What Your Job Will Be Like

We are looking for a motivated R&D Electrical Engineer to work as a Component Engineer (CE) for digital Integrated Circuits (ICs) in our robust Hi-Reliability Commercial Technologies Department. You will be a member of a team of CEs responsible for the delivery of thousands of commercial electronic parts (CEPs) in support of the Electronic Parts Program (EPP). In this role, you will work to provide technical assurance for the CEPs used in our high-consequence, high-reliability systems. You will have the opportunity to support multiple weapon programs, engage with subject matter experts (SMEs) across Sandia, and work closely with the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC). The work is critical to ensuring the success of our nation's defense by assuring only quality CEPs capable of meeting demanding performance specifications and reliability requirements are used by our customers. The department operates in a fast-paced, schedule driven environment, and meeting deadlines is essential to our success due to the focus of our work. We have the need for an individual who has a good understanding of the makeup of CEPs, how they perform through adverse environments, and how to test for and analyze electronic performance in degraded environments. This position offers the opportunity to develop a depth of knowledge and to influence the foundational components of our high-reliability systems.

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

• Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, major component and systems engineers, as well as SMEs across Sandia and KCNSC to ensure comprehensive technical assurance of CEPs through rigorous testing and analysis.
• Document engineering and design decisions to ensure the preservation of all testing and associated analysis.
• Plan, support, and execute testing activities; analyze test data; and document and present data on the results of CEP performance.
• Provide SME expertise on assigned CEPs.
• Interface with product realization teams, test facilities personnel, suppliers, purchase product and quality engineers, electrical test engineers, etc.
• Support production acceptance activities at KCNSC.
• Coordinate and collaborate with commercial electronics manufacturers.
• Perform failure analysis.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

Some travel may be required.

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 Electrical Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation)
• Ability to work independently and collaborate well in a multidisciplinary team
• Outstanding verbal and written skills, including the ability to develop and present briefings that are clear and compelling

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

• Five (5) or more years of related engineering experience.
• Proven experience with digital ICs
• Proven experience with digital logic, including logic gate, microprocessors, and microcontrollers
• Proven experience with hardware description languages such as Verilog or VHDL
• Proven experience with design and analysis tools (e.g., MATLAB, JMP, Python)
• Proven experience leading technical projects to meet customer requirements
• Experience with part selection, qualification, and testing
• Experience with tests board layout and design and conducting electrical tests
• Strong ability to learn new technical areas rapidly
• Familiarity with application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and digital signal processing (DSP) architectures
• Familiarity with military standards and test methods, as well as industry standards and test methods (MIL-SPEC, JEDEC, etc.)
• Knowledge of reliability assessment methods to include accelerated life testing, robustness validation, and success-run testing
• Knowledge of semiconductor device physics
• Knowledge of failure mechanisms of capacitors, resistors, diodes, and semiconductor devices
• Knowledge of supply chain management and counterfeit avoidance
• Knowledge of radiation testing and radiation effects in microelectronics and semiconductor devices
• A strong commitment to safety, security, quality, and program success
• Active DOE Q or DOW TS security clearance

About Our Team

The Hi-Rel Commercial Technologies Department (7641) is part of the Electronic Parts Program (EPP) and is responsible for the identification, characterization and technical assurance of commercial electronic parts (CEPs) used in high-reliability applications. The department provides component information, hardware, test and reliability information of these components to our system/subsystem design customers and to our Production Agency partners. Our core competency includes supply chain assurance, assessing component compatibility with manufacturing processes, and test process development to determine the suitability of CEPs for high-consequence products. We conduct research and testing to identify and assess new technologies across the full spectrum of commercial electronics.

The Department is on the leading edge of the product realization process. We are responsible for ensuring that thousands of CEPs will meet stringent performance and reliability requirements. This requires the highest levels of understanding of:

• How the parts will function within their intended circuits and operational environments.
• Merging technology capabilities and failure modes.
• Suppliers and their relevant risks (technical, security, delivery, etc.).
• How to test a wide range of products.

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.