Cleared Senior/Principal R&D Chemical Engineer - Explosives Chemist, 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.

We are seeking a highly motivated R&D Chemist/ Chemical Engineer within the Explosive Materials department that enables the entire manufacturing life cycle for Energetic Materials. You will have the opportunity to leverage your technical expertise in a dynamic manufacturing environment with challenging product design requirements and stringent quality standards. The Explosive Materials Department conducts a range of highly specialized activities necessary to deliver energetic materials and product assurance to the entirety of the Explosives Technology Group. You will be expected to oversee product acceptance activities and documentation along with hands-on work in a production and development environment for explosive material processing. In addition, you will be expected to work closely with the broader team to ensure a thorough technical understanding of assigned processes and to successfully develop and qualify new equipment and processes. Department specialized capabilities include explosive material synthesis and formulation, energetic powder processing and drying, in-process testing and post-process characterization, product engineering, and product quality assurance.

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

• Manage product definition (graphic drawings and specifications) for explosive materials under development or in production
• Support production qualification of explosive materials
• Work with external suppliers to procure or produce development or Mark Quality materials
• Provide input to explosive component design, qualification, and surveillance
• activities
• Support or lead problem solving efforts or improvement activities related to explosive material production including method development and development projects using design of experiments.
• Perform hands-on work in a laboratory setting with explosive materials and hazardous chemicals, managing explosive inventory, hazardous waste, and performing all work to rigorous safety practices.
• Prepare and review safety basis documentation for hazardous work performed in area of expertise, to include an understanding of remote explosive operations.
• Make decisions regarding product quality

Some travel may be required.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

$117,500 - $235,700

*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 and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, 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
• An active DOE Q clearance, or equivalent is required to start

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

• Graduate degree in Chemical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation)
• Proven ability to work and communicate effectively in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced/schedule driven environment

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

• Previous product/process engineering experience.
• Familiarity with the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) product realization process, including design, qualification, quantity production, and surveillance
• Desire to work hands on in a high rigor environment for the production of explosive materials
• Experience handling and working with explosives
• Experience working to and generating written work documentation, with particular attention paid to safety significant instructions
• Experience troubleshooting and providing technical support for process equipment used in production processing of explosives
• Demonstrated ability to monitor process health and conduct problem solving analyses
• Experience transitioning products and equipment from conceptual design and development to full production
• Experience in gathering, analysis, and presentation of technical data for problem solving and decision making
• Experience in the use of Prime, PDMLink, ARAS and EIS tools deployed at Sandia
• Commitment to a culture of safety and security
• Demonstrated experience in process development and design of experiments
• Demonstrated experience in setting up remote operations to include establishing and troubleshooting interlocks and remote monitoring

The Explosive Materials Department, Organization 7455 is an integral part of the Explosives Technologies Group at Sandia National Laboratories. The Explosive Materials Department is located within the Explosives Components Facility and is responsible for the development, characterization, and performance evaluation of energetic materials (explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics). This includes activities related to aging, materials compatibility, production process evaluation, material research/development, and anomaly characterization as they relate to performance of energetic materials.

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) 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.