What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking a highly motivated R&D Scientist to join Sandia National Laboratories' Analytical and Tritium Technologies Department. The successful candidate will provide technical expertise and leadership in tritium science, gas analysis, vacuum and pressure systems, mass spectrometry, and the development of advanced analytical capabilities supporting Sandia's national security mission.

The Analytical and Tritium Technologies Department provides chemical and physical testing, materials characterization, gas analysis, radiological measurements, and technical expertise supporting the Neutron Tube and Neutron Generator Production Programs within the Neutron Generator Production Center. The department maintains specialized capabilities in gas dynamics and mass spectrometry, radiochemistry, surface chemistry, materials characterization, metallurgy and ceramics, wet chemistry and instrumental analysis, failure analysis, and particulate contamination control.

This position will support both current production needs and the research and development of next-generation analytical and tritium technologies. The successful candidate will work in a multidisciplinary environment involving scientists, engineers, technologists, production organizations, and external collaborators.

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

• Develop technical expertise and serve as a subject matter expert in tritium science, hydrogen isotope behavior, gas analysis, vacuum systems, and related analytical technologies.
• Design, develop, and execute experiments involving hydrogen isotopes and other gases.
• Develop new analytical methods, instrumentation, and experimental capabilities to address challenging production and R&D problems.
• Operate, develop, troubleshoot, and improve gas-analysis systems including mass spectrometers, vacuum systems, pressure systems, gas-handling systems, and associated diagnostics.
• Perform quantitative and qualitative analysis of gas composition, impurities, isotopic composition, and gas-material interactions.
• Develop and evaluate technologies related to hydrogen isotope separation, detection, measurement, storage, and handling.
• Design and conduct experiments involving pressure, vacuum, temperature, gas flow, and gas-surface interactions.
• Develop automated experimental and analytical systems using data-acquisition and instrument-control platforms.
• Analyze experimental data, develop technically defensible conclusions, and communicate results through technical reports and presentations.
• Develop, review, and execute technical procedures and experimental plans.
• Troubleshoot complex instrumentation and experimental systems and identify root causes of unexpected results or equipment performance.
• Support qualification, surveillance, failure analysis, and production-related investigations involving materials, components, and gases.
• Lead or provide technical oversight for R&D projects and capability-development activities.
• Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to solve complex technical problems where requirements may initially be incomplete or evolving.
• Mentor technologists, early-career staff, interns, and other researchers.
• Collaborate with universities, national laboratories, industry partners, and other external organizations to advance relevant technologies.
• Maintain rigorous standards for data quality, configuration control, documentation, and scientific integrity.
• Perform work in accordance with Sandia requirements for safety, security, quality, radiological protection, and conduct of operations.

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

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-level security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D Materials Science candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Materials Science or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in a research and development environment.
• Experience with materials characterization techniques.
• Experience working on teams consisting of multidisciplinary and multi-disciplinary experimentalists, modelers, and theorists with a common goal.
• Effective interpersonal skills for giving presentations, preparing reports, writing articles, and explaining the important aspects of technical work to customers.

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

• Experience working with tritium, deuterium, hydrogen, or other isotopic gas systems.
• Experience with mass spectrometry, particularly quadrupole, magnetic-sector, or other gas-analysis mass spectrometry techniques.
• Experience with residual gas analysis, gas chromatography, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, or complementary gas-characterization techniques.
• Ability to work safely in laboratory environments involving potentially hazardous materials, pressure systems, vacuum equipment, chemicals, and/or radiological hazards.
• Experience designing, operating, and troubleshooting high-vacuum or ultra-high-vacuum systems.
• Experience designing or operating high-pressure gas-handling systems.
• Understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, vacuum science, gas dynamics, and gas-surface interactions.
• Experience with hydrogen isotope separation, purification, storage, or measurement technologies.
• Experience with radioactive materials or operations in radiological facilities.
• Experience developing or modifying scientific instrumentation.
• Experience with LabVIEW, Python, MATLAB, programmable logic controllers, or other data-acquisition and instrument-control platforms.
• Experience developing automated laboratory or experimental systems.
• Experience with low-level signal measurement, sensors, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, and associated instrumentation.
• Experience developing experimental plans, technical procedures, test plans, and formal technical reports.
• Demonstrated ability to independently identify and solve complex experimental or engineering problems.
• Experience leading technical projects, including development of scope, schedule, milestones, deliverables, and technical requirements.
• Experience supporting NNSA, DOE, nuclear security, or other high-consequence missions.
• Experience working within the Nuclear Security Enterprise.
• Demonstrated experimental research or engineering experience involving scientific instrumentation, materials, gases, vacuum systems, pressure systems, or related technologies.
• Experience acquiring, analyzing, interpreting, and documenting experimental data.
• An active DOE Q clearance or equivalent U.S. Government security clearance

About Our Team

The Analytical and Tritium Technologies Department provides the analytical science, materials characterization, gas-analysis, and tritium-related capabilities required to support Sandia's Neutron Generator Production Center and broader national security mission.

Our laboratories provide expertise in gas dynamics and mass spectrometry, radiochemistry, surface chemistry, metallurgy and ceramics, wet chemistry and instrumental analysis, defect and failure analysis, and particulate contamination control. The department supports product development, production, process qualification, surveillance, troubleshooting, failure investigations, and the development of new analytical technologies.

Our team combines fundamental science with applied engineering to solve technically challenging problems where measurement accuracy, product reliability, safety, and mission assurance are critical. We work closely with production organizations, engineering groups, other national laboratories, universities, and external partners to develop and deploy analytical capabilities supporting current and future national security 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.