HEALTH PHYSICIST

Req #: 229293

Department: EH&S (ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY)

Posting Date: 12/26/2023

Closing Info

Open Until Filled

Salary: $5,834 - $6,917 per month

Shift: First Shift

Notes

As a UW employee, you will enjoy generous benefits and work/life programs. For a complete description of our benefits for this position, please visit our website, click here. (~~~)

As a UW employee, you have a unique opportunity to change lives on our campuses, in our state and around the world. UW employees offer their boundless energy, creative problem-solving skills and dedication to build stronger minds and a healthier world.

UW faculty and staff also enjoy outstanding benefits, professional growth opportunities and unique resources in an environment noted for diversity, intellectual excitement, artistic pursuits and natural beauty.

Environment Health & Safety (EHS) has an outstanding opportunity for a Health Physicist to provide professional-level program administration and management with substantial responsibility for directing and controlling program operations for assigned programs. The Health Physicist utilizes specialized knowledge of radiation safety principles and practices to establish policies, methods, and procedures for assigned programs. The Health Physicist ensures assigned programs conform to federal and state regulations and University and EH&S policies. As such, the Program Operations Specialist is accountable for program results and success.

The Health Physicist will be involved in strategic planning, program development, and process improvement. This position works closely with internal and external clients and partners to collaborate regarding regulatory compliance issues, training, policy analysis, and reporting in order to ensure the success of each program. The Health Physicist will directly contribute to and be accountable for creating and sustaining a culture of service, quality, accountability and excellence within Radiation Safety and UW Environmental Health and Safety.

The Health Physicist is expected to be versatile and able to respond to issues related to all aspects of daily operations in a university with a large research program and associated medical centers.

This position requires

• Specialized training, competency, and working knowledge of several disciplines of radiation protection including regulatory compliance, radiological surveys, hazard assessment, safe working practices, instrumentation, transportation of radioactive materials and emergency preparedness and response.
• Familiarity with multiple types of ionizing radiation sources including unsealed radioactive materials and sealed sources, x-ray generating machines, cyclotrons, and linear accelerators.
• Ability to develop, manage, and administer emerging radiation safety requirements at a large university.
• Capability to work independently and exercise autonomous judgement and decision making.
• Organizational skills to manage multiple concurrent work duties and timelines effectively and efficiently.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with all levels of University staff as well as State of Washington and federal regulatory agencies to assure the University's best interests are protected.
• Adaptation and innovation when working with faculty and staff to help them establish procedures to ensure that regulatory compliance issues introduced by state and federal regulators can be accomplished with minimal undue impact to the University.
• Incorporating EH&S strategic planning initiatives into the employee work-plan.
• Gathering and analyzing data for metrics and performance monitoring of programs to ensure organizational efficiencies and desired outcomes are met and program goals are reached.
• Serving as a liaison with the regulatory agencies on administrative and technical matters on behalf of the University of Washington (UW) for the assigned programs.
• Staying current on new and emerging technologies, required and recommended trainings, and new or developing regulatory requirements relevant to position and assigned programs.

The Environmental Health and Safety Department provides University wide health and safety programs at all campus locations as well as Harborview and UW Medical Centers. The Program Operations Specialist must ensure assigned programs meet safety and regulatory requirements for a broad range of radioactive materials use applications.

The UW Radioactive Materials License is granted by the State of Washington Department of Health (DOH). Additional regulatory requirements are codified in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). Inability to adequately assure compliance with license conditions and WAC regulations can result in license suspension and prohibition of all use of radioactive material and radiation producing machines. The Program Operations Specialist serves an important role in maintaining a trusting and positive relationship with regulatory agencies, faculty, staff, students and patients, by administering assigned programs to meet regulatory requirements and ensure the safety of all individuals.

Duties & Responsibilities

This position is responsible for program direction and control and ensuring regulatory requirements for assigned radiation safety programs are met. This position works independently under general supervision from the University of Washington EH&S Radioactive Materials Compliance Manager (RMCM) and regularly exercises independent judgement and decision making. This position works under the direction of the UW EH&S Radiation Safety Officer and closely collaborates with other Health Physicist's in Radiation Safety and the EH&S to ensure alignment of program requirements across all Radiation Safety programs.

