Health Physicist / Radiation Safety Program Manager (CHP Preferred)

About the role

The successful candidate will serve as the technical lead for radiation safety and non-ionizing radiation protection activities supporting aerospace research, flight operations, laboratories, industrial facilities, and mission-critical programs. Working alongside Environmental Health personnel, Occupational Medicine staff, engineers, scientists, and operational leadership, the Health Physicist will help identify, evaluate, and control radiological and non-ionizing radiation hazards while supporting workforce safety, mission readiness, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for ionizing and non-ionizing radiation protection programs.
• Support implementation and continuous improvement of NASA radiation safety programs.
• Function as Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or support designated RSO responsibilities.
• Support Laser Safety Officer (LSO) and Radio Frequency Safety Officer (RFSO) program activities.
• Develop and maintain radiation safety procedures, guidance documents, and operating practices.
• Provide technical consultation regarding radiation hazards and controls.
• Carry out radiological hazard evaluations and exposure assessments.
• Perform radiation surveys, leak testing, contamination assessments, laser hazard evaluations, RF hazard evaluations, UV hazard assessments, area monitoring, and workplace evaluations.
• Evaluate workplace hazards and recommend engineering, administrative, and PPE controls.
• Manage personnel dosimetry programs, coordinate issuance, collection, exchange, and tracking of dosimeters, review exposure records, investigate unusual exposure events, maintain radiation monitoring records, and prepare annual exposure summaries and employee notifications.
• Maintain inventories of radioactive materials, radiation-producing machines, lasers, and RF-emitting devices, support permitting, licensing, and authorization activities, review operational changes and new equipment acquisitions for radiation safety impacts, and support compliance with NASA Occupational Health requirements, California Title 17, NRC regulations, OSHA requirements, and applicable ANSI and consensus standards.
• Support NASA OCHMO reviews, audits, and self-assessments, develop program metrics and performance indicators, prepare technical reports and corrective action recommendations, participate in incident investigations and root cause analyses, and support continuous improvement initiatives.
• Support radiological emergency preparedness and response activities, participate in drills, exercises, and operational readiness reviews, and develop and deliver training related to radiation safety, laser safety, radio frequency safety, UV safety, dosimetry programs, and radiation worker training.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Health Physics, Radiological Health, Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Radiation Protection, Environmental Health, or related scientific discipline.
• Minimum four (4) years of professional experience supporting radiation protection, health physics, or radiological safety programs.
• Minimum of three (3) years of experience serving as a Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and/or Laser Safety Officer (LSO).
• DOT and/or IATA Radioactive Materials Shipping Certification.
• Experience conducting radiation surveys and exposure assessments.
• Experience supporting radiation protection programs in operational, laboratory, research, aerospace, industrial, or government environments.
• Strong knowledge of radiation protection principles, dosimetry programs, radiation instrumentation, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation hazards, NRC and OSHA requirements.
• Strong technical writing, analytical, and communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) experience.
• Laser Safety Officer (LSO) training or certification.
• Radio Frequency Safety Officer (RFSO) training or certification.
• Candidates not currently holding LSO, RFSO, or DOT/IATA RAM Shipping certifications must be willing and able to obtain required training within three months of hire.
• Experience supporting NASA, DoD, DOE, aerospace, laboratory, research, or federal facilities.
• Experience supporting both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation protection programs.
• Experience with incident investigations, audits, and corrective action development.

Working Conditions

• Physical Demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be required to walk, sit, or stand for extended periods of time; reach with hands and arms; balance; stoop; talk or hear; have sufficient manual dexterity to operate a keyboard, calculator, telephone, and other such office equipment as necessary; may occasionally move and/or lift up to 50 pounds or more with assistance.
• Work Environment: Work will mainly be performed in an office setting and occasionally with irregular hours.
• Travel: A low to moderate amount of travel away from office may be required.