Sandia National Laboratories

Early Career R&D Mechanical Engineer - Equipment Qualification Engineer, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories • $102K — $199K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance
  • Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field (preferred)
  • Experience in mechanical engineering and product realization in the NNSA complex (preferred)
  • Strong communication skills and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams (preferred)
  • Experience in a manufacturing environment and knowledge of MRP systems (preferred)

Responsibilities

  • Oversee technical aspects of Neutron Tube Production equipment and address performance issues
  • Identify and develop new technologies and processes for Neutron Tubes
  • Provide guidance to process technologists and support production and development operations
  • Implement continuous improvement initiatives for operational metrics
  • Collaborate with partners in NGE on equipment characterization and qualification

Benefits

  • Onsite work due to the nature of the job
  • Potential travel opportunities
  • Strong emphasis on safety and security culture
  • Access to advanced manufacturing concepts and techniques
  • Opportunity to work in a critical area supporting national security
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking a R&D S&E, Mechanical Engineer who can safely manufacture Neutron Generators for War Reserve weapon systems and the development of new processes and generator designs.

On any given day, you may be called on to:
  • Be responsible for maintaining technical oversight responsibility for new Neutron Tube Production equipment, recognizing problems that can impact performance, and taking initiative to solve them expeditiously.
  • Identify new technology, process development and qualification, and authoring of initial work instructions/operating procedures to support the development and production of Neutron Tubes.
  • Provide technical guidance and direction to process technologists and serve as a process consultant to assist in the daily operations of the production floor and development lab, when necessary.
  • Manage and propose continuous improvement initiatives to improve Center metrics.
  • Work closely with our partners in the NGE to ensure equipment characterization and qualification moves forward efficiently.

This position requires some travel.

Due to the nature of the work, successful candidate must 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.
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance


Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D Mechanical Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:
  • Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
  • Experience with mechanical engineering and product realization in the NNSA complex.
  • 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 in a manufacturing environment with knowledge of industry standard Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP) system and related business practices
  • Experience with product realization processes or process development.
  • Experience in providing technical support to manufacturing or development operations
  • Current/active DOE security clearance
  • Systems oriented person able to manage production process maintenance activities, and identify/manage associated process risks
  • Ability to conduct analyses as needed to optimize the manufacturing processes to balance quality, responsiveness and pre-defined metrics
  • Ability to learn the technical aspects of manufacturing processes in order to apply integrated technical judgment as required to anticipate, innovate, and deliver solutions
  • Demonstrated capability to monitor process health by identifying, collecting, and analyzing effective metrics and presenting results
  • Able to successfully multi-tasking across multiple projects
  • Willingness to actively participate in Lean Six Sigma program
  • Dedication to a culture of safety and security
  • Experience working in a fast-paced production environment
  • Greenbelt or Blackbelt Certified
  • Strong analytical skills


About Our Team

Neutron Tube Value Stream Department (7562) is the sole source supplier of neutron tubes for nuclear weapons in the United States. We provide the technical leadership in various engineering disciplines to pursue state-of-the-art solutions in product and process engineering to manufacture sophisticated high-vacuum tube devices. We sustain and ensure the highest quality and reliability of this specialized product by operating in an agile production environment for low volume, low product mix with high yields, minimal variation, and compliance with all environmental, safety, security, and health mandates.

Our team members are experts in realizing the conceptual design and development of miniature particle accelerators. We apply the practical knowledge and expertise for fabrication of the devices using a combination of complex processes, including thin-film deposition, metallization, thermal operations, plating, brazing, welding, encapsulation, and testing. We employ the most advanced concepts in resource planning, lean manufacturing, and defect prevention to meet our mission assignment.

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

Sandia is required by DOE 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 obtain and 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
Industry
Founded
1948

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