Radiation Safety Officer

Radiation Safety Officer

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Employment Type: Full-time, On-site

Function: Environmental, Health & Safety / Radiation Protection / Regulatory Compliance

Company Overview

We are rebuilding American industrial capability for a new era of autonomy, robotics, and electrification. We are the only U.S. company with a fully integrated rare earth supply chain-from mining and refining to advanced metal and magnet manufacturing. Our products include both the critical materials used to make permanent magnets and the finished magnets themselves-enabling next-generation technologies in robotics, automation, aerospace, transportation, defense, and energy systems. These materials are the foundation of physical AI-the convergence of computation, movement, and control.

We hire ambitious, mission-driven people who want to tackle complex challenges and shape the future of strategic industries. Our culture is rooted in teamwork, resiliency, and integrity, with a deep commitment to operational excellence and national purpose. We are rapidly evolving from a materials producer into a leading U.S. manufacturer-and our people are driving that transformation.

Position Overview

The Radiation Safety Officer will lead and manage the radiation protection program at our facility. This person will be responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable federal, state, and local radiation safety regulations, license conditions, internal procedures, and best practices related to radioactive materials, NORM/TENORM, radiation-generating equipment, environmental monitoring, worker protection, and waste management.

This role will serve as the site's subject matter expert for radiation safety and will partner closely with Operations, EHS, Environmental Compliance, Maintenance, Engineering, Laboratory, Security, and Regulatory Affairs teams to maintain a safe, compliant, and operationally effective radiation protection program.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the designated Radiation Safety Officer for the facility and oversee daily implementation of the site radiation protection program.
• Maintain compliance with applicable California Department of Public Health Radiologic Health Branch requirements, California Title 17 regulations, NRC/Agreement State requirements, DOT radioactive material transportation requirements, applicable EPA guidance, and company license/permit conditions. California guidance notes that RSOs are responsible for ensuring safe operation of the radiation protection program and compliance with license conditions, Title 17 CCR, 10 CFR Part 20, and DOT requirements.
• Develop, update, and enforce radiation safety procedures, ALARA practices, work controls, surveys, postings, access controls, and radiological job planning requirements.
• Lead the site's NORM/TENORM management program, including characterization, sampling, handling, storage, reuse/disposal support, and documentation of materials impacted by naturally occurring radionuclides.
• Conduct and/or oversee radiation surveys, contamination surveys, exposure assessments, area monitoring, dose-rate measurements, airborne radioactivity evaluations, radon/thoron monitoring, and surface contamination checks.
• Manage personnel dosimetry programs, including badge assignment, exposure tracking, dose investigations, records retention, and reporting.
• Evaluate worker and public exposure risks and ensure occupational and public doses remain within applicable regulatory limits and ALARA expectations.
• Train employees, contractors, and visitors on radiation safety, NORM/TENORM awareness, contamination control, PPE use, survey requirements, emergency response, and site-specific radiological work procedures.
• Support radiological controls for mining, crushing, milling, flotation, roasting, leaching, separations, product finishing, maintenance, lab activities, tailings/residue handling, and waste management.
• Partner with Environmental Compliance on radiological sampling, groundwater/soil monitoring, air emissions considerations, stormwater controls, and waste characterization.
• Review proposed process changes, capital projects, equipment modifications, and maintenance activities for radiological safety implications.
• Oversee calibration, maintenance, inventory, and proper use of radiation detection instruments and survey equipment.
• Maintain radioactive material inventories, sealed source/device records, leak test records, survey records, training files, dosimetry records, incident logs, and regulatory correspondence.
• Lead internal audits of the radiation protection program and implement corrective/preventive actions.
• Investigate radiological incidents, abnormal survey results, lost/damaged sources, potential exposures, spills, contamination events, and regulatory deviations.
• Serve as the primary site contact for radiation-related inspections, audits, agency inquiries, and regulatory reporting.
• Support DOT-compliant packaging, labeling, documentation, and shipment of regulated radioactive or TENORM materials as applicable.
• Collaborate with Maintenance and Engineering to ensure radiation-producing devices, gauges, analytical instruments, or sealed-source equipment are properly controlled and serviced by authorized personnel.
• Provide technical coaching to supervisors and front-line employees to build strong radiation safety ownership across the operation.
• Maintain emergency response procedures for radiological events and participate in drills, tabletop exercises, and incident command planning.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Health Physics, Radiation Protection, Nuclear Engineering, Environmental Science, Chemistry, Geology, Industrial Hygiene, Safety, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of radiation safety, health physics, NORM/TENORM, mining, chemical processing, industrial, nuclear, environmental, or heavy manufacturing experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of radiation protection principles, including ALARA, time/distance/shielding, contamination control, internal/external dose pathways, dosimetry, survey methods, and exposure monitoring.
• Experience developing or managing radiation protection programs in an industrial, mining, chemical processing, nuclear, research, or manufacturing environment.
• Working knowledge of applicable radiation regulations, including California Title 17, 10 CFR Part 20, NRC/Agreement State requirements, DOT hazardous materials regulations, and radioactive waste/TENORM management expectations.
• Experience conducting radiation surveys, interpreting survey data, maintaining radiation detection instruments, and managing radiological records.
• Strong ability to communicate technical information clearly to operators, maintenance personnel, contractors, site leadership, and regulators.
• Strong documentation, audit, investigation, root cause analysis, and corrective action management skills.
• Ability to work in an active mining/processing environment, including field work, plant walkdowns, PPE use, and occasional non-standard hours as operational needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Radiation Protection, Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Engineering, or related discipline.
• Certification or eligibility for certification as a Certified Health Physicist, NRRPT Registered Radiation Protection Technologist, or equivalent radiation safety credential.
• Prior experience as a Radiation Safety Officer or Deputy Radiation Safety Officer.
• Experience with rare earth mining, mineral processing, uranium/thorium-bearing ores, NORM/TENORM, tailings, residues, or low-level radioactive waste.
• Experience working with California regulators, CDPH Radiologic Health Branch, Cal/OSHA, MSHA, EPA, DTSC, or county/state environmental agencies.
• Experience in mining, chemical manufacturing, metals processing, hydrometallurgy, solvent extraction, laboratory operations, or high-hazard industrial environments.
• Familiarity with MSHA safety requirements and field-based industrial safety systems.
• Experience with radiation instrumentation such as GM meters, scintillation detectors, alpha/beta contamination meters, ion chambers, radon/thoron monitors, air samplers, and gamma spectroscopy.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong practical understanding of radiological hazards associated with naturally occurring uranium, thorium, radium, radon/thoron decay products, and TENORM materials.
• Ability to translate regulatory requirements into clear, usable procedures for operations teams.
• Strong field presence and credibility with operators, maintenance technicians, engineers, contractors, and EHS professionals.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving industrial environment with both legacy assets and new process development.
• Excellent judgment, attention to detail, and ability to stop or escalate unsafe work when needed.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage inspections, audits, reports, sampling schedules, training deadlines, and corrective actions.
• High integrity and comfort serving as the technical authority for compliance-sensitive decisions.

Success in This Role Looks Like

• Radiation protection program is audit-ready and well documented.
• Workers understand radiation/NORM hazards and follow site controls.
• Surveys, dosimetry, monitoring, and records are accurate and current.
• Regulatory inspections are handled confidently and professionally.
• Process changes and maintenance activities are reviewed before radiological issues arise.
• The site maintains strong ALARA performance while supporting production goals.

Compensation / Work Environment

Compensation would likely be market-based and dependent on experience, certifications, and technical depth. The role would be on-site at in Las Vegas, NV and would require routine field presence in an active mining and processing environment.