What Your Job Will Be Like

Organization 05449, Autonomy for Hypersonics, is actively seeking an Integrated Product Team (IPT) lead for Navigation Aiding who has significant interest in leading a multi-disciplinary team to execute subsystem design and testing activities including requirement formulation, algorithm development, software engineering, mod/sim, hardware/field testing, and vehicle systems integration.

The successful candidate will have project management experience in conjunction with applied R&D experience in system engineering, software engineering, and/or vehicle navigation. Interest in leading highly performant teams, mentoring early career staff, and maturing navigation technologies is highly desired. To aid in overcoming technical challenges, also desired is formal graduate-level education in Electrical/Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering field, such as Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Mechanical Engineering, with interest in developing, testing, and analyzing prototype hardware systems for future alternative PNT systems, navigation algorithms, and navigation warfare threats.

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

• Lead a team of technical sub-leads across multiple disciplines and organizations to execute development and testing of Navigation Aiding subsystems, including activities such as:
• Develop and test an evolving technical solution for Navigation Aiding for integration into high consequence systems
• Support a large range of Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs) to apply innovative conceptual ideas to both near-term and future warfighter needs.
• Analyze and develop mission- and threat-informed subsystem requirements
• Document and communicate technical and programmatic outcomes to stakeholders at the national level
• Project and manage budget, schedule, and broader resources 1 including staffing 1 alongside line and senior management
• Oversee subsystem procurements and subsystem inventory management
• Direct test planning as well as test procedure development

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite at Sandia's laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including the Flight Dynamics Laboratory and Navigation Warfare Laboratory. Some travel is required for this position.

Salary Range

$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.

Qualifications We Require

• 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.
• Plus, five years or more years of directly related experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform the duties of the job.
• Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal Navigation Aiding IPT Lead - R&D S&E Aerospace Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience integrating a complex set of hardware and software activities to design and test a flight vehicle subsystem to specified requirements.
• Experience in applied aerodynamics, flight mechanics, or trajectory simulation with application to the design, modeling, simulation, optimization, and analysis of aerospace flight systems. Of specific interest to this role are:
• Experience with the capabilities, use, and application of MATLABAE, SimulinkAE, Python, C/C++, or other modern programming languages and repositories in technical analysis/computing and software development.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary, fast-paced/schedule-driven environment.

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

• Experience in stakeholder-facing technical and programmatic communication.
• Experience developing technical reports, procedures, requirements, and test plans.
• Experience in technical communication (as demonstrated by technical publications/documentation), including the ability to develop and present briefings that are clear and compelling.
• Demonstrated record of technical and/or leadership mentoring of early-career and/or peer staff.
• Active SCI-level Clearance; or a willingness to apply for an SCI-level clearance.

About Our Team

Department 05449, Autonomy for Hypersonics (A4H), manages an innovative research portfolio in autonomous systems development and flight demonstrations of technological advancements.

A4H supports the research and development of software, autonomy algorithms, prototype hardware, target recognition, and navigation/guidance/control. We actively partner with domain experts both at the Labs and throughout the nation to implement high-impact research to meet national defense needs.

A4H is pursuing research and development in autonomous systems to enhance the capabilities of the nation's hypersonic vehicles as well as other high-consequence systems. We seek to enable increasingly agile hypersonic weapons that adapt to unexpected scenarios, empowering the U.S. to respond to threats anywhere in the world without putting our warfighters at unnecessary risk. The challenging flight environment and limited available flight data make hypersonics one of the most complex applications for autonomy. Sandia and its partners are developing algorithms, sensors, and compact computing hardware that compress complex data processing and analysis methods into real-time decisioning tools. The goal of these efforts is unprecedented flexibility in response to newly designated targets, evolving target conditions, difficult operating environments, and unexpected flight conditions.

Posting Duration

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.