Sandia National Laboratories

Hypersonics Test Engineer - Experimental Aerosciences, Onsite

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

Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience
  • Proven experience planning and executing large facility improvement projects
  • Ability to obtain and maintain DOE Q security clearance; US Citizenship required
  • Experience in hypersonic aerodynamics facilities (desired)
  • Familiarity with PLCs and LabVIEW for control techniques (desired)
  • Knowledge of infrastructure systems such as compressors and vacuum systems (desired)
  • Proficient in data analysis using MATLAB or Python (desired)

Responsibilities

  • Lead the design and operation of the hypersonic shock tunnel
  • Develop novel techniques for hypersonic facility operations
  • Execute experiments supporting diverse research plans
  • Manage project plans for facility improvements
  • Ensure facility safety and security standards are met
  • Contribute to scientific manuscripts and internal reports
  • Present research findings to team members and external partners

Benefits

  • Opportunities to contribute to national security
  • Access to advanced experimental testing facilities
  • Collaborative work environment with diverse teams
  • Challenging projects that span various aspects of aerospace engineering
  • Engagement with leading scientific and defense organizations
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

Sandia's Experimental Aerosciences department is seeking a Test Engineer to support research in hypersonics environments impacting national security missions. Sandia's aerodynamic test facilities include the trisonic wind tunnel, hypersonic wind and shock tunnels, and multiphase shock tube. This positional primarily supports the hypersonic shock tunnel. A successful engineer will lead the design, future roadmapping, development, and operation of the hypersonic shock tunnel to conduct novel research experiments.

On any given day, you may be called on to:
  • Develop novel techniques for the operation of hypersonic facilities.
  • Develop and execute experiments to support research plans with a diverse team of staff, test engineers, and technologists.
  • Generate and process data
  • Manage facility improvement project plans and execution.
  • Take responsibility for facility safety and security.
  • Contribute to manuscripts for peer-reviewed scientific publications and in internal technical reports.
  • Present work to team members, Sandia mission partners, and the larger scientific community.

Are you ready for your next challenge? Join our team and achieve your goals while ensuring national security.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected candidate must be able to 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 Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or other related engineering field, or equivalent experience.
  • Demonstrated ability to plan and execute large facility improvement projects.
  • Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q security clearance. US Citizenship is required. Clearance is not required to start.


Qualifications We Desire

  • Experience working in supersonic/hypersonic aerodynamics facilities.
  • Experience in the development of experimental controls techniques using PLCs and/or LabVIEW.
  • Experience with infrastructure systems including compressors and vacuum systems.
  • Experience conducting data analysis using MATLAB or Python.
  • Demonstrated excellence in process documentation.


About Our Team

The Experimental Aerosciences Department of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico offers challenging and important work relating to national security in R&D and technology applications in aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, compressible fluid mechanics, and flight dynamics. Our primary mission supports U.S. Department of Energy Defense Programs, and aerosciences projects funded through the U.S. Department of Defense, DARPA, NASA, and industry. Our projects span the Mach number range from subsonic through hypersonic and involve systems ranging from aircraft released ordinance to reentry systems and rocket systems. Technical activities include experimental analytical efforts plus support of flight test activities, both pre-flight/post-flight analyses and field test operations. The Aerosciences Department maintains a strong balance of research and development activities and works synergistically with other organizations at Sandia to meet current and future customer needs.

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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