Chief Medical Officer

Summary

Serves as Chief Medical Officer for Johnson Space Center (JSC), providing Health and Medical Technical Authority for crewed spaceflight and oversight of occupational health. Offers senior medical expertise, sets health and medical requirements, assesses medical risks, and advises NASA leadership on medical policy, astronaut health, flight readiness, and emerging aerospace medicine issues.

Duties

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The Chief Medical Officer:

• Leads monitoring of compliance with, and approves deviations from, applicable health and medical technical requirements, standards, products, processes, and policies. Establishes technical oversight and ensures consistent implementation of HMTA across developmental and operational spaceflight programs. Works with the Director, Human Health and Performance Directorate (HH&P) and OCHMO to develop and maintain standards and program requirements. May delegate HMTA responsibilities to HH&P officers for individual programs and projects with OCHMO concurrence. Maintains JPR 7120.8 in concurrence with NPR 7120.11A and ensures the HMTA delegation letter remains current.
• Provides leadership and technical oversight in aerospace medicine, medical operations, and occupational health. Oversees astronaut and aircrew medical certification and related medical operations. Develops and leads, in collaboration with the JSC Clinic Medical Director and JSC Occupational Health Officer, programs supporting occupational health of JSC employees, including infectious disease risk management.
• Provides technical authority and oversight for biomedical engineering, environmental health, and human factors affecting crew health and performance. Oversees applicable technical considerations involving spaceflight habitability, food, and hygiene, ensuring human health and performance requirements are addressed in the development and operation of crewed spaceflight systems.
• Provides expert medical consultation and recommendations on Agency policy, standards, and risk posture for crewed spaceflight programs. Advises OCHMO and the Director, HH&P, on medical and HMTA-related risks affecting programs and projects. Provides technical expertise in established and emerging areas, including precision medicine, medical standards, artificial intelligence, and medical risk assessment, to inform policy development and program decisions.
• Provides HMTA expertise and medical risk evaluations for mission management and flight-readiness decisions. Serves as required on Agency crewed spaceflight Mission Management Teams (MMTs), Stage Operations Readiness Reviews, Flight Readiness Reviews, program boards, and other flight-readiness forums. Evaluates medical risks and provides expert opinions to inform mission decisions. Completes required MMT training and simulations. Reviews and signs, when requested, hazard assessments for human-in-the-loop testing involving potential injury to participants. Maintains situational awareness of human spaceflight activities, including hazardous human-in-the-loop testing, and promptly informs senior leadership of significant medical risks and outcomes.
• Oversees astronaut occupational medical monitoring, medical data governance, and adjudication of applicable medical claims. Serves as System of Records manager for astronaut medical and research data and ensures compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 in the management and use of astronaut data for research and analysis. Chairs the Astronaut Occupational Health Management Group, including determining the appropriateness of proposed new medical examinations for astronaut occupational monitoring. Chairs the TREAT Astronauts Act Board to determine whether medical conditions claimed by former astronauts are attributable to the effects of spaceflight.
• Represents JSC and NASA in medical governance and international crewed spaceflight coordination. Chairs the JSC Aerospace Medicine Board and serves as Chair, Co-Chair, or alternate on medical policy, operations, and medical certification boards with International Space Station (ISS) and Artemis international partners. Provides technical expertise/recommendations to support coordinated medical policies, operational practices, and crew medical certification across international partnerships.
• Provides medical expertise and recommendations for potential medical evacuations of JSC travelers under the MedEvac5 contract procured by ISS Program. Advises the ISS POC and ISS Program leadership on appropriate medical care and provides concurrence or nonconcurrence with the medical evacuation provider's proposed response plan.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278e) within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
• Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
• Successful completion of random drug screening may be required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance as required by the position.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Must have an active/current License and/or Certification: Active/Unrestricted Medical License

Qualifications

You must meet all four requirements listed below:

1. The mandatory Basic Requirement shown in the Education section below;
2. Specialized experience as shown below, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of this position;
3. Certification/Licensure/Training requirements; and
4. SL Evaluation Criteria requirements.

