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Nuclear Physicist Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

ACR accreditation programs (CT, mammography, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine/PET, as applicable ... Medical physics residents (as applicable) * Technologists and other clinical staff (e.g., modality ...

Junior Proton Physicist- days

Roanoke, VA ยท On-site

$158K - $252K/yr

Supports clinical radiological physics needs across Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Radiation Oncology. * Participates in departmental development initiatives, research, and quality ...

Junior Proton Physicist- days

Roanoke, VA ยท On-site

$158K - $252K/yr

Supports clinical radiological physics needs across Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Radiation Oncology. * Participates in departmental development initiatives, research, and quality ...

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Nuclear Physics, Chemistry, or Engineering Nice If You Have: * Experience supporting the USAF, STRATCOM, NC3, or nuclear C2 * Knowledge of nuclear ...

Nuclear Analyst

Hampton, VA ยท On-site

$62 - $141/hr

Bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Nuclear Physics, Chemistry, or Engineering Nice If You Have: * Experience supporting the USAF, STRATCOM, NC3, or nuclear C2 * Knowledge of nuclear ...

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Nuclear Physicist information

See Virginia salary details

$39.2K

$94K

$224.6K

How much do nuclear physicist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 29, 2026, the average yearly pay for nuclear physicist in Virginia is $93,991.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $58,500.00 and $111,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a nuclear physicist do?

A Nuclear Physicist studies atomic nuclei, their interactions, and the fundamental forces governing them. They conduct research in areas like nuclear energy, radiation, and particle physics. Their work can be applied in medical imaging, nuclear power, defense, and scientific advancements. Nuclear Physicists often use particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, and advanced mathematical models to analyze atomic behavior. Many work in academic, government, or private research institutions.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a nuclear physicist?

To thrive as a Nuclear Physicist, you typically need an advanced degree in physics or nuclear engineering, a solid grasp of nuclear theory, mathematics, and experimental design. Competency in using particle accelerators, radiation detectors, specialized simulation software (such as MCNP or GEANT4), and adherence to safety certifications is essential. Strong analytical thinking, attention to detail, effective communication, and teamwork are standout soft skills for this role. These qualifications ensure safety, accuracy, and successful collaboration on complex scientific research and practical applications in the field.

What are some common challenges faced by nuclear physicists and how can I prepare for them?

Nuclear Physicists often tackle complex experimental or theoretical problems requiring both advanced technical knowledge and creative problem-solving. A primary challenge is ensuring strict safety compliance while working with radioactive materials or high-energy equipment, which requires ongoing training and attention to detail. Collaborative research environments may also demand strong teamwork and the ability to communicate findings to both technical and non-technical colleagues. Preparing through hands-on laboratory experience, staying up to date with safety protocols, and developing strong analytical and communication skills will help you navigate the unique demands of the role.

Is there a demand for nuclear physicists?

Nuclear physicists are in demand in research institutions, government agencies, and the energy sector, particularly for roles involving nuclear energy, safety, and medical applications. Employment opportunities depend on government funding, technological advancements, and industry needs, with strong demand in areas requiring specialized knowledge of nuclear reactions and radiation safety.

What jobs can a nuclear physicist do?

A nuclear physicist can work in research and development, nuclear energy production, medical physics, or government agencies, often utilizing skills in data analysis, modeling, and laboratory techniques. They may work in laboratories, power plants, hospitals, or regulatory bodies, sometimes requiring security clearances or specialized certifications.

What are the most commonly searched types of Nuclear Physicist jobs in Virginia?

The most popular types of Nuclear Physicist jobs in Virginia are:

What are popular job titles related to Nuclear Physicist jobs in Virginia?

For Nuclear Physicist jobs in Virginia, the most frequently searched job titles are:

What cities in Virginia are hiring for Nuclear Physicist jobs?

Cities in Virginia with the most Nuclear Physicist job openings:

Infographic showing various Nuclear Physicist job openings in Virginia as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $93,991 per year, or $45.2 per hour.

