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Nuclear Technicians

SOC 19-4051.00Job Zone 3 · Medium Preparationv.26.05

Context coveredThis framework covers nuclear technician practice in licensed commercial nuclear power facilities, spanning equipment monitoring, surveillance testing, radiation safety compliance, and regulatory interaction across entry through executive career stages calibrated to Job Zone 3 preparation.

Sources:O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.SkillsCrosswalkSkillsCrosswalk — O*NET enrichment + adjacency index. Opens in new tab.
Emerging
Entry / Apprentice
  1. Nuclear equipment operational policies — follow under direct supervision to ensure environmental safety compliance at a licensed nuclear facility.
  2. Radiation safety protocols — apply consistently under technician guidance to maintain personnel dose limits within established thresholds.
  3. Safety tags — identify correct tag types and attach to equipment flagged for maintenance under a senior technician's oversight.
  4. Plant equipment operating parameters — read and record instrument data from control panels during routine shifts at a nuclear power station.
  5. Technical procedures and equipment manuals — interpret written instructions to support basic surveillance testing tasks in a reactor support environment.
  6. Basic nuclear physics concepts — recognize and explain how they relate to reactor operation during structured on-the-job training sessions.
  7. Industrial control software interfaces — navigate and log operational data entries under supervision using facility-approved database systems.
  8. Anomalous equipment readings — identify and immediately report to qualified personnel during routine monitoring rounds in a nuclear plant.
  9. Radiation detection instruments — use and perform basic functional checks under direct supervision before entering radiologically controlled areas.
  10. Quality control checklists — complete accurately and submit in accordance with plant documentation standards while working on entry-level assignments.
Developing
Mid-level / Established
  1. Nuclear equipment operational procedures — execute independently and verify compliance with environmental safety standards during normal plant operations.
  2. Surveillance testing programs — conduct scheduled tests on safety-related nuclear equipment and document results in plant tracking databases with minimal oversight.
  3. Reactor equipment performance data — monitor trends across shifts and flag emerging inefficiencies or potential hazards to shift supervisors.
  4. Plant equipment functional tests — perform and evaluate results against acceptance criteria, escalating discrepancies through the corrective action program.
  5. Radiation worker policies — apply and explain to coworkers in radiologically controlled areas, reinforcing a consistent safety culture on the work floor.
  6. Nuclear equipment modifications — assist in devising or implementing minor field changes under engineering guidance within an operating nuclear facility.
  7. Spreadsheet and office suite software — use to compile equipment performance reports and surveillance test summaries for review by plant engineering staff.
  8. Problem sensitivity during equipment rounds — distinguish between normal operational variation and conditions requiring corrective action in a reactor support environment.
  9. Technical specifications and licensing bases — read and interpret to ensure work activities remain within authorized limits at a commercial nuclear plant.
  10. Oral and written status updates — deliver clearly to shift supervisors and peers during turnover briefings in a time-sensitive control room environment.
Proficient
Senior / Expert IC
  1. Full-scope nuclear equipment monitoring programs — execute autonomously, identify complex performance degradation patterns, and initiate corrective actions at an operating reactor facility.
  2. Non-routine surveillance and diagnostic testing — design and lead for safety-critical systems, interpreting ambiguous results and recommending disposition to plant engineers.
  3. Equipment maintenance and repair strategies — evaluate and recommend modifications that optimize reliability while maintaining compliance with nuclear quality assurance requirements.
  4. Safety tagging and work control processes — administer for complex, multi-system evolutions, ensuring all energy isolation boundaries are correctly established and released.
  5. Radiation protection programs — assess effectiveness and recommend procedural improvements to reduce occupational dose while maintaining operational throughput.
  6. Industrial control software and historian systems — leverage to perform advanced trending analyses and prepare detailed equipment health reports for plant management review.
  7. Complex troubleshooting of nuclear plant systems — apply deductive and inductive reasoning independently to diagnose root causes and identify corrective options across mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation domains.
  8. Regulatory and technical specification compliance — judge borderline operational conditions and make defensible, well-documented decisions without supervisory direction.
  9. Cross-functional coordination — lead technical interactions between operations, maintenance, and engineering groups to resolve equipment issues efficiently during outages or forced power reductions.
  10. Instruction and knowledge transfer — coach developing technicians in surveillance procedures, radiation safety practices, and equipment monitoring techniques within the plant training environment.
Advanced
Lead / Principal / Executive
  1. Nuclear operations competency framework — develop and champion organization-wide standards for technician qualification, surveillance testing, and equipment monitoring across multiple plant systems.
  2. Strategic equipment reliability programs — lead design and continuous improvement initiatives that reduce unplanned outages and support long-term asset management at the facility level.
  3. Radiation protection culture — set organizational direction and model exemplary behaviors that embed cautiousness, integrity, and self-control as core values across the nuclear workforce.
  4. Regulatory agency interactions — represent the facility authoritatively during inspections, license amendment reviews, and enforcement conferences with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
  5. Emergency operating procedure governance — oversee revision, validation, and drill programs to ensure procedural accuracy and workforce readiness for design-basis and beyond-design-basis events.
  6. Plant modification and engineering change programs — provide senior technical authority and approval oversight for nuclear equipment modifications affecting safety classification or licensing basis.
  7. Workforce capability development — build and sustain multi-year technician training pipelines, partnering with vocational programs and internal training departments to address skill gaps.
  8. Cross-departmental quality assurance leadership — direct nuclear quality control analyses and independent verification processes, ensuring corrective action program effectiveness across the organization.
  9. Institutional knowledge capture — lead structured efforts to document complex system behaviors, tribal knowledge, and lessons learned into retrievable formats for organizational resilience.
  10. Industry benchmarking and best practices adoption — represent the facility at industry forums, evaluate peer plant operating experience, and integrate applicable insights into facility programs and procedures.

