What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking a motivated AI engineer to join Department 5328, Smart Electronics Software, in advancing the way high-TRL software is developed and deployed on mission-relevant electronics platforms. In this role, you will help pioneer the use of agentic coding workflows to accelerate the implementation, verification, and sustainment of robust software for embedded processors, real-time systems, and FPGA-based architectures.

You will work as part of a multidisciplinary team focused on bringing artificial intelligence and autonomy closer to the edge. This includes deploying AI algorithms onto constrained electronics platforms to enable real-time autonomy, decision support, signal processing, and intelligent control in operational environments. The work will span concept development, rapid prototyping, hardware/software integration, testing, and transition to high-reliability applications.

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

• Develop, test, and integrate high-TRL software for embedded, electronics, and FPGA platforms.
• Apply agentic coding tools and AI-assisted development methods to improve software productivity, quality, and maintainability.
• Implement AI, machine learning, and autonomy algorithms for real-time execution on resource-constrained hardware.
• Collaborate with electronics, firmware, software, systems, and mission-domain experts to develop integrated solutions.
• Optimize algorithms and software for performance, latency, power, memory, and reliability constraints.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop testing, embedded platform bring-up, verification, validation, and fieldable prototype demonstrations.
• Contribute to software architectures, development workflows, and best practices for trusted AI-enabled embedded systems.
• Explore emerging tools and methodologies for applying generative AI and autonomous coding agents to mission software development.

This position is ideal for someone who enjoys working at the intersection of modern software engineering, embedded systems, FPGA development, artificial intelligence, and national security applications. You will have the opportunity to shape how next-generation intelligent systems are developed and deployed on advanced electronics platforms.

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

Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories.

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 acquire and maintain a DOE Q clearance and SCI clearance, which may require a polygraph.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E AI candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in a relevant computationally-intensive discipline where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in developing software and AI systems for enterprise and national security applications.
• Demonstrated software development skills and familiarity with modern software development practices.
• Proven ability to work and communicate effectively in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment.

Also for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Demonstrated experience designing, developing, integrating, and deploying high-reliability software on embedded, electronics, real-time, or FPGA-based platforms.
• Proven ability to lead software or firmware development efforts from requirements definition through architecture, implementation, integration, verification, validation, and delivery.
• Experience developing or deploying AI, machine learning, signal processing, autonomy, or decision-support algorithms on edge, embedded, GPU, FPGA, SoC, or other resource-constrained hardware platforms.
• Strong proficiency in one or more relevant programming languages, such as C, C++, Python, Rust, VHDL, Verilog, SystemVerilog, MATLAB, or similar languages used in embedded, FPGA, or high-performance systems.
• Experience with embedded Linux, real-time operating systems, bare-metal development, hardware abstraction layers, device drivers, communication interfaces, or board support packages.
• Experience with FPGA and digital design workflows, including RTL development, high-level synthesis, timing closure, simulation, synthesis, hardware/software co-design, and FPGA-based acceleration.
• Demonstrated ability to optimize software or algorithms for latency, throughput, power, memory, determinism, reliability, or hardware resource constraints.
• Experience establishing or improving software engineering practices for high-TRL systems, including requirements traceability, configuration management, automated testing, code quality, cybersecurity considerations, documentation, release processes, and maintainability.
• Familiarity with verification and validation approaches for real-time, embedded, AI-enabled, or mission-critical systems, including hardware-in-the-loop testing, simulation environments, test automation, and performance characterization.
• Experience applying AI-assisted development, agentic coding workflows, automated code generation, or advanced developer tooling to improve productivity, quality, testing, documentation, or sustainment of software systems.
• Ability to evaluate emerging AI coding tools, define appropriate guardrails, and integrate them into disciplined engineering workflows for high-consequence or high-reliability software.
• Demonstrated technical leadership in multidisciplinary teams, including coordinating work across software, firmware, electronics, systems engineering, AI/ML, test, and mission-domain contributors.
• Experience mentoring junior staff, interns, technologists, or students in software engineering, embedded development, FPGA workflows, AI deployment, or modern development practices.
• Ability to interface with customers, sponsors, and stakeholders to understand mission needs, define technical approaches, communicate risks, and deliver impactful solutions.
• Experience transitioning prototypes, research software, or laboratory demonstrations into robust, maintainable, deployable systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing technical reports, design documentation, test plans, peer-reviewed publications, proposals, or briefings.

About Our Team

Smart Electronics Software specializes in next-level software development, delivering custom-built solutions tailored to address the unique challenges of complex national security problems. Committed to software best practices, our team harnesses our diverse expertise, modern tools, and advanced methodologies to create robust, reliable, and cutting-edge applications that drive innovation and operational excellence.

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.