INTERDISCIPLINARY SUPERVISORY NUCLEAR ENGINEER/HEALTH PHYSICIST

United States Fleet Forces Command

Portsmouth, VA โ€ข On-site, Remote

$108K - $140K/yr

Full-time

Posted 5 days ago


Job description

Summary
You will serve as a SUPERVISORY NUCLEAR ENGINEER/HEALTH PHYSICIST in the Radiological Control Office (Code 105) of NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
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  • You will serve as a Supervisory Nuclear Engineer or as a Supervisory Health Physicist with full project management responsibility.
  • You will be responsible for planning the work of the subordinates.
  • You will provide immediate technical assistance to the 'Fleet and Shipyard to resolve emergent health physics problems of a complex natures.
  • You will provide radiological and nuclear engineering technician consultation services to a broad and complex scope, primarily through a review of drawings, specifications and other technical documents.
  • You will provide expert radiological engineering, nuclear engineering and health physics advice to the Fleet and Shipyard in connection with routine and non-routine radioactive work they perform.
  • You will review reports of radiological problems encountered by the Fleet and Shipyard such as those problems documented in incident reports.
  • You will direct the development of training programs for civilian and Fleet personnel ensuring consistency with the latest radiological techniques and practices.
  • You will plan, organize and assure effective implementation and maintenance of health physics aspects of radiation exposure reduction program for the Fleet as well as Shipyard nuclear reactor plant repair/maintenance and associated work.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment
  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to successfully complete a pre-appointment physical examination.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • You will be required to wear personal protective equipment such as helmets, gloves, coveralls, glasses, goggles, respirators and safety shoes continuously for the duration of the work shift.
  • Work is performed in areas where potentially harmful physical and chemical agents are present (e.g. fumes, dust, heat, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and chemicals). You will be required to participate in medical surveillance programs.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.
  • Supervisors in the executive branch have a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. You will be required to review the 14 General Principles of Ethical Conduct at 5 CFR 2635.101.

Qualifications
In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
  • Expert knowledge and understanding of the functions and objectives of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (NNPP), Radiological Control Office, Radiological Controls Qualification School, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, Navsea Policies and procedures, Federal State and Shipyard regulations, Environmental Protection Agency regulations and publications and applicable technical/governance manuals sufficient to adapt or extrapolate pertinent guidelines/ Currently or previously qualified in at least one of the following NAVSEA 389-0288 articles 106.2a (Radiological Control Technician, 106.2d (Supervisory Radiological Control Technician), or article 106.3a (Nuclear Engineering Personnel).
  • Experience directing the planning, organizing and conduct of technical program analysis and development involving key agency programs.
  • Experience applying a wide range of qualitative and or quantitative methods of the assessment, development and improvement of programs and program effectiveness for complex management processes and systems.
  • Experience applying fiscal, contracting and administrative policies, procedures and practices necessary to manage and determine the economic feasibility of major technical and administrative programs.
  • Knowledge of shipyard management associated with project management, human resources, financial management, manpower, material support, and logistics support.
  • Experience applying expert knowledge of education, science, and engineering to the design and implementation of automation technology initiatives with program-wide implications.
  • Must possess excellent computer, project management, technical writing, and leadership skills. Administrative and supervisory ability of a high order are required to organize and coordinate the work of a professional and technical staff and obtain cooperation effort from shipyard and program managers and supervisors not directly under the line of supervision of this position.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/health-physics-series-1306/
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, 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.
Education
Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Applicants must possess
All Professional Engineering Positions, 0800
Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements:
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
1. Professional registration or licensure Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1 , or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)
Health Physics Series 1306
Individual Occupational Requirements
Basic Requirements:
  1. 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
  2. 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.

Additional information
This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.
Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.
A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.
During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.
Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf
This position is subject to work an uncommon tour, including nights, weekends, and holidays to meet mission requirements. Overtime or night differential pay and/or unusual duty hours may be required.
PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.
ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/
Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for th