The RP’s Mission

Dozier, a northwest Alabama native, entered the nuclear world while studying history at the University of Alabama. He’d taken a semester off and got a job as a laborer at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant during a refueling outage.  

“I had a goal of becoming a history teacher and thought, one day, I might go to law school,” he said. “But that time at Brown’s Ferry opened my eyes to the nuclear world and set me on an entirely new path to pursue.”  

The quick pace and culture of teamwork pulled him in. 

“I had this sense that what we were doing really mattered,” he said. “I liked that every day felt different, and I never knew what to expect – and I liked being around people from various backgrounds all working toward the same goals.”  

By the time he graduated in 2012, nuclear power had firmly grabbed his interest.  

“My path into Radiation Protection was probably a little different than most,” he said. “A lot of the people I work with went to school for it and earned degrees in RP through places like Chattanooga State or similar programs. I came at it from a different direction.”  

After college, he signed on as a junior RP tech for the Steam Generator Replacement Project at Sequoyah, where he shadowed senior RP techs.  

“At that stage, you’re really learning by doing and following other RP techs around,” he said. “I was lucky to work with a lot of good senior techs from across the industry.” 

During that outage, he picked up several of the basic RP qualifications and gained experience performing surveys and supporting job coverage in various environments.  

“Long story short, I’ve been working in RP ever since,” he said. 

He later moved to Pennsylvania to work at a nuclear facility for a few years, returning to the Valley region in 2019 to become an RP tech at Watts Bar. In 2023, he was promoted to RP supervisor at Sequoyah, where he now manages RP team members who oversee instrumentation and dosimetry.  

“In a nuclear environment, it’s important that our meters and instrumentation are consistently reliable and accurate,” he said. “My team supports instrument calibration and repair, manages dosimetry and helps ensure the instruments our team relies on are working as intended.” 

His experience across different RP roles has given him a broad view of both the job and the people doing it. 

“It helps me understand the technical side, but also what people need from leadership,” he said. “Sometimes that means coaching. Sometimes it means clearing obstacles. Sometimes, just listening.” 

The bedrock of these interactions? Communication.   

“Much like a football coach and a quarterback, managers and techs can’t do each other’s jobs,” Dozier said. “You must learn how to communicate well while maintaining a culture of looking out for each other.”  

On occasion, he’ll tap into his love of history for insights about leadership, preparation, performance, challenges and milestone wins – lessons that can lead to deeper understandings about people and processes.  

“It’s important that we be accountable and own and share our lessons,” he said. “I appreciate that self-reflecting culture in nuclear.” 

Culture of collaboration

As a leader who helps shape TVA’s nuclear story, Dozier engages with experts across Sequoyah’s landscape to understand their work, their safety requirements and the tools they need to perform efficiently.   

“I get a good cross-section for understanding and appreciating what other people contribute to the station,” he said. “One of the good things about being in RP is that you can get to know all the different work groups and learn aspects of their job. That helps the RP team know how best to keep them safe.” 

Here, trust takes center stage.  

“A teammate once told me 90% of my job as an RP tech is building relationships,” he said. “The rest of the skills will come.”  

Through camaraderie and collaboration, he and his team help ensure Sequoyah operates safely and reliably to continue powering the Valley region.