Cleared Senior/Principal R&D Mechanical Engineer - W93/Mk7 Systems Design, 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 driven R&D Mechanical Engineer to join the W93/Mk7 systems AF&F mechanical design team. In this role, you will play a critical part in shaping the future of the program by applying cutting-edge design concepts, advanced tools, and innovative engineering solutions.

In this role, you will work at the forefront of nuclear weapon modernization, leveraging lessons learned from past programs while pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver safe, reliable, and manufacturable system designs that meet stringent performance and safety requirements. Your technical expertise will directly contribute to national security and the success of one of the nations most important defense initiatives.

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

• Research past and current nuclear weapon systems to inform design activities.
• Lead the development of system-level design concepts, architecture, and physical layouts, defining the position, size, and location of major components and subassemblies within the AF&F, while incorporating requirements related to nuclear safety, advanced concepts, and modularity.
• Conduct system and subsystem trade studies and technical evaluations, balancing performance, cost, risk, materials, functionality, and technology maturation to guide down selection toward a new warhead design.
• Support the characterization and qualification of the W93/Mk7 AF&F design.
• Collaborate with other laboratories, production sites, and component organizations (including DoD, NNSA, LANL, LM Space, KCNSC, Pantex, and AWE) to enable design integration and manufacturability of the W93/Mk7 system.
• Review and approve CAD drawings at the system, subsystem, or component level.
• Review and validate simulation results against performance requirements.
• Develop technical requirements, interface documents, and design definitions for systems, subsystems, and components using program configuration management tools such as PRIME, DOORS, PDMlink, and MBSE, in coordination with the requirements team.
• Coordinate and execute modeling, analysis, and model-based engineering activities to meet system objectives.
• Support problem-solving and issue resolution related to hardware interface challenges.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite. This position will require domestic travel, and potentially occasional international travel.

$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.
• Active US DOE Q security clearance and the ability and willingness to obtain additional security clearances as required (ex. Sigma 15) (requires random polygraphs).

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:

• Experience in systems engineering of complex systems, including system design, development, production, and related modeling/simulation projects.
• Experience working on nuclear deterrence (ND) programs, either within systems or component organizations.
• Nuclear weapon design and development experience, including designing for nuclear safety and manufacturability.
• Demonstrated ability to understand and work across diverse technologies and disciplines.
• Proven ability to plan, execute, and lead technical work independently and within team environments, showing initiative and leadership.
• Strong analytical skills and self-direction.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively across technical teams, interface with customers and subcomponent teams, conduct tradeoffs, and negotiate competing requirements to achieve optimal system-level outcomes.
• Ability to discover, understand, and articulate constraints, options, and paths forward.
• Motivation to work within a large, integrated systems team with broad interaction.
• Familiarity with GD&T per ASME Y14.5-2009.
• Experience with CAD tools such as Creo or SolidWorks.
• Familiarity with PDMLink configuration management and Prime or other ND data repositories.
• Experience in design and analysis for additive manufacturing.
• Previous working relationships with external partners (e.g., AWE, KCNSC, LANL, LM Space, or PX).

The W93 Arming, Fuzing, and Firing (AF&F) Systems Department (2392) provides the design and technical maturation leadership for the W93/Mk7 AF&F, leveraging the engineering knowledge of our team members to realize a compliant and qualified system. We engage with our multiple sub-component Product Realization Teams (PRT's), external agency partners (Kansas City National Security Campus, NNSA, Navy), support organizations across the laboratory, as well as across our Systems Teams including W93 System Integration Department (2399), Evaluation and Qualification (2382), and W93 Reentry Body (2391) to accomplish this monumental program objective which supports the future viability and effectiveness of our nations nuclear deterrent.

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.

Sandia is required by DOE 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 obtain and 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.