Job Summary

The Health Physicist (Radiation Safety) functions to assure that guidelines are followed and policy is executed for the Lexington VA Medical Center (and associated work-sites) in accordance to the safe and effective use of radiation-producing equipment as established by the Radiation Safety Committee and the Radiation Safety Officer, the Laser Safety Committee and Laser Safety Officer, and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Safety Committee.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/02/2026. 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. 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 as described below: Basic Requirements - You must meet one of the below requirements in order to meet the basic requirements for this position: 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. B. Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in paragraph 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 - You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. To meet this requirement, the applicant resume must demonstrate 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) as defined below. Knowledge and understanding of all applicable regulations and compliance requirements (e.g. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directives and Handbooks and the National Health Physics Program (NHPP), Joint Commission (JC) standards, Medical Center policies and procedures, and the recommendations of advisory bodies such as American College of Radiology (ACR), American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP)). Extensive knowledge of the underlying principles of x-ray producing devices and methods of assessing satisfactory performance of these systems including all types of radiographic, fluoroscopic and computed tomography equipment as well as nuclear medicine and PET equipment and non-ionizing equipment like MRI and ultrasound (i.e., provide authoritative advice and recommendations to physicians and users, develop/conduct extensive and critical Quality Control and Quality Assurance programs). Knowledge of categories of radiation hazards, potentials for internal and external exposure and common methods of corrective actions. Practical knowledge of computers, programming, hardware, software, microprocessors and their applications in diagnostic imaging. Recognized as an expert in radiation safety and medical physics as it pertains to radiation (i.e., both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation) producing equipment. This equipment is used throughout the medical center including research; therefore, the diagnostic medical physicist advises clinicians and researchers on unusual, complex, and critical problems associated with the safety and use of this equipment and may recommend changes to clinical and/or experimental procedures based on their expertise. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Health Physics Nuclear Physics Technical Competence 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: The work is divided approximately equally between sedentary desk work and walking, bending, and climbing required to inspect facilities and equipment. Some occasional crouching, stooping, reaching, and pushing of moderately heavy items such as carts may be required. Lifting up to 50 pounds in weight may occasionally be required. 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/.