Nuclear Engineer

US Geological Survey; Lakewood (CO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

US Geological Survey in Lakewood, CO seeks a Nuclear Engineer (GS-11/12) to support the Rocky Mountain Region at U.S. TRIGA Reactor.

The position requires knowledge of reactor operations, criticality safety, and regulatory compliance with emphasis on engineering principles and safety culture.

Applicants must provide transcripts and meet basic education and specialized experience requirements.

Qualifications

• Degree: Engineering with ABET accreditation or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Transcripts required to verify educational requirements.
• Experience with nuclear reactor systems and safety is preferred.

Skills

Nuclear engineering

Criticality safety

Reactor operations

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

ABET-accredited engineering program

Job description

These positions serve as a Nuclear Engineer, GS-0840-11/12 with the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Rocky Mountain Region, U.S. TRIGA Reactor.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement 08/06/2026 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

To qualify for this position you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND/OR (2) Specialized Experience for the series/grade to which you are applying.

Nuclear Engineering Series, 0840:

Individual Occupational Requirements

(1) Basic Educational Requirements:

To be eligible for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.
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 fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); (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
2. Written Test
3. Specified academic courses
4. Related curriculum

For further information on the adequacy of such background demonstrated by one of the above listed are found in the link below: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/

Please Note: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.

-AND-

(2) Specialized Experience/Education

GS-11

To qualify for the GS-11, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Supervising or direct operation and/or maintenance of research, commercial, or military nuclear reactor plants.
2. Assisting in the development of criticality safety technical reviews.
3. Assisting in technical oversight for engineering activities associated with Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor nuclear systems/facilities or a similar reactor such as (e.g. PULSTAR, AGN-201 series, SLOWPOKE & MAPLE Reactors and/or Fast Burst Reactors).
4. Identifying, planning, and coordinating efforts to ensure effective criticality safety is achieved and maintained.

If qualifying on Specialized Experience, you MUST MEET at least 2 of the 4 specialized experience statements above.

-OR-

B. Education: You may substitute graduate education for experience if you have achieved:

• 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or
• Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

-OR-

C. Qualifying combination of Education and Experience: A combination of successfully completed graduate education (only successfully completed education beyond the second year (or 36 semester hours) is creditable towards meeting this requirement) and specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level that is related to the position and total 100% of the requirement for this grade level.

GS-12

To qualify for the GS-12, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position, and specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Supervising or direct operation and/or maintenance of research, commercial, or military nuclear reactor plants.
2. Preparing and developing criticality safety technical reviews.
3. Supervising the technical oversight for engineering activities associated with Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor nuclear systems/facilities or a similar reactor such as (e.g. PULSTAR, AGN-201 series, SLOWPOKE & MAPLE Reactors and/or Fast Burst Reactors).
4. Identifying, planning, and coordinating efforts to ensure effective criticality safety is achieved and maintained.
5. Evaluating engineering instructions to resolve deficiencies and increase efficiencies for the overhaul and repair of nuclear reactor plant systems and components.
6. Performing independent evaluation and analyses on contractor or licensee safety reports.

To qualify you must meet at least 4 of the 6 specialized experience statements above.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp

Volunteer Experience:

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; religious; 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.