Sandia National Laboratories

Cleared Senior/Principal Systems Engineer, Defect Prevention/Reliability, Hybrid

Sandia National Laboratories$117K — $235K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and 5+ years of relevant experience or equivalent education/experience.
  • Active US DOE Q-level security clearance (or equivalent) required to start.
  • Graduate degree in Engineering or related field preferred.
  • Experience with Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) laboratories and plants.
  • Demonstrated experience in weapon product realization within NSE.

Responsibilities

  • Provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to product realization teams.
  • Engage in the complete product lifecycle from design to retirement.
  • Lead anomaly resolution and structured problem-solving teams.
  • Implement process improvements to reduce defects.
  • Apply risk-based quality practices as per project needs.
  • Champion quality and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Participate in audits and assessments for compliance.

Benefits

  • Flexible work arrangement including onsite and offsite options.
  • Opportunities for professional development and growth.
  • Access to resources and support for continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Engagement in mission-critical projects with national significance.
  • Work within a team committed to quality and reliability standards.
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking an experienced R&D Systems Engineer to join our organization. In this role, you will provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to MESA's high-reliability microelectronics programs, including Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors, and Electrical Environmental Sensing Devices.

On any given day, you may be called on to:
  • Provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to product realization teams and manufacturing process areas such as wafer fabrication, packaging, electrical test, burn-in, and product delivery for high-reliability microelectronic products.
  • Engage in projects spanning all phases of the product realization lifecycle from conceptual design and development through production, maintenance, and retirement.
  • Lead anomaly resolution and structured problem-solving teams through root cause analysis, identifying potential solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness.
  • Implement process improvements to reduce defects while maintaining or enhancing performance parameters.
  • Apply risk-based, graded approaches to determine the appropriate rigor of quality practices for each situation.
  • Champion quality and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Participate in audits and assessments (e.g., ISO 9001, NNSA Quality Assurance Surveys, DMEA, RPSS).
  • Occasional travel as required.

*The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite work. The selected applicant must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the assigned work location when necessary.

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

  • A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, 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 US DOE Q-level security clearance or equivalent required to start.


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 National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), 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:
  • Demonstrated experience with weapon product realization in the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE), including familiarity with relevant quality and product realization requirements such as NAP 401.1A, DPBPS, RPSS, and ISO 9001.
  • Proven ability to provide critical R&D contributions throughout the entire product realization lifecycle, ensuring early and continuous application of quality principles. This includes requirements engineering and traceability, validation and verification, qualification, production process development, risk analysis, technical documentation, and product acceptance.
  • Experience developing and implementing quality and production policies, processes, and procedures.
  • Engineering experience in microelectronics design, qualification, and manufacturing.
  • Engineering experience in tester development, qualification, and/or operation within a production environment.
  • Blue Dragon certified causal analyst with demonstrated regular application of its concepts and improvement efforts.
  • Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification with demonstrated regular implementation of key principles and improvement initiatives.
  • Critical thinking skills to identify, assess, and mitigate risks through practical defect prevention, ensuring safe, reliable, and robust products.
  • Excellent writing, presentation, facilitation, and organizational skills, with the ability to tailor messaging appropriately for different audiences and situations.
  • Ability to lead through influence and build trust-based relationships.
  • Self-motivated, positive individual comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
  • Commitment to modeling behaviors that reflect Sandia's core values.


About Our Team

The Defect Prevention and Reliability department is dedicated to ensuring the quality and reliability of MESA's high-reliability microelectronics products. We apply quality principles and risk management to proactively identify and mitigate defects throughout the entire product realization lifecycle from design and manufacturing to delivery. By leading defect prevention, reliability, and continuous improvement efforts, we enable the successful delivery of robust, mission-critical microelectronics for the nation.

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.

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
Industry
Founded
1948

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