Materials Engineer or Metallurgist
Job Description
Full Job Description
Duties
As a Materials Engineer/Metallurgist you will provide technical assessments in the areas of materials, metallurgical and mechanical engineering relating to the areas that may include design, analysis, fabrication, operation, maintenance, inspection, and testing of reactor systems and components, fuel facilities, or fuel storage and transportation systems. Duties may include, but are not limited to:
- Evaluate applicant or licensee implementation of NRC regulations and requirements in licensing reviews, applying risk-informed decision making and performance-based principles where applicable.
- Participate in the development and direction of technical projects to perform analytical evaluations related to the materials behavior, irradiation effects, environmental effects, chemical effects, fracture mechanics, structural integrity and non-destructive examinations (NDE).
- Perform the review and evaluation of assigned portions of projects related to materials, metallurgy, component integrity and NDE issues.
- Participate in discussions with representatives of external organizations having interests and responsibilities in the materials engineering aspects of nuclear power plants, fuel facilities, and fuel storage and transportation systems, including standards development organizations, government agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE), NRC applicants and licensees, and various industry organizations.
- Attend and participate in technical conferences and seminars sponsored by the NRC, professional societies, and other organizations. Advises the Branch Chief, Deputy Division Director, and Division Director of current developments on materials-related issues.
- Prepare correspondence and reports in response to requests from Congress, other Federal agencies, state and local governments, and the general public.
- Serve as member cognizant of and responsible for expressing the interests of the NRC on national standards committees, such as ASME, ASTM, or ANSI, at working and review levels of developing standards for use as a basis for licensing decisions.
Recruitment or Relocation Incentives may be approved.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- U.S. Citizenship Required
- This is a Drug Testing position.
- Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires.
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 COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent that an NRC job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply.
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-12) in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as experience with the that demonstrates evaluation of materials or metallurgy principles in nuclear reactors or other regulated facilities.
The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:
- Demonstrated knowledge of the application of materials engineering in nuclear facility design, fabrication, construction, analysis, testing, maintenance, inspection, testing and operation.
- Examples may include specific training, education and work experience that demonstrate your knowledge of overall engineering principles related to technical assessments of materials/mechanical behavior, structural integrity, and materials degradation so the structures, systems, and components for nuclear facilities. Examples may include technical assessments of or experience in materials/mechanical behavior, irradiation effects, environmental effects, and chemistry aspects of materials degradation, including high temperature applications. Additional examples may include nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and/or in-service inspection (ISI) techniques, or engineering analyses related to the structural integrity of components and systems used in light water and non-light water nuclear power plants, fuel facilities, and fuel transportation and storage systems
- Demonstrated experience in leading, managing, or participating with others in complex, highly technical research projects or tasks leading to timely issue resolution.
- Examples may include relevant technical research projects or tasks that you conducted with a focus on identification of problem areas, emerging issues, processes used to achieve resolution, and your specific role in the project or task, particularly when addressing differing views.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively with internal and external organizations on technical projects on a variety of subjects related to materials or metallurgical engineering.
- Examples may include specific experience and accomplishments communicating effectively with individuals of diverse backgrounds in various organizations. Examples may also include your role and responsibilities in interfacing with other organizations to resolve problems and/or recommended solutions to these problems.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate and present technical information clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
- Examples may include experience, training, and accomplishments that demonstrate your ability to communicate and present technical information clearly and effectively. Examples may include oral presentations and/or written documents you prepared and the various levels of individuals for which presentations were made. Examples may also include where you have used skills in communicating complex technical issues to professional societies, peers, management, the general public, governmental agencies, or others.
A description of how you possess the specialized experience should be addressed in your resume, the vacancy questions, and in the additional space provided for your supplemental response.
Education
- GG-0806 (Materials Engineering 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.