Health Physicist (Radiation Safety)

Full Job Description

The Dayton VAMC is looking for a Health Physicist (Radiation Safety) to join the Therapeutic and Diagnostic Imaging Service.

The incumbent functions independently to provide expert, comprehensive radiation safety oversight for medical use of radioactive material and state-of-the art diagnostic medical imaging and radiotherapy systems.

Note: This is opportunity is limited to a two-page resume. Please see "How To Apply" for additional information.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/06/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11.

For a GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12.The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows 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.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): A.

Degree: natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus. OR B.

Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described in paragraph A.

Specialized Experience: Specialized Experience GS 12 - You will have to have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS 11) in order to qualify for the GS 12 level.

Specialized experience can include but is not limited to: maintaining radiation safety, regulatory compliance, training, reporting, and budgeting.

Specialized Experience GS 13 - You will have to have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS 12) in order to qualify for the GS 13 level.

Specialized experience can include but is not limited to: development of radiation safety programs, overseeing the work of others, program planning, advising on complex problems, reporting, and budgeting.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Major duties include but not limited to: Provides expert advice and guidance to medical staff with regard to routine and advanced procedures that involve the use of ionizing radiation to include both radioactive material and machine-produced radiation.

Develops, coordinates, and administers policy in order to execute a comprehensive radiation safety program.

Sets the overall radiation safety program goals, utilizes available resources or acquires new ones as necessary, defines objectives, sets priorities, establishes deadlines and reviews the end product.

Develop and manage the radiation safety annual budget. Develops procedures to manage critical issues as they are identified and prepares for unusual events that may require an emergency response.

Oversees the personnel monitoring program to hundreds of staff and maintains a program that ensures the safety of thousands of staff, patients and the general public.

Takes emergency action in the event of loss or theft of radioactive material.

Evaluates all areas of ionizing radiation use for proper security, shielding integrity, usage, and ventilation in areas to include the following: Nuclear Medicine, Radiology, Intervention Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Cardiology, Surgery, Dental Service and radiation use laboratories as well as non-clinical or non-research areas.

Provide oversight of the safe storage radioactive material.

Instruct all personnel who utilize ionizing radiation on subjects including the As Low as Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) program, safety procedures, disposal policy and procedures (if applicable), compliance with regulations, local policy and procedures and any other pertinent radiation safety information.

Participates in the design and renovation of all construction projects that involve the use of ionizing radiation.

Develops training programs for all staff that have the potential to work with ionizing radiation.

Package, prepare shipping manifests, confirm burial site licensing applications, and make arrangement for off-site shipping, allotment and oversight of radioactive qualities disposed in the sanitary sewage, air exhaust system, and by incineration.

Maintain all records and reports that are required by all pertinent group or agency.

Report quarterly to the Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) on the status of the radiation safety programs, ALARA exceptions and actions taken, and other pertinent radiation safety information.

Report annually to the Medical Center Director on the radiation safety program to ensure all aspects of the radiation safety program are in compliance with VHA Directives and Radioactive Material Permit issued by National Health Physics (NHPP).

Prepare correspondence, license amendments, applications and other written communications required with the NHPP, NRC, OSHA, DOT, FDA, EPA, TJC and any other pertinent group or agency.

Perform or oversee calibrations of radiation survey instruments, equipment and other radiation measuring devices (e.g. dose calibrators), as necessary.

Maintains appropriate oversight of activities performed by the contract/hired Diagnostic Medical Physicist (DMP) and Therapeutic Medical Physicist (TMP).

Prepares highly technical reports and papers for regulatory bodies. Authorizes the purchase of radioactive materials. Authorizes the purchase of radioactive materials.

Oversee and investigate, as needed, patient radiation doses. Investigate any action level that is exceeded. Other duties as assigned.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.

Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, or as needed by the Service Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Health Physicist (Radiation Safety)/93431-0, 93432-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized