Sandia National Laboratories

Senior/Principal Systems Engineer - Space-based Remote Sensing, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories$117K — $235K *
Aerospace & Defense
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and 5 years of relevant experience, or equivalent education and experience
  • Ability to obtain a DOE Q clearance
  • Graduate degree in Engineering or related field with independent research project
  • Experience with Nuclear Security Enterprise laboratories
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills

Responsibilities

  • Troubleshoot, analyze, maintain, and repair custom-designed hardware
  • Track progress and resolve technical issues with technical leads
  • Collaborate with the Lead Systems Engineer on project requirements and plans
  • Define and validate project requirements
  • Coordinate integration and test activities
  • Provide technical information to internal organizations and project office

Benefits

  • Onsite work requirement
  • Opportunity to support national security missions
  • Dynamic and collaborative team environment
  • Involvement with cutting-edge technology and systems engineering
Full Job Description
What Your Job Will Be Like

Do you have experience in nuclear detonation detection systems and a passion for supporting operational satellite missions as part of a collaborative, dynamic team? We are seeking a motivated Systems Engineer to join our dynamic team for the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System (USNDS), a Space Force funded program. You will work on antenna systems, satellite communication interfaces, and complex system architectures. Join us to develop creative solutions to unique national security challenges!

The selected candidate may interface externally with the Space Systems Command (SSC) sponsor and collaborate with other government partner organizations on programmatic activities.

On any given day you may be called on to:
  • Troubleshoot, analyze, maintain, and repair custom-designed hardware.
  • Work with technical leads to track progress, resolve technical issues and support system/subsystem technical reviews.
  • Collaborate with the Lead Systems Engineer to define and clarify project requirements, develop project support plan, and acceptance criteria for system and subsystems.
  • Perform requirements definition, verification and validation, map and allocate, downlink, definition, Interface Control Document review and management.
  • Define acceptance criteria for subsystems and perform technical reviews on project documents.
  • Coordinate integration and test activities and provide technical information to internal organizations and the project office.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite. This position will require some travel.

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 a DOE Q clearance


Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Systems Engineering candidate for Sandia National Laboratories 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:
  • Knowledge of RF and digital baseband theory as applied to antenna and digital receiver systems.
  • Master's degree in engineering or a closely related field.
  • Experience troubleshooting circuit boards to the component level.
  • Experience using test and measurement equipment (e.g., spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, frequency counter).
  • Familiarity with the USNDS Program.
  • Experience in engineering design, qualification, and production.
  • Proven ability to build effective partnerships across customer and organizational boundaries.
  • Experience developing and executing formal test processes.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
  • Proven leadership and a strong commitment to a positive teaming dynamic.
  • Active DOE Q clearance or equivalent.


About Our Team

The Space Ground Systems Programs leads the design, development, delivery, and sustainment of the operational ground segment of the United States Nuclear Detonation Detection System (USNDS). USNDS is a space-based remote sensing system designed to meet national security needs for both the war fighter and the treaty monitoring community. The team provides leadership and advanced technical solutions throughout the life cycle of these systems, from inception of new systems to enhancing capability in the operational systems.

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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