U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Career Opportunities

About Us

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was created as an independent agency by Congress in 1974 to enable the nation to safely use radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes while ensuring that people and the environment are protected. The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, such as in nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection and enforcement of its requirements.

NRC ranked first in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government . For additional information, see our Employee Satisfaction Surveys and NRC Awards and Recognition pages.

NRC's mission is to regulate the civilian use of nuclear power and nuclear materials in order to protect the health and safety of our people, our environment, and our nation. Hear what current employees, entry-level, and experienced professionals have to say about working at the NRC. NRC licenses nuclear facilities and the use of nuclear materials, inspects nuclear facilities and materials, and enforces compliance with our strict standards and requirements. From nuclear power plants that generate electricity - to universities and hospitals that use nuclear materials - to facilities that produce nuclear materials - to storage sites for nuclear waste - NRC is there with the power to monitor, enforce, and protect.

Career Paths


Special Entry Level Programs

Nuclear Safety Professional Development Program

We hire recent graduates with bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees and strong academic records in health physics, earth sciences, or engineering to participate in on-the-job training, formal classroom training, and rotational assignments.

Honor Law Graduate Program

We hire graduating law students or judicial law clerks with strong academic records; excellent writing, research, and advocacy skills; and an interest in the interplay of law, science, energy policy, environmental concerns, and public policy. To find out how to qualify for this program, see our Honor Law Graduate Program page.

Judicial Law Clerk Program

We hire graduating third-year law students, graduate law students, and current judicial law clerks with strong academic records, excellent analytic and writing skills, and an interest in administrative and environmental/energy law, to serve as judicial law clerks. To find out if you qualify for this program, and how to apply, see our Judicial Law Clerk Program page.

Entry- and Mid-Level Career Positions

Career positions include positions for people at entry and middle levels with background in engineering, scientific, legal, investigative, computer, and administrative fields.

Accounting and Budget

We hire budget analysts, auditors, accountants with bachelor's and master's degrees.

Administrative

We hire management analysts, program analysts, human resources specialists, and contract specialists with bachelor's and master's degrees, and secretaries and office automation assistants.

Attorneys

We hire attorneys with expertise in such diverse areas as environmental law, rulemaking, administrative law, and legislation development. Entry level attorneys are hired through the Honor Law Graduate Program.

Engineers

We hire general, nuclear, mechanical, chemical, structural, electrical, environmental, materials, software, and human factors engineers with bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees.

Information Technology/Management

We hire communications specialists, computer specialists, IT project managers, systems administrators, computer systems analysts, webmasters, and information management specialists with bachelor's or master's degrees.

Investigators

The Office of the Inspector General and the Office of Investigations hire investigators, analysts, and law enforcement specialists.

Scientists

We hire chemists, nuclear physicists, radiation biologists, physical scientists, materials scientists, health physicists, geologists, hydrologists, and seismologists with bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees.

Security and Safeguards Analysts

We hire security and safeguards analysts with physical, personnel, information, and operational security knowledge as well as individuals with experience in the physical protection, surveillance, control, and accounting of nuclear material.

Senior Executive Service/Senior Level Staff (SES/SLS) Positions

We hire Senior Executives, Senior Level Staff, and Administrative Judges (legal and technical).

SES Candidate Development Program

NRC periodically offers an SES Candidate Development Program that prepares individuals who have demonstrated exceptional managerial potential for leadership positions at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Participants in the program will engage in developmental assignments and formal training activities to enhance their executive competencies and to increase their awareness of public policy, programs, and issues. The program seeks to promote the development of a Government-wide corporate SES culture through exposure to ideas and concepts across Government and to promote diversity in the SES by preparing a demographically diverse pool of qualified applicants for leadership positions. Candidates who successfully complete the program and receive certification of their executive qualifications by an Office of Personnel Management Qualifications Review Board under the criterion of 5 U.S.C. 3393(c)(2)(B) will be eligible for non-competitive appointment to the SES. Participation in the program does not guarantee placement in an SES position.

Career Advancement

Career advancement is based on merit without regard for race, gender, age, or national origin.

Benefits

Employee Benefits

Along with challenging work in one of the world's premier regulatory organizations, you will get a lot more than just a paycheck. The NRC offers pay rates that are competitive with the private sector, which includes annual pay increases, longevity raises, and the possibility of cash awards and bonuses. Salary for new employees depends on the grade and geographic area of the position you are selected for, as well as any prior Federal or private sector experience you may have. For the complete listing of NRC pay schedules check out the Salaries and Career Advancement page.

Paid Time Off

Annual Leave

All full-time employees earn from 2.5 to 5 weeks of paid vacation per year depending upon their years of Federal service. Part-time employees accrue leave hours depending on their work schedule.

Sick Leave

All full-time employees earn 13 paid sick days per year, which can be used for personal illness, care of sick family members, adoption, and medical appointments.

Holidays

All full-time employees enjoy 10 paid holidays per year.

Retirement Plans

The NRC has two retirement plans. The first is for NRC employees who were Federal employees before December 31, 1983 and is called the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) . The CSRS is a defined benefit system with no portability outside the Federal sector and with no benefits for employees who do not stay until retirement.

The second retirement plan and only system available to new employees is the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) . FERS recognizes that not all Federal employees stay long enough to qualify for retirement, so it is a three-tiered design with portable benefits. The basic components of FERS are (1) Social Security; (2) automatic enrollment in the Thrift Savings Plan; and (3) a defined benefit (Basic Annuity) element based on years of service, pay level, and age at retirement.