This position manages the following radiation safety programs

Radioactive Material Shipping and Receiving Program

• Manage and administer the safety program that ensures the shipment and receipt of packages containing radioactive material is conducted in accordance with industry standards and regulatory, license, and institutional requirements. Update the radioactive material shipping and receiving program as needed to maintain compliance with these requirements and to improve efficiency of operations.
• Maintain policies and Radiation Safety Operating Procedures (RSOPs) for the shipping and receiving program.
• Incorporate quality assurance (QA) checks into shipping and receiving operations and procedures.
• Identify, compile, and analyze data needed to monitor radioactive materials received and shipped.
• Provide data needed for reports, audits, and inspections, and provide recommendations to supervisors regarding necessary resources and actions to maintain a compliant and effective radioactive materials shipping and receiving program.
• Assure records associated with the receipt and shipment of radioactive materials are complete, current, and managed according to the UW record retention schedules, and established departmental policies and procedures. This includes documentation of receipt inspections and surveys, required shipping papers, records of billing for shipping services, and other required documentation.
• Address discrepancies identified during inspections and audits of the shipping and receiving program and recommend corrective actions to supervisors.
• Ensure a qualified individual is designated and available on-site during University business hours to properly receive and survey packages containing radioactive material.
• Investigate packages that do not pass the required receipt surveys and inspections, determine the necessary follow-up actions and notifications, and ensure they are completed in a timely manner.
• Receive customer shipment requests, schedule shipments, and notify appropriate personnel to ensure timely delivery or shipment of radioactive material.
• Coordinate and perform deliveries of radioactive packages using a UW vehicle to UW facilities, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Harborview Medical Center, and other locations in the local area.
• Prepare radioactive material packages for shipment pursuant to all Federal, State, and international regulations.
• Coordinate and perform shipments of radioactive material transported by FedEx or another carrier.
• Optimize deliveries of packages to offsite locations to coincide with other scheduled activities to improve efficiency and minimize travel time and expenses.
• Provide customer service interactions including shipping requests and scheduling changes, delivery notifications, recharges for shipping services, and answering questions related to packaging and shipping logistics and costs within scope of training and experience.

Radiation Detection Instrument Calibration Program

• Manage and administer the safety program that ensures the calibration of radiation detection instruments is conducted in accordance with industry standards and regulatory, license, and institutional requirements. Update the instrument calibration program as needed to maintain compliance with these requirements and to improve efficiency of operations.
• Maintain policies and RSOPs to ensure the calibration of radiation detection instrumentation is conducted in accordance with industry standards and regulatory and institutional requirements.
• Incorporate quality assurance (QA) checks into instrument calibration operations and procedures.
• Coordinate and perform calibration of radiation detection instrumentation including Geiger Mueller and scintillation detectors, ion chambers and other exposure rate instruments, liquid scintillation counters (LSC), etc.
• Optimize monthly instrument calibration schedule to increase efficiency and minimize travel to offsite facilities.
• Investigate radiation instruments that do not pass calibration. Perform minor repairs on radiation instruments and/or send them to the manufacturer for repair.
• Identify, compile, and analyze data needed to monitor the instrument calibration program.
• Provide data needed for reports, audits, and inspections, and provide recommendations to supervisors regarding necessary resources and actions to maintain a compliant and effective instrument calibration program.
• Assure records associated with the calibration of radiation detection instruments are complete, current, and managed according to the UW record retention schedules, and established departmental policies and procedures.
• Address discrepancies identified during inspections and audits of the instrument calibration program and recommend corrective actions to supervisors.
• Provide customer service interactions including notification and retrieval of instruments for calibration, recommendations for repair or replacement, answering questions and providing basic hands-on radiation instrumentation training within scope of training and experience.

