What Your Job Will Be Like

The opportunity exists for an R&D Systems Engineer to conduct surveillance on the Multiapplication Transportation Attachment Device (MTAD) as part of the Integrated Surety Architectures (ISA) program. Whereas realized nuclear weapon products are typically fielded and rarely used, the MTAD is regularly operating on transportation missions for enhanced over-the-road security. You will have the opportunity to assess MTAD mission performance, support working groups to evaluate the data, and support product reacceptance as part of monitoring state of health while ensuring continued fielding. Your work will impact organizations across Sandia; you will interface with stockpile systems as well as transportation systems i.e. Safeguards Transporter (SGT). As ISA over-the-road missions continue to mature, the program is also establishing common data-management infrastructure, governance, tools, and analytical workflows to support mission surveillance and system assessment. You will serve as a key technical contributor and user of this evolving environment by identifying subsystem data needs, evaluating mission information, supporting data quality and context, and providing MTAD-specific expertise to the Mission Data Working Group. You will be a critical technical team member supporting the development of the governance framework and data coordination across programs

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

• Analyze and assess MTAD performance, which will be included in the annual system state of health report
• Analyze trailer state changes and support the mission data working group
• Investigate and coordinate testing as appropriate related to MTAD and over-the-road anomalies
• Support team interactions with the Hub, Pantex, and/or stockpile system engineers on MTAD nonconformances and reacceptances for continued missions
• Support MTAD Production Agency Transition activities with Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC)
• Develop, implement, and coordinate testing as appropriate for ISA modules as part of annual SGT surveillance testing
• Assist in connecting requirements, configurations, mission observations, test evidence, anomalies, and analytical conclusions to improve technical traceability and support defensible engineering decisions
• Support the maturation of the ISA data management plan
• Develop technical documentation, presentations, reports, and assessment products for program leadership, working groups, annual assessment activities, and Nuclear Security Enterprise stakeholders

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

Salary Range

$102,400 - $199,700

*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

• 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

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E 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:

• Experience working in electronics, mechanical, materials-analysis, and/or physics laboratory environments
• Experience with secure transportation systems, such as SGT
• Experience with ISA hardware, such as MTAD or related mission systems
• Experience leading, planning, or executing nuclear weapons development, surveillance, testing, qualification, and/or production activities
• Experience with Component Assessment Reports supporting Annual Assessment
• Experience analyzing mission, test, surveillance, or operational data to support system state-of-health assessments
• Experience supporting anomaly investigations, nonconformance resolution, reacceptance, and technical risk assessment
• Experience with nuclear deterrence engineering documentation such as engineering authorizations, drawing definition, and PRIME
• Strong understanding of configuration management, requirements traceability, verification evidence, and system lifecycle engineering
• Proficiency with MATLAB, including development or use of repeatable data-analysis workflows
• Experience with DataSEA or similar structured engineering or mission-data environments
• Experience identifying and documenting data requirements, metadata needs, configuration context, or analytical workflows
• Experience working with model-based systems engineering, system-state models, digital-thread concepts, or other digital-engineering approaches
• Experience in successfully developing productive relationships within the Nuclear Security Enterprise, including NNSA, management and senior management, nuclear deterrence systems organizations, transportation organizations such as SGT and MGT, production agencies, and the Hub
• Proven ability to communicate through both written products, including delivered technical documentation, and verbal communications, including technical presentations and management briefings
• Ability to work onsite full-time
• Ability to travel occasionally, less than 10% of the time

About Our Team

The Special Projects department was established to focus on the successful deployment of Integrated Surety Architectures (ISA) applications for reentry body and air delivered systems into the transportation safeguards system embodied by the Safeguards Transporter (SGT). The organization serves as the ISA project integration office at Sandia to the NNSA enterprise for over the road (OTR) applications. Currently, there are two major ISA efforts underway at SNL for ALT 940 and the Multi-application Transportation Attachment Device (MTAD) for air delivered systems. As such, the organization interacts extensively with the NW development and stockpile systems capabilities within the laboratory in addition to the transportation safeguards program.

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.

Security Clearance

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.