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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for X-Ray Program Specialist

💰 $65,000 - $110,000

RadiologyHealthcareRadiation SafetyImagingCompliance

🎯 Role Definition

The X-Ray Program Specialist is a clinically and technically skilled radiology professional who leads an institution’s X-ray program governance, equipment lifecycle management, and radiation safety initiatives. This role combines hands-on QA/QC testing, regulatory compliance and reporting, staff education, vendor coordination, and cross-departmental project leadership to ensure safe, efficient, and high-quality diagnostic imaging operations. The Specialist acts as the subject matter expert for digital radiography systems, fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), mammography, PACS/RIS integration, dose monitoring and recordkeeping.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Registered Radiologic Technologist (R.T. (R)) with clinical imaging experience
  • Biomedical Equipment Technician or Medical Imaging Field Service Engineer
  • Radiation Safety Technologist or Radiology Supervisor

Advancement To:

  • Lead X-Ray Program Specialist / Senior Imaging Program Manager
  • Radiology Department Manager or Director of Imaging Services
  • Institutional Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) or Compliance Director

Lateral Moves:

  • Medical Equipment Vendor Specialist / Applications Engineer
  • Diagnostic Imaging Quality Manager
  • PACS/RIS Implementation Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive X-ray program quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) plan covering radiography, fluoroscopy, mammography, and CT systems, including routine performance testing, acceptance testing and preventive maintenance tracking to meet institutional and regulatory standards.
  • Conduct equipment acceptance testing and commissioning for new X-ray modalities, including digital detectors, fluoroscopy systems, mammography units, and CT scanners; prepare detailed acceptance reports and corrective action recommendations.
  • Perform scheduled and on-demand image quality assessments (phantom testing, contrast resolution, spatial resolution, artifact analysis) and document results in the QA database to support continuous imaging quality improvement.
  • Lead radiation dose monitoring and optimization efforts across diagnostic modalities: analyze dose indices, implement protocol optimization, establish diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), and coach clinical teams on ALARA principles to reduce patient and staff exposure.
  • Ensure compliance with federal, state and local radiation safety regulations (e.g., NRC, state health departments, FDA-MQSA for mammography, OSHA as applicable), prepare for and support regulatory inspections and remediate findings promptly.
  • Maintain and reconcile X-ray equipment inventories, performance logs, calibration records, and exposure records; ensure traceable documentation for audits and accreditation (ACR, Joint Commission, MQSA).
  • Serve as the primary technical liaison with vendors, service engineers and biomedical engineering to troubleshoot complex equipment failures, coordinate vendor acceptance testing, and oversee warranty and service contract performance.
  • Design, implement and maintain shielding assessments and calculations for new imaging installations and renovations in coordination with facilities engineering, ensuring compliance with architectural and radiation safety requirements.
  • Lead root cause analyses and incident investigations related to imaging equipment malfunctions, excessive doses, or safety events; draft corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plans and follow through to closure.
  • Provide hands-on technical support and escalation for PACS/RIS integration, DICOM workflows, dose reporting interfaces (structured dose reports), and detector performance issues that impact clinical image acquisition and archiving.
  • Develop, deliver and document targeted training programs for radiology technologists, clinicians and ancillary staff on radiation safety, equipment operation, QA procedures, and emergency protocols, ensuring competency assessments and retraining as needed.
  • Establish and maintain standardized imaging protocols across modalities and clinical sites to ensure reproducible, diagnostic image quality while minimizing unnecessary exposure and exam variability.
  • Manage imaging program performance metrics and KPIs (e.g., equipment uptime, QA pass rates, repeat exam rates, dose trends) and produce monthly/quarterly reports for leadership and regulatory stakeholders.
  • Prepare, review and submit required regulatory reports, licensure renewals, and documentation packages for state radiation control programs, MQSA inspections, and institutional accreditation bodies.
  • Coordinate cross-functional projects such as new modality deployments, imaging suite renovations, or remote site support, including timeline development, budget tracking, procurement input and stakeholder communication.
  • Oversee radiation protection monitoring programs for staff (dosimetry), evaluate results, and recommend work-practice or engineering controls when exposure approaches or exceeds investigation thresholds.
  • Create and maintain program policies, SOPs, emergency procedures (including fluoroscopy/CT overdose event response), and equipment-specific checklists to standardize safe practice across departments.
  • Support clinical trial imaging QA by ensuring study-specific protocols, phantom testing, and documentation meet sponsor and regulatory requirements.
  • Manage clinical and technical escalation pathways during imaging downtime or equipment failure, including rapid redeployment of portable imaging, coordination with external service engineers, and communication to clinical leadership.
