete application must include your resume, responses to all required vacancy questions, and any required documents that prove your eligibility to apply. If you are viewing this opportunity after August 7th please visit NRC’s website and discover additional opportunities for which you might be interested.