Lead Incident Investigator

Location: Austin, TX – 1100 W 49th St (RDM) | Posting Number: 21509 | Closing Date: 09/28/2026 | Department: Dept. of State Health Services – Radiation

Employee Benefits

• Insurance coverage and other benefits available through the State of Texas Group Benefits Plan administered by the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS).
• Additional benefit information and early‑career pathways are available on the DSHS Careers Page.
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Brief Job Description

Performs highly advanced (senior‑level) health physics or health physics oversight work. Works under minimal direction, with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent professional judgment. Serves as Team Lead for the Incident Investigators and provides day‑to‑day technical leadership, guidance, mentoring, and coordination. Coordinates and assists with assigning investigative activities and priorities; monitors the status and progress of investigations; provides technical and procedural guidance; and serves as a primary resource to investigators regarding incident and complaint investigations, radiation control requirements, and program procedures. Reviews investigative reports and other work products for technical accuracy, completeness, consistency, and compliance with program requirements and provides feedback and direction for necessary corrections. Performs independent evaluation of incident and complaint reports for adequacy and appropriate mitigation actions. Plans, develops, coordinates, and directs highly advanced technical radiological health projects involving investigations of incidents, complaints, and technical assistance concerning uses of various sources of radiation. Coordinates and directs radiological decontamination oversight activities at sites contaminated with radiation. Writes incident and complaint summaries. Participates in emergency exercise activities as a response team member and in preparations for testifying in enforcement conferences and hearings. Comments on proposed Federal and State radiation regulations and participates in rule‑making discussion groups.

Essential Job Functions

• Team Lead for Incident Investigators (25%): Provides day‑to‑day technical and operational leadership; coordinates and assigns investigative work; monitors workload, case status, deadlines, and completion; reviews work products; mentors and trains investigators; promotes consistency; and escalates significant issues to management.
• Complex Environmental Assessments & Radiological Investigations (20%): Oversees and coordinates conduct of investigations to ensure compliance with state and federal radiation control, environmental, and public health laws; plans and conducts inspections of X‑ray equipment, non‑ionizing radiation devices, and facilities using or storing radioactive materials; leads investigation teams and prepares reports of findings.
• Technical Reporting & Data Review (15%): Prepares and approves correspondence, technical reports, and environmental assessments; writes incident and complaint technical summaries; performs scientific review of incident databases; researches and reviews environmental and radiological health documentation; evaluates complex technical information to identify trends impacting rulemaking; distributes information to agency, other agencies, the public, and the regulated community; presents assessments at technical meetings.
• Disaster Response & Continuity of Operations (15%): Actively participates or supports agency obligations for disaster response, recovery, or COOP activation; serves on the agency’s radiological emergency response team; may assume alternate shift patterns or locations; participates in public health, COOP, or radiological emergency response drills and events.
• Inter‑Agency Coordination & Risk Assessment (10%): Coordinates major technical incident and complaint investigations with other divisions, Texas agencies, other states, or federal agencies; performs risk assessments based on quantitative relationships between radiation exposure and biological damage; prepares advanced technical reports of findings; evaluates statistical and environmental data to calculate radiation doses and effects; provides technical assistance and advice to facility management, the public, and other stakeholders; may testify in legal proceedings on health‑physics issues.
• Incident Review & Media Relations (5%): Reviews incident and complaint reports to ensure mitigation and radiation‑safety issues are resolved; assigns, coordinates, and leads investigations of reports from licensees, the public, or other agencies; may serve as technical spokesperson for media contacts during radiological events; consults with other state and federal radiation‑control, security, and emergency agencies.
• Closure Determination (5%): Determines when incident or complaint response is complete by reviewing all collected data and independently assessing adequacy for closure and issuance of compliance notices.
• Enforcement Actions (5%): Participates in escalated enforcement actions; determines necessity of escalated enforcement recommendations; reviews incident and complaint history; prepares administrative penalty actions with legal staff; provides testimony in administrative hearings and court cases; conducts follow‑up investigations as needed.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge

• Radiation control, radiological health, and environmental laws and regulations; radiation safety practices and techniques.
• Medical and industrial uses of radioactive materials, X‑ray, accelerator, and non‑ionizing radiation sources.
• Types of radiation, their characteristics, and biological effects of ionizing and non‑ionizing radiation.
• Internal and external radiation dose calculations, annual limits of intake (ALI), and derived air concentrations (DAC).
• Operation, maintenance, and calibration of radiation detection and advanced analytical instrumentation.
• Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation and related federal laws.
• Capabilities and authority of local, state, and federal agencies involved in radiation control.

Skills

• Use of radiation detection, monitoring, and measuring instruments; collection of environmental samples.
• Operation of radiological computer applications and advanced modeling software (e.g., RESRAD, STAMPED, RASCAL).
• Lead investigations of radiological incidents and complaints; interview individuals; analyze and interpret radiation data.
• Technical writing, oral communication, and interview techniques.
• Conduct internal dose calculations using biological models, ALI, and DAC.

Abilities

• Interpret radiation shielding designs and radiological/statistical data; apply health‑physics principles.
• Detect and evaluate radiation hazards; supervise work of others.
• Make independent decisions concerning radiological hazards, risk assessments, and mitigation actions.
• Prepare concise, accurate, highly technical reports.
• Establish satisfactory working relationships with coworkers and agency representatives.
• Plan, design, oversee, and coordinate radiation‑control projects.

Qualifications

Graduation from an accredited four‑year college or university with major coursework in health physics, nuclear or environmental engineering, environmental or natural sciences, chemistry, or a related field. Experience and education may be substituted; four years of experience may be substituted for education at the discretion of the hiring manager.

Pay

Salary range: $5,797.66 – $9,508.25 per month (pay frequency: monthly). Salary Group: TEXAS‑B‑25.

Schedule

Shift: Day. Telework: Not eligible. Travel: Up to 40%.

Additional Information

Active‑duty military, reservists, guardsmen, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Military occupations related to the selection criteria may be considered. For more information see the Texas State Auditor’s Military Crosswalk. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), DSHS will provide reasonable accommodation during the hiring process for individuals with a qualifying disability. Please notify the interview coordinator if accommodation is needed.