What Your Job Will Be Like

The Nuclear Deterrence Assurance and Analysis Group, 2930, is seeking an R&D Science and Engineering Manager to lead the Nuclear Safety Assurance II Department, 2935. The Nuclear Safety Assurance II (NSA II) department is one of two departments within the group that supports system and component teams in the application of assured safety principles throughout the lifecycle of a weapon. This department provides expertise and support to air delivered system modernization programs (B61-XX programs, W80-4, W80-5) and other related Advanced and Exploratory and Rapid Capability development efforts. The department is a multi-disciplinary team with specialized expertise in Nuclear Safety and deep knowledge in both component and system function to support design, development, and the evaluation and resolution of nuclear safety related production anomalies. Engineers within this department are part of product realization teams during development, design, and production, and engage in advanced concepts and exploratory efforts.

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

• Guide the work of the department and staff, establish priorities to manage workload, partner closely with the manager of the sister department 2933 and support department staff in the delivery of high-quality expert engagement in support of design development, decision making, issue resolution, and the delivery of nuclear safety related engineering processes, documents, and drawings
• Engage in regular customer/partner interactions with other Level 1 managers within Nuclear Deterrence and at the Kansas City National Security Campus
• Support the evaluation and approval of nuclear safety related Engineering Authorizations as part of a required 3 manager approval process for nuclear safety critical components, subsystems and systems
• Understand the capabilities of the department- and connect the work and expertise of your staff with partners and customers
• Engage with customers and work with staff in developing Work Package Agreements and WDCR plans to support customer needs
• Develop short-term and long-term organizational budgets and develop and execute staffing plans to meet budget requirements and deliverables
• Build, maintain, and leverage trust-based relationships with critical customers and partners across ND to ensure customer needs are satisfied and work is value added
• Apply organizational knowledge and experience to independently judge work quality, performance, and alignment of results with customer expectations
• Ensure department processes, Design Guides, and Realize Product Procedures related to Nuclear Safety are kept up to date and are followed
• Champion and manage staff development, including hiring, onboarding, professional development, recruiting, and performance management, consistent with the mission of the organization
• Collaborate with other L1 managers within the group and with Department 2933 L1 in developing and executing strategic vision, plans, and activities that align with Department, Group, ND, and Laboratory vision and strategy
• Identify and champion continuous improvement opportunities to enhance the quality, efficiency, and impact of departmental products and services
• Support ND LDRD review activities

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant will be required to work onsite.

Salary Range

$163,700 - $278,000

*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 and ten (8) years of directly related relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and experience. Equivalent education and experience must be engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Active US DOE-Q or DOD TS security clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain an SCI clearance.
• Two or more years of demonstrated leadership and management experience.
• Experience in a Nuclear Weapon organization or Nuclear Weapon related organization
• The ability to obtain Sigma 14/15 access

Qualifications We Desire

• Graduate degree in the STEM field
• Demonstrated leadership and management skills, in particular, the ability to exercise resourcefulness and initiative in approaching and dealing with ambiguity, and in proactively partnering with others to work through and resolve challenging technical issues
• Demonstrated ability to effectively allocate and manage resources to deliver products that meet performance, cost, and schedule requirements
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the development and delivery of presentations, proposals, reports, and documentation
• Exceptional interpersonal skills in developing and maintaining trust-based relationships with staff, customers, and peers
• A track record of process improvements or capability development demonstrating a commitment to innovation and continuous improvement
• Demonstrated experience in building and advancing high performing teams
• Demonstrated ability to promote and foster a positive, highly collaborative team/organizational culture
• Demonstrated experience partnering with other organizations to deliver products or services
• Familiarity or experience with nuclear weapon design, environments, technical basis development, nuclear safety principles, and/or production operations at Kansas City and/or Pantex

About Our Team

The Weapon Surety Engineering II Department is a customer-focused organization that provides engineering and system analysis expertise to ensure a safe deterrent throughout the entire weapon lifecycle. Engineers develop a deep knowledge in both component and system function to support rigorous evaluation and mitigation of potential failure modes. We operate across multiple engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, computer, materials and systems engineering) with opportunities to develop cross-disciplinary capability. The team supports a variety of stockpile systems and is part of the product teams during development, design and production, as well as advanced concept and exploratory efforts. Our engineers use their extensive component and system knowledge, as well as experimental data and modeling, to ensure products function as intended with assured safety. Members of our department learn the function of multiple components, how those components integrate within the system and apply surety principles and processes to ensure a safe, secure, reliable, and effective U.S. nuclear deterrent.

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.