R&D S&E Mechanical Engineer, Onsite

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 vacation, 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.

Are you looking to do innovative, creative, and impactful engineering? The Advanced and Exploratory Systems Engineering Demonstrators team is at the forefront of nuclear deterrence, driving technology acceleration and exploring the art of the possible.

Are you interested in solving weapon design and production problems to enable success on future programs? A&E Demonstrators is seeking an R&D Mechanical Engineer to lead weapon system demonstration efforts, where innovation meets ambition. Our team specializes in building advanced reentry system flight test vehicles and ground demonstrators which implement future concepts on nuclear warhead design. Your technical expertise and passion for accelerated engineering success will be instrumental in exploring new possibilities and driving groundbreaking advancements. You will collaborate with industry and the production agencies to develop prototypes for test and explore how to improve manufacturing of hardware. Join us in this exciting journey to redefine the future of weapon systems and make a significant impact in the field. Together, we can achieve extraordinary results and shape the next generation warhead design!

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Collaborate with our industry partner to organize and scope plans for hardware-in-the-loop testing, proto-qual testing, and flight testing.
• Contribute to the design, build, and test of an advanced reentry system warhead demonstrator
• Evaluate future warhead requirements for technology maturation
• Perform studies and assessments of future warhead requirements
• Collaborate with mod/sim to gather data sets to advance new capabilities
• Identify key knowledge gaps to explore and test
• Collaborate with others in mechanical design and production

$121,900 - $237,800

*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.

• A bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Active DOE Q clearance or equivalent to start

The ideal R&D Mechanical Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience with mechanical engineering and product realization in the NNSA complex.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

Demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Design and test of weapon electrical systems or subsystems.
• Defining model-based mechanical systems and implementing them in CAMEO or similar tools.
• Proficiency in a CAD tool (Creo or SolidWorks)
• Defining requirements for mechanical systems in collaboration with component teams.
• Experience with nuclear weapon reliability, safety, or surety, and the ability to synthesize military requirements into innovative solutions.

Proven technical background with experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Testing and debugging complex electrical systems in a lab environment using tools such as oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers.
• Cable design, manufacturing, and fabrication.
• Product realization experience.
  • Experience with instrumentation, data collection, processing and analysis
    • Thermal or structural modelling and simulation
    • Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
  • Hands-on testing and debugging complex systems in a lab/test facility environment(s)
  • Optimization methods and processes, trade space analysis, and decision-making tools
  • Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

Demonstrated qualities:

• Independent resourcefulness in developing new ideas or programs.
• Ability to conduct engineering work within a systems context.
• Success in navigating requirements ambiguity.

Background in nuclear weapons across the lifecycle with big ideas on how to shape the future of weapon design.

As part of the Advanced Systems and Transformation Center and the A&E ND Concepts and Systems Engineering 2 Group, the California A&E Demonstrator System Department and its internal and external partners is pursuing numerous activities to advance technologies and systems concepts to meet future nuclear deterrence needs. These activities include:

• Developing physical, functional, and flight demonstration test units for future systems as part of demonstrator programs that address systems-level integration challenges
• Developing innovative weapon system concepts and architectures with features resilient to future uncertainties (e.g., threat environment)
• Providing system context and future technologies needs to internal Labs-wide research programs through learning by doing, the California A&E Demonstrator Systems Department accelerates the cycle of learning to develop a technical basis and context for future reentry systems. This, in turn, reduces technological and programmatic uncertainty for future Programs of Record.

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.

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.

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.

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.