What Your Job Will Be Like

This is an extraordinary opportunity to join our team as a Senior or Principal Systems Engineer and provide expertise and oversight for the design and development of the future nuclear facility for the CREST (Combined Radiation Environments for Survivability Testing) Project. The goal of the CREST Project is to modernize the Annular Core Research Reactor and its systems through the design and construction of a new purpose-built facility. Together with a short pulse electron beam accelerator, which will also be included in the facility, this new capability will fill a mission gap for research, development, and qualification activities. The CREST complex will be sited at Tech Area V (TA-V) at Sandia National Laboratories' Albuquerque, NM location.

Sandia has a long history of designing, building, and fielding experimental research reactors, including the Sandia Engineering Reactor (SER), the Annular Core Pulsed Reactor (ACPR), the Sandia Pulsed Reactor (SPR) versions -I, -II, and -III, and the Annular Core Research Reactor (ACRR). Sandia has an equally long history of designing, building, and fielding major pulsed power machines, providing high currents at high voltages to drive intense gamma sources, fast-pulsed radiography systems, and the world-leading Z-machine, which is capable of simulating conditions inside stars. Over the next several years the CREST team will be engaged in the design of the CREST Nuclear Facility to house the ACRR-II, the CREST accelerator, and a number of related capabilities which will allow Sandia to both modernize the current ACRR and expand our support for the U.S. Department of Energy's national security mission.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Act as the CREST Nuclear Facility Design Agent/Team Lead, facilitating technical and programmatic engagements with internal and external stakeholders (i.e., CREST Project Management, design subcontractors, NNSA, etc.).
• Employ the systems engineering approach to realize designs from identification of stakeholder needs, through requirements development, final design, fabrication/construction/installation, and system acceptance via verification and validation.
• Collaborate with other CREST nuclear facility design team members and subcontractors in the design and development of new facility for CREST.
• Collaborate with other CREST Project Design Agents and system engineers to ensure that proper interface definition and requirements are established and maintained.
• Interface with the current ACRR and HERMES-III staff to incorporate improvements and enhancements into designs where possible.
• Use engineering principles to research, design, or develop structures, machines, experiments, processes, or prototype systems; to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions.
• Participate in broader collaborative efforts with other NNSA labs as needed.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant will be required to work onsite. Relocation will be provided for those that qualify.

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.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoE Q clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Systems Engineer 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, 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:

• A bachelor's and a master's degree in Nuclear, Mechanical, or Civil Engineering, or a closely related STEM field. An equivalent combination of a bachelor's degree and relevant experience may also be acceptable.
• An understanding of systems engineering principles, to include requirements development, interpretation, and interface control/management in execution of the traditional engineering design process.
• Experience with computer-aided design tools (e.g., Autodesk suite, SolidWorks, etc.).
• Experience with use and/or design of hot cells.
• Experience with nuclear reactors and their systems.
• Experience with pulsed power or other high energy accelerators and their systems.
• Experience with industry codes and standards for nuclear facilities (e.g., ASCE, ASME, etc.); especially ASME's Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA-1).
• Knowledge of the requirements and processes detailed in DOE O 413.3B, Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets.
• Desire to learn new skills as required and develop expertise in areas that may be unfamiliar.
• Experience defining and solving challenging, complex problems in a timely manner.
• Ability to work both independently and within a multi-disciplinary team environment, building consensus and resolving issues; advanced interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, including the ability to prepare clearly written technical reports and briefings.
• Experience working with the NNSA Defense Programs.
• Active DoE Q clearance.

About Our Team

The CREST Project is progressing on schedule to complete the modernization of the ACRR facility by the mid-2030s. This new, state-of-the-art building, situated within Sandia National Laboratory's Technical Area V, will provide a secure, purpose-built environment for gamma and neutron radiation testing. The facility will support stockpile qualification as well as a broad spectrum of research and development activities. The CREST Project will incorporate the ACRR-II, a modernized iteration of the existing ACRR reactor, featuring entirely new hardware and control systems, while maintaining performance equivalent to that of the original reactor. In addition, the facility will include a short-pulse electron beam accelerator and enhanced test and diagnostic capabilities, positioning CREST at the forefront of combined radiation environment testing and simulation in support of the U.S. Department of Energy's national security mission.

The CREST Reactor Facility Development Department is charged with the design and development of next-generation research reactor systems that will extend and enhance the capabilities of the current ACRR. This effort encompasses the pulsed-power-driven electron/gamma-ray accelerator, a neutron radiography system, hot cells for post-irradiation examination and nuclear fuel stewardship, and the systems engineering required to integrate these advanced capabilities into a unified, cutting-edge facility. The group operates within Sandia's Radiation, Electrical, and High Energy Density (REHEDS) Research Foundation.

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.