R&D S&E, Mechanical Engineering Senior Scientist Engineer

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs:

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Salary Range:

$162,200 - $275,900

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

This Senior Mechanical Engineer job posting is to fill the newly defined Domain Chief Engineer (DCE) Role for Surety Mechanisms. The DCE is a new role, intended to be a single point of contact to provide leadership and technical expertise for major issues, mechanical engineering SME expertise, and peer review leadership. This individual would also champion consistency with the PRTs including advice in the selection, application, and interpretation of design standards and requirements and utilizing advanced engineering tools to solve complex engineering challenges. Surety Mechanisms DCE will also partner with Program Chief Engineers (PCEs) and other DCEs to assure consistency and excellence in technical deliverables while assuring timeliness and responsiveness of technical decisions.

Key roles for this Mechanical Enigneer Senior Scientist position include:

• Regularly coordinate with the Center Director and Senior Management team to ensure technical risks and challenges within the DCE domain are appropriately understood and managed as a unified, informed team. Be part of the leadership team, ensuring Center Leadership appreciates technical challenges and be part of the solution to improve our center’s products, our culture, and our technical acumen.

• Establish strong relationships across ND to ensure partnering with decisions and other activities is effective.

• Prevent ‘comfort in the status quo’ and foster outside the box thinking.

• Be a go-to center-level resource for qualification philosophy and other large issues/initiatives.

• Lead commonality efforts within group, seeking ways to improve the consistency of product delivery and application of lessons learned across our programs.

• Participates in 7610 Change Review Board to maintain leadership over technical efforts, provide expertise, and help ensure consistency in decisions.

• Lean into the decision-making processes for exceptional technical activities or circumstances, and deviations.

• Leading effort for high impact problem solving teams/red teams, etc

• Provides time-critical assistance on challenging technical product issues.

• Lead strategic planning and execution with group, center, and enterprise-wide impacts.

• Creation and realization of the Domain’s TechMat portfolio

• Drive safety and surety architecture discussions with new systems

• Shape group peer review culture

• Leading independent review panels and design reviews

• Determine peer review needs for individual projects.

• Lead collaboration with S&T colleagues, fostering long term partnerships in key areas.

• Work with the leadership team and SMEs to evolve/develop a high-quality onboarding technical training program for our staff, elevating the technical expertise within our teams.

• Be a key resource in Laboratory wide training programs (e.g., WIP, WR713), representing surety mechanisms, while developing a cadre of other SMEs that can also teach others.

• Technical Mentor for staff and PRT leads.

• Lead recurring meetings with PRT Leads or similar activities.

• Owner of an appropriate suite of guides, standards, and procedures for design work

• Leading creation or providing approval for new guides/standards/procedures

• Approval/rejection to deviate from defined guides, standards and procedures.

• Periodic verification and review

Qualifications We Require:

• Master's degree and/or PhD in a relevant STEM discipline

• Twelve or more years of relevant ND experience

• Direct experience in the design, development, and production of surety mechanisms

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well in a team environment, with the ability to clearly to communicate solutions and relevant path forward.

• Excellent communication skills including the ability to prepare clearly written reports and briefings.

• Current and active DOE Q security clearance

• Minimum of (3) and maximum of (5) letters of recommendations are required to be consideration for this position. Recommendations need to address the demonstrated skills, knowledge and abilities (SKA) that you have performed at a Distinguished level.

Qualifications We Desire:

• Experience in the entire 6.X design process (concept development, design, development, production, and stockpile sustainment) with at least one product in the 7610 portfolio.

• Experience working high profile issue resolution that involves executive level internal stakeholders as well as external equities.

• Previous experience leveraging effective working relationship with KCNSC.

• A broad network within Sandia’s ND weapons community.

• Broad understanding of the Sandia ND mission and its interfaces and responsibilities with the NNSA and the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) – particularly LLNL, KCNSC, and PX.

• Direct experience in the system technical leadership of other modernization programs.

• Experience conceiving, developing, and leading cross-organizational technical programs/projects/teams.

• Prior or existing working relationships with NNSA and with DoD elements supporting modernization programs.

• Outstanding organizational and briefing skills to effectively communicate with diverse audiences including high-level customers and SNL executive leadership.

About Our Team:

The surety mechanism DCE reports to the Director of 7600 with the scope of the work in 7610. 7610 is a mechanical engineering group responsible for the full life cycle of mechanism components for Nuclear Deterrence (ND) applications. Mechanisms for which we have design responsibility include unique signal strong links, environmental sensing devices, and weapon release detection switches. We have a diverse team with wide ranges of skills and experience, and we value critical thinking skills and good mechanical insight.

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide

• Extraordinary co-workers

• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world

• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities

• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

• Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification.

Security Clearance:

Position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q security clearance to start, or equivalent active security clearance with another U.S. government agency (e.g., DOD). Sandia is required by DOE directive to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

Job ID: 689695