AI-at-Work Competency Framework

Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.

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Sources:Pathsmith™ Durable SkillsPathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
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O*NET enrichment · skillscrosswalk.com

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Source anchors that ground each statement

Related titles
Accelerator Operator · Accelerator Technician · Auxiliary Operator · Cell Support Operator · Electric Systems Operator · Energy Systems Operator · Equipment Operation Instructor · Equipment Operator · Facilities Operator · Gamma Facilities Operator · Gamma Operator · Hot-Cell Technician
RAPIDS apprenticeships
—
O*NET skills
Operations MonitoringMonitoringReading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingQuality Control AnalysisActive LearningTroubleshootingJudgment and Decision MakingComplex Problem SolvingOperation and ControlWritingSpeakingCoordinationInstructingSocial PerceptivenessSystems EvaluationTime Management
Knowledge domains
Public Safety and SecurityMechanicalPhysicsEngineering and TechnologyEducation and TrainingChemistryEnglish LanguageComputers and ElectronicsMathematicsLaw and Government
Abilities
Problem SensitivityInformation OrderingWritten ComprehensionOral ComprehensionOral ExpressionInductive ReasoningPerceptual SpeedDeductive ReasoningNear VisionSpeech Recognition
Work styles
Attention to DetailDependabilityCautiousnessSelf-ControlIntegrityStress Tolerance
Technology
Data base user interface and query softwareOperating system softwareSpreadsheet softwareOffice suite softwarePresentation softwareWord processing softwareIndustrial control softwareClustering softwareApplication server software
Tasks · seed anchors for statements
  1. Follow nuclear equipment operational policies and procedures that ensure environmental safety.
  2. Conduct surveillance testing to determine safety of nuclear equipment.
  3. Monitor nuclear reactor equipment performance to identify operational inefficiencies, hazards, or needs for maintenance or repair.
  4. Test plant equipment to ensure it is operating properly.
  5. Apply safety tags to equipment needing maintenance.
  6. Follow policies and procedures for radiation workers to ensure personnel safety.
  7. Modify, devise, or maintain nuclear equipment used in operations.
CIP education codes
15.140141.020441.020541.029951.0916

Sources: O*NET v30.2 (CC BY 4.0), SkillsCrosswalk.com, LER.me®, Anthropic Economic Index, SAFI (Jadhav & Danve, 2026), WEF Skills Taxonomy 2021, Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework. © 2026 EBSCOed.