National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Director

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Brown-Giammanco, Tanya M. Dr. (Fed)

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Jul 1, 2026, 10:50:35 AM (2 days ago) Jul 1

to jo...@earthscope.org

(CIVIL/STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, GENERAL ENGINEER, ECONOMIST, SOCIAL SCIENTIST, GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENTIST, GEOPHYSICIST, GEOLOGIST)

NIST Engineering Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD USA

Introduction:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)’s Engineering Laboratory (EL) is seeking candidates to lead the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) within the Disaster Impact Reduction Office (DIRO) in Gaithersburg, MD.

NEHRP is a statutory program authorized by Congress in 1977 whose mission is to “reduce the risks of life and property from future earthquakes and increase the resilience of communities in the United States through the establishment and maintenance of an effective earthquake hazards reduction program.” The program seeks to understand earthquakes and their impacts and mitigate their effects on the built environment through implementation of cost-effective measures and improvements in engineering and construction methods for structures.

As the Director of the NEHRP, you’ll lead a four-agency program comprised of NIST as the lead agency, the US Geological Survey (USGS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The NEHRP Director will ensure effective national coordination by establishing strategic partnerships and standing agreements with appropriate federal agencies, state and local governments, and academic and industry organizations. The NEHRP Director will also lead outreach by representing NIST and NEHRP interests via participation and attendance at key national and international meetings, conferences and workshops, and highlighting findings and outcomes through various, public-facing channels such as websites and media outlets. The NEHRP Director will also lead the NEHRP office team at NIST, managing the day-to-day operations of the program, which includes collaboration with the Program Coordination Working Group comprised of technical experts from the four program agencies.

The NEHRP office team supports key program responsibilities, including the work of the Interagency Coordinating Committee and the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction, and preparation of biennial reports. The NEHRP office team manages the work of the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC); reports agency compliance with Executive Order 13717; may serve on codes and standards committees; and supports the updating and adoption of NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions through the Building Seismic Safety Council. In addition, the NEHRP office team may conduct or support the conduct of research in earthquake engineering and community resilience in coordination with NIST’s programs on Risk Reduction and Recovery, and Disaster and Failure Studies.

Following the evaluation of those responding to this expression of interest, the hiring process will be conducted through USAJOBS in one or more of the following series: General Engineering (ZP-0801-V); Civil/Structural Engineering (ZP-0810-V); General Physical Science (ZP-1301-V); Geophysics (ZP-1313-V); Geology (ZP-1350-V); Social Science (ZP-0101-V); Economist (ZP-0110-V). For more information on NIST’s Alternative Personnel Management System, visit here: https://www.nist.gov/careers/pay-benefits-and-leave.

Experience:
We are seeking candidates with expertise and skillsets in one or more of the following technical areas:

Earthquake hazards characterization or measurement, including field instrumentation
Earthquake engineering practices and loading
Earthquake mitigation for buildings and lifelines
Earthquake risk or economic modeling for buildings and lifelines
Structural response to earthquakes and damage analysis or modeling
Functional recovery of buildings and lifelines
Development of earthquake-related codes and standards
Community resilience and emergency response to earthquakes
Social science work assessing earthquake hazards, damage, evacuations, and/or recovery
Interpreting and implementing federal policy and federal programs
Ability to persuade others and reach consensus
Ability to communicate to a wide variety of stakeholders and translate technical ideas into plain language

If selected, you will lead interagency activities that improve metrology of earthquake hazards; improve earthquake risk reduction; and enhance building, infrastructure, and community resilience against earthquake hazards. Key responsibilities include:

Liaising with stakeholders and leading outreach to achieve Congressionally defined goals aimed at mitigating risk from earthquakes and improving post-event recovery trajectories for the American public.
Communicating effectively with stakeholders to achieve programmatic goals and objectives.
Collaborating alongside USGS, NSF, and FEMA to nationally coordinate and build strategic partnerships spanning federal, state, local, tribal, academic, and industry sectors.
Implementing the NEHRP Strategic Plan and Management Plan, updating and revising these as needed.
Leading the interagency Program Coordination Working Group comprised of agency technical experts.
Organizing annual NEHRP Interagency Coordinating Committee meetings comprised of agency principals.
Managing the Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction.
Collaborating across NIST programs and divisions, including the Earthquake Engineering Group, Community Resilience Group, and Disaster and Failure Studies Program.
Participating in coordination of earthquake event reconnaissance and/or field data collection for future earthquake events, as necessary.
Broadly promoting program achievements through high-level presentations at nationally- and internationally-recognized conferences, meetings, and workshops
Disseminating findings through public-facing channels such as media, conference presentations, authoritative journal papers, reports, and nehrp.gov.

Salary and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $169,279 to $197,200 per annum. Exact compensation may vary based on skills and experience.

The position is eligible for Alternate Work Schedule and Telework flexibilities. Additional information on Federal benefits can be found at https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/benefits/.

Please note that only U.S. citizens can be considered for this position. This position will be located in Gaithersburg, MD, or Boulder, CO. Relocation expenses may be considered.

Basic Requirements:
This position requires a minimum of an accredited Master of Science degree in an Engineering, Physical Science, Social Science, Economics or a related field, and at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-14 (ZP-IV at NIST) grade level. Specialized experience is defined as experience in conducting complex earthquake or geotechnical hazards characterization and research; codes and standards development as it pertains to earthquake hazards; mitigation and resilience of buildings, lifelines, and communities to earthquakes; or development of data collection tools and instruments. Specialized experience also includes leadership of interdisciplinary teams from a variety of stakeholder types to study earthquake hazards and mitigation; providing high-level strategic coordination and guidance; knowledge of policy and federal programs; and ability to communicate to a wide variety of stakeholders and translate technical ideas into plain language.

Submission of Interest:
To express interest in the future job posting, please send resumes to tanya.brow...@nist.gov by July 31, 2026. In your submission cover letter/email, please reference “NEHRP Director” specifically and let us know how you learned about this position.