Sandia National Laboratories

R&D Mechanical Engineer - Explosive Components Product Engineer, Onsite

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

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in relevant discipline or equivalent experience
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q security clearance
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Experience in mechanical engineering and product realization
  • Familiarity with engineering drawings and GD&T

Responsibilities

  • Manage product definition for explosive components
  • Collaborate with external suppliers for quality production
  • Develop new production capabilities in a lab environment
  • Oversee product quality through defect investigations
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives for production metrics
  • Design processes for product manufacturing and material transformation
  • Conduct tests to maintain control over production variables

Benefits

  • Collaborative work environment focused on safety
  • Opportunities for continuous improvement initiatives
  • Engagement in a mission critical to national security
  • Access to high-quality production technologies
  • Hands-on experience in a lab setting
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking a highly motivated Product Engineer to join our Explosive Component Production team within the Explosive Technologies Group at Sandia National Laboratories. This department is responsible for the Production of explosive components, including detonators, ignitors, actuators, and other explosive components, in support of the Nuclear Deterrence mission.

On any given day, you may be called on to:
  • Manage product definition (graphic drawings and specifications) for explosive components under development or in production
  • Work with external suppliers to produce development or Mark Quality product
  • Collaborate with engineers, technologists, and project management to stand up and qualify new production capabilities for explosive components
  • Engage in hands-on work in a laboratory environment, ensuring adherence to safety protocols and best practices
  • Ensure product quality and design intent through technical oversight, defect investigations, and root cause analyses
  • Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance key Production metrics.
  • Design and develop processes for product manufacturing, including planning sequences of operations and specifying procedures for material transformation
  • Conduct tests and measurements throughout production stages to maintain control over process and product variables
  • Utilize systematic problem-solving methods to drive process understanding and improvements

Occasional travel may be required.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant 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 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 clearance


Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E 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 interfacing with and participating in Product Realization Teams
  • Experience with working in a high-quality production environment applying rigorous processes
  • Proven ability to develop, maintain, and improve manufacturing processes, including developing fixtures and tooling
  • Experience with installation, qualification, and maintenance of manufacturing process equipment
  • Knowledge of lean manufacturing principles and statistical process control
  • Experience with methods such as resistance welding, laser welding, leak checking, visual inspection, vacuum systems, and metrology
  • Experience with glass-to-metal sealing in a furnace and machining metals, glass, and ceramics
  • Demonstrated ability to analyze data and apply the analysis to decision-making
  • Familiarity with engineering drawings, including Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
  • Experience with hazardous operations and a commitment to safety in an explosives facility
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey technical information clearly to diverse audiences
  • Ability to work effectively in a flexible, diverse team environment and manage multiple tasks and projects
  • Background in, or experience with, explosive technologies and engineering applications is a plus


About Our Team

Department 7452, Explosive Component Production, is part of the Explosive Technologies Group (7450) and serves as the Production Agency (PA) for explosive components. Our team is responsible for the production of explosive components that support Life Extension Programs (LEPs), Alterations (ALTs), Legacy systems, and New Systems. We collaborate closely with both external suppliers and internal production floors to ensure the highest quality and efficiency in our operations.

Our team plays a critical role in supporting the Nuclear Deterrence mission by ensuring the safe and efficient production of explosive components. We are dedicated to fostering a culture of safety, collaboration, and innovation, where every team member is valued and empowered to contribute to our mission.

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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