Senior/Principal, Chief Systems Engineer Hypersonic Programs - 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.

Do you want to have significant impact on delivering Sandia-designed hypersonic systems to the Nation? Few at Sandia Labs can influence all stages of system delivery from design to production and beyond.

We are looking for an experienced R&D S&E Systems Engineer to serve as the Chief Engineer for the 5428 Product Transition Department. You will be overseeing technical work for the team executing Sandia's technology transfer mission for Integrated Military System Development, specifically focused on supporting Hypersonic programs. This position requires a strong foundation in avionics/missile systems with deep understanding of both mechanical and electrical designs. Experience should emphasize design comprehension, system analysis, and testing at both the component and system levels. You will play a crucial role in leading design reviews and ensuring smooth technology transfer from Sandia designers to industry partner production teams. You will also help review the work of, and provide mentoring to Mechanical, Electrical, and Systems Engineers on the team.

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

Oversee the work of and provide recommendations to other engineers as the senior engineer on the team
Lead and Design for Excellence and Design for Manufacturability efforts, including influencing design engineers in the Center to include these considerations in their design work
Work with project and program management teams to ensure plans include considerations for Design for Excellence and Parts, Materials, and Process requirements from the start of design efforts.
Work with project management teams to ensure design definition packages include all necessary information, including testing requirements and pass/fail criteria, applicable assembly procedures, and other information prescribed by program sponsors
Review and approve proposed design changes, including consideration of system requirements and system architecture
Ensure the teams work is informed by and in compliance with system requirements
Assist production agents (industry partners) by troubleshooting issues, conducting root-cause analyses as needed, and identifying solutions to resolve production challenges
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to facilitate the transition of design packages from design to production.
Work effectively on both small and large development teams to achieve project goals.

Due to the nature of the work, this candidate must be able to work onsite in Albuquerque, NM. Periodic travel to remote test sites or production facilities for integration, system test, and/or flight-test support will be required, potentially as often as once every 1-2 months.

$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.

• 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.
• The ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance.

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

• Graduate degree in Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience working with Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) laboratories and plants including Pantex, Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLNL) and Kansas City National Security Campus/New Mexico Operations (KCNSC/NMO).
• Experience working on engineering design, qualification, production, or related modeling/simulation projects.
• 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:

• Degree and/or experience in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Systems Engineering.
• Significant experience designing and/or building avionic/missile systems in support of government programs.
• Significant understanding of component and system level requirements for missile systems, and how to effectively conduct mechanical and electrical tests during production to validate/verify compliance with those requirements.
• Clear understanding of Designing for Excellence (DFX) and ability to influence design engineers to use DFX principles to optimize production.
• Ability to understand complete designs of a hypersonic glide vehicle and/or other missile systems.
• Ability to review design change requests and understand how to determine whether that change might cause conflicts with requirements or system architecture.
• Ability to help review the work of, and provide mentoring to Mechanical, Electrical, and Systems Engineers on the team.
• Ability to work effectively on both small and large development teams internal and external to Sandia.
• Experience or knowledge in part and component selection supporting government programs, as well as considerations for Parts, Materials, and Processes (PMP) requirements.
• Experience with ESD control programs and safety when working in a laboratory or production environment (including IPC standards).
• Experience creating and understanding product documentation and records, design documents, assembly procedures, and Interface Control Documents.
• Experience working in a Design Agent and Production Agent collaborative situation.
• Commitment to developing yourself and your skill set.
• Outgoing personality with excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communication, and proven cross-functional teaming skills.
• This job requires working onsite at Sandia Albuquerque and travel outside of NM, potentially as often as once every 1-2 months.
  

The Product Transition Department 5428 provides industry partner support for the Hypersonic Programs in the Strike Systems Group within the Integrated Military Systems Development Center at Sandia. 5428 coordinates the development of Mechanical, Electrical, and Avionics flight technologies to be assembled, integrated and tested by industry partners to provide flight solutions for hypersonic missile systems and related flight platforms. Typically, these systems support the DoW including Army, Navy, Air Force, and other Agencies. Center 5400 has successfully developed hypersonic systems for the nation and is extending our role on the national stage for both developmental and fieldable systems.

Our programs cover a broad spectrum of applications; from advanced aerodynamically controlled vehicles, to maneuvering hypersonic kill vehicles, to ballistic missile systems. All the activities require the extensive use of commonly developed Sandia avionics as well as prototype next generation technology that has never been flown. Levering existing technologies and maturing the Hypersonics portfolio for national needs is a demanding task and is a key component of rendering exceptional service in the National interest. The department strives to provide leadership to the Laboratory and the Nation in the creative development, use, and application of Hypersonic flight platforms.

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.