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Nuclear & SMR Search · Vacancy Cost Report

What an Empty Health Physics Seat Costs

An open seat is not free while it waits. Enter your own billable rate or delay cost, and compare what a faster fill avoids with a 25% placement fee.

Cost of Vacancy Calculator

Every number below comes from the inputs you set. Start from your own billable rate or delay cost.

Business Model
1
110
$95/hr
70250

Starting value is an assumption; replace it with yours. Modeled at 50 billable hours per seat per week.

14 wks
424
8 wks
320

Intake to start date. Offers, notice periods, and onboarding add time.

18%
040

Your assumption. Set it to 0% to count unbilled revenue only.

Weekly Unbilled Revenue Bleed

$4,750

1 seat x $95/hr x 50

Total Vacancy Cost over 14 Weeks

$78,470

Including the 18% team load you set

Estimated Cost Avoided

$33,630

6 weeks sooner than waiting

Standard 25% Placement Fee

$33,438

On $133,750 assumed first-year comp per seat

Cost Avoided vs. Fee (illustrative)

1.0x

On your inputs, the cost avoided exceeds the fee by $193.

Schedule Scoping SessionCall (757) 720-7173

Illustrative calculation from the numbers you enter, not a guarantee of savings or results. Cost avoided counts only the weeks the seat would stay open beyond the search time you set. Fees are 15 to 30% of first-year compensation, with engagement fees starting at $3,500. 100% of engagement fees are credited in full toward your final placement invoice, backed by a written replacement guarantee per your engagement agreement.

Health Physics and SMR Licensing: 2026 Market Report

Operating plants, advanced reactor developers and medical licensees draw on the same small pool of certified health physicists and licensing engineers. The workforce is adequate for routine needs but shrinking and aging, and the credentials take years to earn.

The CHP is a long credential

ABHP certification requires a relevant degree, six years of professional health physics experience and a two-part exam. A peer-reviewed workforce review found supply adequate for routine needs but shrinking, with retirements a real risk.

Advanced reactor licensing is moving

The NRC issued construction permits for TerraPower's Kemmerer Unit 1 in March 2026 and TVA's Clinch River BWRX-300 in September 2026, and the 10 CFR Part 53 final rule took effect April 29, 2026. Engineers with docketed NRC experience are in short supply.

Outage seasons spike demand

Refueling outages cluster in spring and fall, pulling contract radiation protection technicians and supervisors across the country for a few weeks at a time.

Navy nuclear veterans are the bench

Navy nuclear Machinist's Mates, including Engineering Laboratory Technicians, Electrician's Mates and Electronics Technicians, bring radiological controls experience, and military training can count toward NRRPT experience requirements.

Methodology. Drivers summarize the published sources below. Pay figures on the pay index are cited individually. Nothing here is a survey by Engaged Headhunters.

Sources

  1. American Board of Health Physics, Prospectus (October 2025)
  2. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, health physics workforce review (2022)
  3. World Nuclear News, NRC issues construction permit for first Natrium plant (March 2026)
  4. World Nuclear News, First construction permit issued for BWRX-300 SMR in US (September 2026)
  5. Federal Register, 10 CFR Part 53 final rule (March 30, 2026)
  6. EIA, Nuclear refueling outages peak in spring and fall
  7. NRRPT, Registration requirements
  8. Health Physics Society, 2023 Health Physicist Salary Survey (published Dec 2024)

Frequently asked questions

What does an open licensing engineer seat cost an SMR developer?

Licensing work often sits on the critical path to a construction permit, so the cost is schedule slip. That figure is specific to your project; enter your own per-day estimate in the calculator.

Is there a shortage of health physicists?

A 2022 peer-reviewed review found the health physics workforce adequate for routine needs but shrinking, with retirements a real risk. The CHP takes years to earn, so experienced people are slow to replace.

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