Sandia National Laboratories

Cleared Senior/Principal R&D Electromechanical Hardware Technologist, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories$74K — $144K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3+ years of relevant experience or equivalent education/experience combination.
  • Active DOE Q clearance or equivalent with ability to obtain Sigma 15.

Responsibilities

  • Support Product Realization Teams by fabricating and procuring hardware quickly.
  • Collaborate with Hardware Management, Planning, and Assembly Teams to mitigate hardware delivery issues.
  • Interface between hardware Assembly Teams and PRTs for modification needs.
  • Negotiate product definitions, schedules, and quality criteria.
  • Review product definitions before fabrication for clarity.
  • Work with vendors to ensure timely hardware delivery.
  • Use Sandia's configuration management systems for record maintenance.

Benefits

  • Dynamic work environment with opportunities to impact national security initiatives.
  • Collaborative atmosphere with a focus on hands-on electromechanical development.
  • Involvement in cutting-edge weapon modernization programs and hardware solutions.
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

We are looking for a skilled and motivated Electromechanical Technologist to join our Development Hardware Team (DHT), a dynamic group dedicated to accelerating the delivery of development hardware for cutting-edge weapon modernization programs. These programs operate on aggressive schedules, and the DHT plays a critical role in reducing risks and fast-tracking engineering learning cycles through rapid prototyping and innovative hardware solutions.

As a key member of the DHT, you will:
  • Support Product Realization Teams (PRTs) by accelerating hardware availability through hands-on fabrication and procurement assistance, and by leveraging rapid prototyping capabilities.
  • Collaborate closely with the Hardware Management, Planning, and Assembly Teams to identify, communicate, and mitigate risks or issues impacting hardware delivery.
  • Serve as a vital interface between hardware Assembly Teams and PRTs to determine a path forward for hardware modification needs.

In this role, you will work alongside DHT engineers, PRT design teams, Production Planners, Sandia Buyers, external vendors, and internal fabrication facilities to procure and deliver development hardware for component, subassembly, and system-level testing. You will ensure that cost, schedule, and technical requirements are clearly defined and documented to support successful hardware fabrication.

On any given day, you may be called on to:
  • Partner with DHT leads, engineers, and PRTs to negotiate and define product definition, schedule, quantity, quality and inspection criteria, and security protocols.
  • Review product definitions thoroughly before fabrication to ensure completeness and clarity.
  • Collaborate with weapon modernization program PRTs and Weapon System Engineers to proactively identify and resolve hardware issues.
  • Participate in design trade-offs and acquisition strategies for development hardware.
  • Interface with Sandia's procurement process and work closely with internal and external vendors to keep hardware delivery on schedule and resolve any delays or issues.
  • To use Sandia's configuration management systems, including PDMLink and PRIME, to maintain accurate records and status updates.
  • Communicate effectively across teams to report build progress, highlight challenges, and request support as needed.

If you are passionate about hands-on electromechanical development and thrive in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where your contributions directly impact national security modernization efforts, this role offers a unique opportunity to make a difference.

Salary Range

$74,700 - $144,400

*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

  • Three (3) or more years of directly related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Active DOE Q clearance or equivalent with the ability to obtain Sigma 15, which may require polygraph testing.


Qualifications We Desire

  • Solid technical foundation with demonstrated ability to collaborate closely with engineers, program, and line organizations within Sandia's nuclear weapons community and across the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE).
  • Electrical engineering experience including wiring schematics, surface-mount technology (SMT), cables, and connectors.
  • Manufacturing engineering experience, such as additive manufacturing, machining, sheet metal fabrication, coatings, heat treatment, assembly/disassembly, or related processes.
  • Proficient in CAD, GD&T, tolerance stack-up analysis, and design for manufacturability.
  • Skilled in reading technical drawings.
  • Knowledgeable in metallurgy and material properties.
  • Experience with nuclear weapon product realization processes.
  • Proven ability to prioritize and execute tasks effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure environments.
  • Strong customer focus with demonstrated success working with all levels of staff and management at Sandia and customer organizations.
  • Experienced in collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams across multiple locations.
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills.
  • Self-driven, creative problem solver capable of brainstorming and developing design solutions.
  • Familiar with handling classified information, hardware, and accountable or hazardous materials.
  • Demonstrated ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, PDMLink, and PRIME software tools.


About Our Team

Department 2331 is a dynamic team which directly supports and executes lab operations for the B61-12, 13, 14/15, W80-4, W87-1 Life Extension Programs (LEP), W80-5, and W93 programs. The mission includes Hardware Management (production planning & hardware operations), assembly/disassembly operations, component fabrication and PRT support, and Quality Assurance activities. We directly support and contribute to the research & development, design & engineering, experiments and qualification testing, design maturation, and production of these weapon systems.

Our team coordinates internally and externally to ensure that parts and components are developed and acquired in a timely fashion to ensure test assemblies and full test units are available to support development and qualifications tests and other experiments. Within the assembly team (2331-1), we assemble, disassemble, test, and maintain test units during environmental, electrical, thermal, and flight qualification tests and other experiments.

The hardware team (2331-2) manages hardware and kitting. Across the organization we also plan a variety of work activities, develop and assist design, qualification, & test engineers with assembly/disassembly procedures, and perform the actual hands-on work with hardware at the component and system level. Most of the work performed within 2331 is activity level work and requires keen attention to detail, high standards of quality, and strict adherence to security & safety requirements.

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.

About Sandia National Laboratories

The Sandia National Laboratories is one of three National Nuclear Security Administration research and development laboratories in the United States, managed and operated privately by the National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia. Their primary mission is to develop, engineer, and test the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons and high technology. Headquartered on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it also has a campus in Livermore, California, next to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and a test facility in Waimea, Kauai, Hawaii. It is Sandia's mission to maintain the reliability and surety of nuclear weapon systems, conduct research and development in arms control and nonproliferation technologies, and investigate methods for the disposal of the United States' nuclear weapons program's hazardous waste. Other missions include research and development in energy and environmental programs, as well as the surety of critical national infrastructures. In addition, Sandia is home to a wide variety of research including computational biology, mathematics, materials science, alternative energy, psychology, MEMS, and cognitive science initiatives. Sandia formerly hosted ASCI Red, one of the world's fastest supercomputers until its decommission in 2006, and now hosts ASCI Red Storm, originally known as Thor's Hammer. Sandia is also home to the Z Machine. The Z Machine is the largest X-ray generator in the world and is designed to test materials in conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. It is operated by Sandia National Laboratories to gather data to aid in computer modeling of nuclear weapons. In December 2016, it was announced that National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, under the direction of Honeywell International, would take over the management of Sandia National Laboratories starting on May 1, 2017. Educational opportunities are conducted in collaboration with university students through several programs, including the Securing Top Academic Research & Talent at Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program and the Sandia University Partnerships Network.
Learn more about Sandia National Laboratories
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Founded
1948

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