  • Conduct periodic imaging service vendor performance reviews, benchmark service-level agreements (SLAs), and recommend contract adjustments or vendor changes to improve service reliability and cost-effectiveness.
  • Participate in interdepartmental committees (Radiation Safety Committee, Imaging Steering Committee) providing technical input, reviewing policies and presenting program updates to hospital leadership.
  • Maintain current knowledge of emerging imaging technologies, dose-reduction strategies, and regulatory changes; evaluate new tools (dose-management software, AI-based QC) and present business cases for adoption.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide subject-matter expertise for procurement evaluation and technical specifications writing for new imaging equipment and detector technologies.
  • Support ad-hoc imaging data requests and analytical reporting (e.g., dose trends, repeat rates, QA pass/fail analysis) for quality improvement initiatives.
  • Contribute to multi-disciplinary clinical workflow optimization efforts, collaborating with radiologists, technologists and IT to improve throughput and image interpretation quality.
  • Assist in development and validation of automated QA tools and dashboards to streamline compliance and performance monitoring.
  • Mentor junior imaging staff and allied health professionals in QA best practices and clinical quality improvement methods.
  • Participate in institutional emergency response planning for radiology incidents and support drills or tabletop exercises related to imaging safety.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Demonstrated expertise in diagnostic X-ray modalities including fixed radiography, mobile radiography, fluoroscopy, mammography, and CT — including system physics, detector technologies, and clinical impact of image acquisition parameters.
  • Radiation safety and regulatory compliance knowledge (NRC/state radiation control, FDA-MQSA, ACR technical standards, OSHA) and experience preparing for inspections and accreditation reviews.
  • Proficiency in QA/QC testing methodologies: phantom testing, spatial/contrast resolution checks, kVp/mA/reproducibility assessments, dosimetry measurements and performance trend analysis.
  • Experience with dose monitoring tools and software, understanding of CTDIvol, DLP, DRL concepts and dose reduction strategies (automatic exposure control, iterative reconstruction).
  • Hands-on experience with acceptance testing, preventive maintenance coordination, troubleshooting electronics/detector issues, and documenting corrective actions.
  • Familiarity with PACS/RIS workflows, DICOM standards, HL7 interfaces, and basic troubleshooting of image transfer and display inconsistencies.
  • Ability to perform shielding calculations or work with medical physicists and facilities to ensure appropriate structural protection for new installations.
  • Competence with survey instruments and radiation meters (ion chambers, survey meters), and calibration/verification procedures for measurement devices.
  • Strong technical writing skills for developing SOPs, QA protocols, regulatory submissions and detailed test reports.
  • Advanced Microsoft Office skills and experience with QA/tracking databases; basic knowledge of data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) a plus.
  • Experience coordinating vendor acceptance testing, reviewing service records and negotiating technical service contracts.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication — able to convey technical information clearly to clinicians, technologists, vendors and hospital leadership.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving aptitude with attention to detail and ability to synthesize technical data into actionable recommendations.
  • Project management and organizational skills: prioritize competing requests, manage timelines and deliverable-driven projects with multiple stakeholders.
  • Leadership and influencing skills to drive practice change, foster adoption of optimized protocols and enforce safety policies across clinical teams.
  • Teaching and training capability — comfortable delivering classroom and hands-on instruction and assessing competency.
  • Initiative and adaptability to operate in a fast-paced clinical environment and respond effectively to equipment failures or emergent requests.
  • Collaboration and diplomacy — ability to work across clinical, technical and administrative teams to achieve program goals.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Associate degree in Radiologic Technology, Radiography, Biomedical Engineering Technology or related allied health field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Radiologic Sciences, Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare Administration or related technical discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Radiologic Sciences / Radiography
  • Medical Physics / Radiation Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Health Physics / Radiation Protection

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–8 years of progressive clinical imaging or imaging equipment/QA experience.

Preferred:

  • 5+ years’ experience in diagnostic imaging with documented QA/acceptance testing and radiation safety responsibilities.
  • Experience working in hospital or large health system environments, supporting multiple imaging sites or modalities.

Certifications and Licenses (preferred/recommended)

  • Registered Radiologic Technologist (ARRT) or equivalent licensure.
  • State X-ray machine operator license (where required).
  • Certification in Radiation Safety (e.g., NRRPT, CSP, RSO training) or completion of recognized radiation safety coursework.
  • Mammography MQSA experience/certification considered an asset.
  • Project management or quality certifications (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma) desirable.
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