What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking an R&D Science and Engineering Senior Manager to deliver strategic, technical, and people leadership for Level I managers and departments within Surety Systems Engineering, working in close partnership with our sister Group 2910. In this impactful role, you will help drive Sandia's Nuclear Deterrence (ND) mission forward by strengthening product quality assurance and product acceptance practices across the nuclear enterprise for products for which Sandia serves as the Design Agency and/or Production Agency.

The selected leader will oversee a broad portfolio across multiple organizations, technical disciplines, and product lines. You will lead managers and staff from across technical domains, fostering effective collaboration to best navigate product realization processes, deliver integrated surety outcomes, reduce technical risk, and strengthen confidence in the performance of mission-critical systems.

At the heart of this leadership role is a strong culture of prevention, service, collaboration, and staff development. We are looking for a leader who is passionate about building organizational capability, developing people, and strengthening the impact and reputation of the broader surety community.

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

• Lead managers and staff work across multiple technical domains to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of Sandia products to multiple programs.
• Partner closely with peers across the Labs and the broader Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE), including design agencies, production agencies, and NNSA field and production offices, to anticipate, prioritize, and resolve current and future product realization challenges driven by mission needs.
• Guide the group's technical work and strategic direction in alignment with nuclear deterrence mission needs. Demonstrate a strong understanding of the integrated 2910/2920 portfolio and its mission value, grow staff expertise to meet future mission needs, and continuously improve the health and reputation of the organization.
• Engage with executives and major customers across multiple areas, using strong communication and influencing skills to negotiate effectively, build alignment, and navigate sensitive and time-critical situations.
• Lead and oversee a diverse portfolio of Surety Engineering activities, strategic initiatives, and tools and resources that strengthen and expand the impact of the Center 2900 community.
• Oversee and co-manage the integrated 2910/2920 Level I managers and Surety Systems Engineers, including hiring, professional development, performance management, technical risk assessment and communication, and defect prevention consistent with the group's mission. Help managers and staff connect their work and capabilities to customer needs, organizational priorities, and Sandia's mission.
• Contribute, as requested, to NSE, Center and corporate continuous improvement efforts

Salary Range

$193,000 - $328,200

*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 (10) 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
• Graduate degree in science or engineering (MS or PH. D)
• Five or more years of demonstrated leadership and management experience.
• Active US DOE-Q or DOD TS security clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain an SCI clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

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

• Ability to foster a culture of inclusion and take an active leadership role in modeling and growing values in diversity, equality, and inclusion.
• Demonstrated positive impact of leadership ability, including direct and influence management skills.

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

• Leadership experience in nuclear weapon design, production, and/or stockpile stewardship for systems and components and understanding of NSE product delivery challenges
• Experience managing relationships with NSE design and production agencies
• Proven ability to establish and execute program and organizational strategies, including technical business development
• Experience driving continuous improvement initiatives supporting safety, security, quality, delivery, and cost efficiency. Proven ability to build strong, trust-based relationships with internal teams, external customers, and partners with diverse needs and priorities
• High social acumen and emotional intelligence; adept at anticipating and resolving ambiguous or contentious issues involving differing technical perspectives
• Demonstrated leadership and co-leadership of geographically dispersed organizations
• Expertise in identifying and mitigating technical risks in high-consequence environments, including risk-based evaluation of product qualification rigor
• Demonstrated skills in applying innovative, enterprise-wide approaches to solve complex technical challenges
• Leadership and management of R&D engineering projects through complexity, exercising flexibility and sound technical judgment
• Track record of successfully implementing organizational health initiatives and fostering alignment across teams and departments
• Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring, retaining staff, and guiding career development
• Skilled at influencing technical decisions and project delivery without direct authority
• Proficient in creating accountability, managing conflict, and facilitating win-win solutions
• Strong problem-solving skills in ambiguous environments with limited direction
• Ability to develop, communicate, and inspire others toward a shared vision
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, adaptable to various audiences

About Our Team

The Surety Engineering Groups are a center of excellence for research and development (R&D) Technical Quality and TRUST Assurance at Sandia National Laboratories. With multidisciplinary engineers at numerous sites, we provide R&D hardware and software surety engineering expertise throughout the entire product realization lifecycle, interfacing across various technology areas in support of high-consequence systems. We deliver strong technical solutions that increase customer confidence against loss, damage, and errors by minimizing a product's risk through the prevention, early detection, and mitigation of defects and vulnerabilities, resulting in cost and schedule savings while concurrently growing the reliability and safety of a given system. We advocate for the use of the best engineering practices and lessons learned to develop high-reliability, high-performance products that overcome the nation's most complex national security challenges. The Groups are also responsible for the National Security Quality Training (NQT) program, which trains scientists and engineers across the laboratories on consistent, risk-based approaches to technical problems, and quality management systems and supplier assessments. Our engineers play a critical role in R&D project teams responsible for realizing high-consequence, low-volume hardware and software products, providing customized engineering support that ensures the appropriate qualification and testing evidence meets design requirements in a predictable, timely, and sustainable manner.

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.