For the SL level:

• 5 years of graduate training in the specialty of the position to be filled; OR
• A combination of experience and training equivalent to at least 5 years of graduate training in the medical specialty required for this position.

Preferred Experience:

• 5 years or more of experience in Aerospace Medicine

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

Candidates must be a recognized subject matter expert with at least 1 year of directly related experience equivalent to the GS-15 level in implementing, managing and reviewing operational medical and occupational health programs. Such experience includes technical oversight in aerospace medicine including the fields of research into countermeasures development, medical operations, physiology, behavioral health, biochemistry, toxicology, microbiology, cell biology, and radiation biology, and leading aerospace medicine experts and board members in evaluating and correlating conflicting medical evidence for arriving at a sound medical conclusion on novel and exceptionally difficult cases.

Your application package must be in your own words. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Please visit and review NASA's guidance on the use of super intelligence (SI) or SI-assisted tools during the application process.

CERTIFICATION:

• Board-certification or eligibility in Aerospace Medicine

AND

LICENSURE:

• Applicants must possess a current, active, full, and unrestricted license or registration as a Physician from a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States.

AND

GRADUATE TRAINING:

Subsequent to obtaining a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree, a candidate must have had at least 1 year of supervised experience providing direct service in a clinical setting, i.e., a 1-year internship or the first year of a residency program in a hospital or an institution accredited for such training. Graduate training programs include only those internship, residency, and fellowship programs that are approved by accrediting bodies recognized within the United States or Canada. Descriptions of such programs are described below.

• An internship program involves broadly based clinical practice in which physicians acquire experience in treating a variety of medical problems under supervision (e.g., internal medicine, surgery, general practice, obstetrics-gynecology, and pediatrics). Such programs are in hospitals or other institutions accredited for internship training by a recognized body of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
• A residency program involves training in a specialized ?eld of medicine in a hospital or an institution accredited for training in the specialty by a recognized body of the American Medical Association, (AMA) or Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education(ACGME).
• A fellowship program involves advanced training (beyond residency training) in a given medical specialty in either a clinical or research setting in a hospital or an institution accredited in the United States for such training.

AND

SL EVALUATION CRITERIA:

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must also address both Senior Level (SL) Evaluation Criteria listed below. Failure to address these criteria will result in your application being rated ineligible.

1. Technical Competence and Leadership

Led technical/discipline teams to advance or enable state-of-the-art solutions in science, engineering, or mission enabling functions. Developed or implemented innovative methodologies or technologies to solve complex scientific, engineering or mission enabling problems. Led or supported collaborative partnerships with industry, academic, or government organizations to advance scientific, engineering, or mission enabling technical capabilities at national or international levels.

2. Professional Contributions and Influence

Leveraged expertise and integration skills to resolve technical/discipline challenges for complex systems. Demonstrated impact in technical discipline to solve issues or improve operational effectiveness. Chaired or presented at professional conference sessions or technical forums to share expertise and influence field development. Developed or mentored students or professional practitioners in scientific, engineering or mission enabling communities. Shared technical knowledge or innovations that were adopted by outside organizations with documented results.

Please refer to the "How you will be evaluated" section for a list of competencies that you will be evaluated on.

Education

Basic Requirement:

You must have successfully completed a degree in Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine or equivalent from a school in the United States or Canada. This degree must have been accredited by the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association; Association of American Medical Colleges; Liaison Committee on Medical Education; Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation of the American Osteopathic Association, or an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained.

OR

Degree from Foreign Medical School: A Doctor of Medicine or equivalent degree from a foreign medical school must provide education and medical knowledge equivalent to accredited schools in the United States. Evidence of equivalency to accredited schools in the United States is demonstrated by permanent certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, a fifth pathway certificate for Americans who completed premedical education in the United States and graduate education in a foreign country, or successful completion of the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination.

U.S. degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Additional information

This position may offer physicians' comparability allowance (PCA) and a service agreement will be required. PCA allows up to $14,000 annually to a physician with 24 months or less of service or PCA up to $30,000 annually to a physician with more than 24 months of service.

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Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.