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.
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.
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.
Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov
This position is with Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The posted pay range is $151661 – $217332/yr.
This position requires a Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance.
Applications close on 2026-11-20.
This position is open under the 'Fed Internal Search' hiring path.
Source: USAJOBS.gov — U.S. Federal Government · Retrieved 2026-11-06 · Not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM or USAJOBS.gov
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