Series 0840

Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear engineers who work on nuclear reactors and systems and protect people from radiation, often on nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Most jobs are with the Navy.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0800 Engineering and Architecture Group · General Schedule

See open 0840 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 170
Open now: 10
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+38%)
Demand score: 69/100
Remote opportunity score: 80/100
Veteran opportunity score: 85/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-11 to GS-14

Most common promotion potential: GS-13

GS pay plan, used by 81% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$111,119 to $155,343 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 21%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 79%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 68%
Telework eligible (open now): 80%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Navy (125)
Other Agencies and Independent Organizations (19)
Department of Energy (12)
Department of the Air Force (6)
Department of the Interior (3)

Top states

Washington (27)
Virginia (26)
Maine (21)
District of Columbia (20)
Hawaii (19)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings usually peak in March and August and are lowest in December and November.

Typical postings for series 0840 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	8% below average
February	5% below average
March	18% above average
April	About average
May	6% below average
June	About average
July	About average
August	13% above average
September	About average
October	8% above average
November	10% below average
December	15% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 0840 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	204
FY 2019	269
FY 2020	258
FY 2021	253
FY 2022	271
FY 2023	298
FY 2024	298
FY 2025	142
FY 2026	160

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0840 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	10
Jan 2026	18
Feb 2026	15
Mar 2026	17
Apr 2026	13
May 2026	11
Jun 2026	5
Jul 2026	21
Aug 2026	23
Sep 2026	14
Oct 2026	14
Nov 2026 (month to date)	9

0801 General Engineering 3,680 postings in 12 months
0810 Civil Engineering 1,496 postings in 12 months
0830 Mechanical Engineering 1,428 postings in 12 months
0850 Electrical Engineering 1,230 postings in 12 months
0802 Engineering Technical 1,075 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.