Thrift Savings Plan

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees. The purpose of the TSP is to provide retirement income. It offers Federal civilian employees the same type of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under ''401(k)'' plans.

The TSP is a defined contribution plan. The retirement income that you receive from your TSP account will depend on how much you (and your agency, if you are a FERS employee) have contributed to your account during your working years and the earnings on these contributions. The contributions that you make to your TSP account are voluntary and are separate from your contributions to your FERS Basic Annuity or CSRS annuity.

Insurance Benefits

As a new/newly eligible Federal employee, you may be able to enroll in health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and/or apply for long term care insurance. OPM provides a snapshot of insurance benefits with basic information about each program. You can find more comprehensive information at OPM's Insurance Programs page or at the Guide to Federal Benefits page.

Employee Assistance Program

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides professional counseling services for NRC employees who are experiencing personal problems that may be affecting their ability to perform on the job. The program offers assessment, referral, short-term counseling, and follow-up for employees dealing with family and marital problems, substance abuse, stress, depression, and many other personal challenges.

All employees of NRC may use the program at any time. Employees are encouraged to contact an EAP professional whenever they are experiencing personal problems. In many situations, family members of NRC employees are also eligible for the services of the program. Supervisors and managers may also seek the guidance of the EAP to help determine the appropriateness of referring employees who may be experiencing work performance and conduct changes due to personal problems.

Recruitment Bonus

For entry level engineers and scientists and certain other "hard-to-fill" positions, the NRC may provide a one-time recruitment bonus. Employees receiving a recruitment bonus incur a service obligation.

Relocation Expenses for New Employees

For certain "hard-to-fill" positions, some relocation expenses may be authorized. Such determinations are made on a case-by-case basis. Employees receiving relocation expenses incur a service obligation.

Student Loan Repayment

The NRC may pay a portion of an employee's federally guaranteed student loan. Employees for whom student loan expenses are paid incur a service obligation.

Union Representation

The National Treasury Employees Union is the exclusive representative for many employees at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Those employees may contact NTEU for further information on their services.

Quality of Life

The NRC is committed to providing employees with opportunity to balance career and family.

Flexible Work Schedules and Hours

Striking a balance between work and life obligations requires some of the more difficult decisions in anyone's career. The NRC allows for telecommuting and flexibility in scheduling working hours to better fit the rest of your life.

Family Friendly Leave

Allows an employee to use up to 13 days of their available sick leave per year to provide health care for a family member or to attend a funeral of a family member.

On-site Child Development Center

Georgetown Hill Early School, our Child Development center, is located on the P-1 level of the Two White Flint North headquarters complex. Children are accepted from ages 6 weeks to 6 years old. The Center is open from 6:45 am to 6:00 pm. The program balances play and work in satisfying and productive ways, develops basic readiness skills, and assists the children to challenge and test themselves and experience the joys of learning in a whole-child environment, and it includes all-day Kindergarten.

On-Site Fitness Center

(Headquarters only) The NRC maintains a state-of-the-art fitness center in the headquarters building complex. The center is equipped with bikes, treadmills, weights and other such equipment. Nutritional and health programs are also sponsored by the Fitness Center during the lunch period. There is a one time initial fee of $25 to join, followed by biweekly payroll deductions.

On-Site Health Clinic

(Headquarters only) NRC provides an on-site health clinic that is staffed with nurses and a doctor. Services include various screening programs, such as diabetes, glaucoma/vision testing, and high blood pressure testing. Employees who must have allergy shots can have them administered at the health unit if prescribed by their personal physician.

On-Site Eating Establishments

(Headquarters only) Cafeterias are located in both buildings. The One White Flint Cafeteria is open from 6:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.; the Two White Flint cafeteria is open from 6:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. The coffee shop is open from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. In addition there is a snack shop operated by the Maryland Workshop for the Blind.

Transportation Fringe Benefit

Do you use public transportation to get to work? If so you may be eligible for a transportation subsidy each month. The headquarters complex is located on the metro system red line.

Career Training

Knowledge and experience are the keys to carrying out the NRC mission. If you do not have all the required knowledge and experience for some of our technologically advanced positions, NRC will provide you with what you need. NRC offers on-the-job training, supervisory and management training, and specialized training. As a new employee, you'll attend a briefing that will familiarize you with the NRC.

Employee Training

The NRC provides employees with instructor-led, computer-based, and self-study training opportunities in a wide spectrum of technical disciplines in support of NRC's regulatory programs and in broad areas of interest to NRC employees. Training is offered using traditional classrooms, computer laboratories, full-scope nuclear power plant control room simulators, and web-based training.

Technical Training

Whether in the classroom or simulator, on-line, or through on-the-job training and self-study in the field, our training programs provide engineers and other technical professionals with the latest information and valuable practical experience in evaluating the design and operation of the various types of nuclear power facilities in order to develop the competencies required to carry out their assigned regulatory activities. Employees learn how to perform inspection, investigation, licensing, and enforcement activities and gain an understanding of nuclear facilities and engineering principles in order to enhance communication and decision-making abilities.

Group Training

Comprehensive group training programs are offered for executive, supervisory, and management development, including training in equal employment opportunity and diversity.

Continuing Education

Courses that provide education in a variety of areas are offered on-site or at local colleges and universities. NRC may pay tuition and fees for job-related courses taken at approved colleges and universities at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Career Counseling

Your professional advancement is important to us. To ensure that you and the NRC are working together to achieve your career goals, we offer one-on-one career counseling.

Training Facilities

The NRC maintains and operates a Technical Training Center in Chattanooga, TN and a Professional Development Center at NRC headquarters in Rockville, MD.