Radiological Monitoring Program - Contamination Surveys

• Manage and administer the safety program that ensures that radiological contamination surveys are conducted in accordance with industry standards and regulatory, license, and institutional requirements. Update the contamination survey program as needed to maintain compliance with these requirements and to improve efficiency of operations.
• Maintain polices and RSOPs to ensure the monitoring of areas where radioactive material is used and stored is conducted in accordance with industry standards and regulatory and institutional requirements. Collaborate with the other staff members to ensure consistent requirements across Radiation Safety Programs.
• Incorporate quality assurance (QA) checks into contamination survey operations and procedures.
• Coordinate and conduct contamination surveys of areas authorized (or previously authorized) for work with unsealed radioactive material or sealed radioactive sources.
• Optimize monthly contamination survey schedule to increase efficiency, coordinate with schedule inspections, and minimize travel to offsite facilities.
• Assure records associated with the calibration of radiation detection instruments are complete, current, and managed according to the UW record retention schedules, and established departmental policies and procedures.
• Identify, compile, and analyze data needed for reports, audits, and inspections, and provide recommendations to supervisors regarding necessary resources and actions to maintain the contamination survey program.
• Provide data needed for reports, audits, and inspections, and provide recommendations to supervisors regarding necessary resources and actions to maintain a compliant and effective contamination survey program.
• Investigate instances when contamination is found in unauthorized areas, notify area personnel and the RMCM, and ensure actions are taken to clean the contamination or control the area until it can be cleaned.
• Address discrepancies identified during inspections and audits of the contamination survey program
• Provide customer service interactions including scheduling surveys, notification of contamination, recommendations for/assistance with decontamination, answering questions, and providing basic radiation/lab safety training to lab personnel within scope of training and experience.

This position supports the following

Radiation Safety Section Support

• Cross train in other Radiation Safety programs to provide support that ensures continuity of services during the absence of other Program Operations Specialists.
• Perform semi-annual sealed source leak tests as assigned.
• Collaborate with other Radiation Safety staff to conduct an annual audit of the Radiation Protection program.
• Attend Radiation Safety section meetings, work on special projects, other duties/projects as assigned.

Radioactive Waste Disposal Program Support

• Manage requests to pick up radioactive waste and collect radioactive waste as needed.
• Maintain RSOPs to ensure safe collection, packaging, and storage of radioactive waste for decay-in-storage or shipment for offsite disposal.
• Prepare radioactive waste inventories and packages for manifesting and shipment pursuant to all Federal and State regulations.
• Assure records associated with radioactive waste disposal are complete, current, and managed according to the UW record retention schedules, and established departmental policies and procedures.
• Provide customer service interactions including receiving and documenting radioactive waste pick-up requests, collecting radioactive waste, answering questions, and providing basic radioactive waste training within scope of training and experience.

EH&S Department Support and other duties as assigned

• Collaborate with other EH&S technical groups as part of the larger integrated EH&S program.
• Comply with regulations and University and departmental policies and procedures regarding health and safety.
• Incorporate strategic planning initiatives from the EH&S Strategic plan into routine work. Support data gathering for metrics and performance monitoring of programs to ensure organizational efficiencies and desired outcomes are met and program goals are reached.
• Attend EH&S departmental and team meetings, serve on committees, work on special projects, other duties/projects as assigned.

Requirements include:

• Bachelor's degree, preferably in a Health Physics, Engineering, or Science-related field
• Three years of experience in a radiation safety program
• Demonstrated ability to make professional judgements based on radiation safety principles and practices
• Familiarity with various types of ionizing radiation sources including unsealed radioactive materials and sealed sources
• Technical proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite software
• Demonstrated strong written and verbal communication skills

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

Desired:

• Advanced degree(s) in Health Physics, Engineering, or Science
• Radiation safety experience in a university setting or similar environment

Conditions of Employment:

• Satisfactory outcome of a fingerprint check and FBI criminal background verification is required for this position.
• Licensed to operate a motor vehicle in the state of Washington or the ability to obtain a license within six months.
• Position requires frequent travel within the UW Seattle campus to client offices and facilities, and occasional travel to various UW decentralized offices and labs.

Working Environment

• This position requires working in environments that contain radioactive and other hazardous materials and/or radiation emitting equipment. The misuse or malfunction of these radiation sources can result in injury or illness. When assessing incidents and accidents, the Program Operations Specialist must be technically knowledgeable and able to respond to inquiries regarding radiation exposure at University locations.

Application Process

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select "Apply to this position". Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment, you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your "My Jobs" page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.

University of Washington is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, among other things, race, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.