Criticality Safety Officer

Join to apply for the Criticality Safety Officer 3/4 role at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This position will be filled at either the CSO 3 or CSO 4 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.

The LANL Associate Laboratory Directorate of Weapons Production Chief Operations Office (ALDWP COO) seeks a Criticality Safety Officer (CSO) to serve as the day-to-day technical liaison between the Nuclear Criticality Safety Division and programmatic tenants of ALDWP Facility Operations Director(s). The CSO will support implementation of the ALDWP criticality safety program to ensure compliance with the facility Criticality Safety Management Program and serve as an advisor in efforts to improve operational efficiency.

The CSO will assist in increasing Nuclear Criticality Safety Division personnel knowledge about operations to ensure an adequate understanding of processes, practical limitations, and credible potential upsets. The CSO will support initiatives to increase ALDWP operations staff knowledge about criticality safety, including operator understanding of criticality safety evaluations and the technical basis for the selected controls. The CSO will monitor criticality controls, make recommendations for process improvement, and assist in identification and resolution of non-compliance issues.

The Associate Laboratory Directorate of Weapons Production Chief Operations Office (ALDWP COO) primary mission is to ensure LANL successfully executes its mission assignments involving nuclear science, nuclear technology, and weapons research, development, and component fabrication.

• Criticality Safety Officer 3: $104,100 - $172,200
• Criticality Safety Officer 4: $125,200 - $211,300

• CSO 3:
  Work independently with minimal supervision and assist in increasing CSO knowledge about operations to ensure an understanding of processes, practical limitations, and credible potential upsets.
• CSO 4:
  In addition to CSO 3, provide strategic leadership, mentor junior CSOs, oversee and review work, and provide oversight of the Criticality Safety Officer Program.

Minimum

Job Requirements:

• Advanced knowledge and experience in nuclear facility operations, nuclear safety, and nuclear criticality safety, including implementation of nuclear industry codes, standards, and regulatory guidelines.
• Advanced knowledge of the technical and operational discipline of Conduct of Operations (i.e., DOE Order 422.1 "Conduct of Operations").
• Extensive knowledge of the applicable ANSI/ANS national standards (i.e., ANSI-ANS 8 Criticality Safety series), and the DOE Order 420.1C "Facility Safety."
• Experience in the application of criticality safety standards to complex nuclear facilities to ensure compliance with special nuclear material manufacturing and fabrication processes.
• Ability to understand and interpret various physical and mechanical design documents such as drawings and schematics.
• Extensive experience and knowledge conducting research, investigating alternative solutions, and recommending solutions on problems affecting nuclear criticality safety.
• Experience in the preparation, review, and interpretation of nuclear safety and nuclear criticality safety technical reports and evaluations.
• Demonstrated experience interacting with all levels of the organization, requiring excellent interpersonal skills and training in communication, conflict resolution, and negotiation, etc.

In addition to the requirements outlined above, qualification at the higher level requires:

• Experience in performing or leading nuclear safety and/or criticality safety basis compliance assessments (i.e., management self-assessments and readiness assessments) associated with operations and/or process startup activities.
• Experience conceptualizing and communicating major elements of nuclear criticality safety to both technical and non-technical personnel.

Education/Experience at level 3:
Position requires a Bachelor’s Degree in…