Job Description

Energy Material Sciences is one of four founding groups within ESE, alongside Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, Fusion Energy and Isotope Science, and Research Computing and Computational Sciences. The group exists to advance the materials science that underpins the nation's energy mission and its critical minerals security - materials for the nuclear fuel cycle and radiological environments, materials for fusion and extreme environments, intermetallic and nanoscale materials that enable advanced manufacturing, and the processing science behind critical minerals and rare earth elements. This is applied science that other groups, programs, and application areas draw on and build with; the Group Manager is accountable for making sure that research is deep, rigorous, and connected to where the laboratory's mission is headed.

As a line leader reporting to the ESE Division Director, the Group Manager is accountable for the stewardship, development, and support of the group's people and research facilities; the creation of an environment where materials research thrives; and the execution of technical work that aligns with the strategic direction set by the Division Director and SRNL leadership. The Group Manager also plays a direct role in cultivating the external partnerships - with DOE program offices, industry, and universities - that keep the group's science connected to real mission need and sustained by external investment.

This role requires deep technical credibility in energy materials science, a demonstrated record of developing researchers and research leaders, and the judgment to prioritize across a portfolio that spans multiple materials domains and technology readiness levels. Success is measured on the group's collective impact: the quality and trajectory of its science, the development and retention of its staff, the strength of its external partnerships and funding base, and its operational and safety excellence.

Responsibilities

People Development and Culture Building

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high-caliber materials science staff. Identify and grow the next generation of technical leaders within the group.
• Reinforce the division's operating culture, values, and norms around scientific rigor, collaboration, psychological safety, inclusion, and accountability at the group level. Set the day-to-day tone for how the group works together.
• Create an environment where researchers are supported, developed, and enabled to do their best work. Manage performance, allocate staff and resources across the group's project portfolio, and make sound personnel and investment decisions.
• Foster a strong safety culture and ensure all group work - including laboratory, fabrication, and characterization activities - is planned and executed safely and in full compliance with environmental, safety, health, quality, and security requirements appropriate to a radiological and nuclear research environment.

Science Stewardship and Execution

• Work with the ESE Division Director to understand the strategic direction and mission priorities of the division and SEI, and translate that direction into the group's technical portfolio and resource allocation.
• Steward the scientific quality, rigor, and reputation of the group's work across its core domains - nuclear fuel cycle and radiological/actinide materials, fusion and extreme-environment materials, intermetallic and nanoscale materials for advanced manufacturing, and critical minerals and rare earth processing science. Serve as a credible scientific voice to sponsors, peers, and the external research community.
• Identify high-value materials science opportunities that align with DOE mission needs, SRNL strategic priorities, and the group's distinctive capabilities. Bring those opportunities forward to inform division and directorate strategy.
• Ensure the group has the equipment, characterization tools, talent, and partnerships needed to execute its missions effectively and on time, and that capability investments are sequenced against where the science is headed rather than where it has been.
• Partner directly with the Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, Fusion Energy and Isotope Science, and Research Computing and Computational Sciences groups so that materials science is embedded in - not handed off to - the technology development and computational work it supports.

External Partnership and Ecosystem Development

• Cultivate and steward strategic partnerships outside the Department of Energy - industry engagement, university collaborations, and national laboratory partnerships - that strengthen the group's technical capabilities and expand its funding base and impact.
• Lead and mentor staff in building and deepening these external relationships. Position the group as a credible, trusted materials science partner to industry and academia.
• Advance SRNL's standing and visibility in energy materials science through publications, presentations, professional leadership, and strategic external relationships.
• Support the Division Director and Directorate in engaging DOE program offices relevant to the group's domains, and translate those relationships into a healthy, diversified project portfolio.

Operational Excellence and Business Performance

• Manage the group's budget, financial performance, and equipment and infrastructure needs. Ensure delivery of high-quality work products on scope, on schedule, and on budget.
• Establish group-level metrics, reporting cadences, and accountability structures. Track and communicate progress to the Division Director.
• Work within the SRNL matrix structure to ensure alignment between group capabilities and program priorities; surface challenges and opportunities that should inform division and directorate strategic planning.

Qualifications

Leadership Competencies

• Technical credibility - deep, current expertise in at least one core area of energy materials science, with the breadth to engage knowledgeably across the group's full portfolio.
• People leadership - ability to recruit talent, develop researchers into technical leaders, create psychological safety, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Portfolio judgment - ability to prioritize across multiple materials domains and technology readiness levels, and to make resourcing calls that connect science to mission need.
• Collaborative matrix leadership - skill in working through peer relationships across ESE's other groups and SRNL's broader program office structure, navigating ambiguity, and building alignment without direct authority.
• Business and operational acumen - comfort with budgets, metrics, and performance management; ability to connect resources to outcomes.
• External relationship building - ability to establish trust and credibility with DOE sponsors, industry, and university partners; skill in translating relationships into funded work.
• Founding-group mindset - comfort building structures, processes, and norms for a group still taking shape, and documenting decisions and rationale for those who come after.
• Integrity and unwavering commitment to safety - personal integrity that sets the tone for the group; zero tolerance for shortcuts on safety, quality, or ethical conduct.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, chemistry, physics, or a closely related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Significant progressive experience in materials research and research leadership, including direct management or mentorship of technical staff. Minimum 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Deep technical credibility in at least one energy materials domain - nuclear fuel cycle and radiological/actinide materials, fusion or extreme-environment materials, intermetallic or nanoscale materials for advanced manufacturing, or critical minerals and rare earth processing - with the intellectual breadth to engage across adjacent domains.
• Demonstrated commitment to and accountability for safety in a research environment, including laboratory and characterization work; experience in complex or radiological settings is a plus.
• Track record of developing technical talent and cultivating the next generation of research leaders.
• Proven ability to work effectively in matrix environments, partnering with peer leaders and sponsors to align direction and execute missions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to represent the group credibly to sponsors, DOE leadership, external partners, and internal staff.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE security clearance as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a DOE national laboratory, federal research environment, or comparable mission-driven research organization.
• Direct research or applied experience in one or more of: nuclear fuel cycle or actinide/radiological materials, fusion or plasma-facing materials, materials for extreme environments, intermetallic or magnetic materials, nanomaterials and advanced characterization, additive manufacturing materials, or critical minerals and rare earth separations and processing.
• Established relationships with relevant DOE program offices (e.g., Critical Minerals and Materials, Fusion Energy Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Environmental Management) and credibility in the relevant national research communities.
• Experience building and cultivating strategic partnerships with industry, universities, and other national laboratories.
• Track record of growing a research portfolio and securing external funding, including competitive proposals and industry-sponsored work.
• Experience contributing to or standing up a new group, program, or research area within a larger organization.