Job Description

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking an R&D Electrical/Electronics Engineer to join our dynamic team in a Surety System Engineering role with special emphasis on Category 1 Electrical Equipment Assurance. Our department provides system and software surety, with this position specifically focusing on Category 1 Acceptance Testers, Use Control Systems, and T-gear for the DoD.

The Nuclear Explosive Tester Assurance Engineer (NET SE) understands the system requirements and interface to the weapon and guides the NET development team in issues of nuclear explosive safety, to include the surety basis for the system. The role participates in all design reviews, reviews all Engineering Authorizations (EAs) produced by the team, and is author/co-author of the tester safety plan.

This position requires performing multiple engineering functions, from deep dive circuit analysis and failure mode determination, to testing actual prototypes, performing software safety analyses, qualifying Category 1 equipment, interfacing with Independent Assessment, and presenting to the NESSG. This role also involves engaging and collaborating regularly with personnel across multiple Sandia organizations, as well as with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Pantex production facility, and Department of Defense (DOD) organizations. Additional duties may include software surety for weapons and weapons-related product. This Surety Engineer would provide R&D contributions throughout the entire product realization lifecycle including monitoring every phase of the development process to ensure software product design, development, and verification activities delivers an assured software product that meets its requirements safely and reliably. The Surety Engineer applies engineering principles across a wide range of projects including components, subsystems, and systems. Projects span across all phases of the product realization lifecycle from conceptual design and development to production and maintenance/retirement.

On any given day you may be called on to:

• Analyze and interpret electrical schematics, environmental specifications, and system level documentation using the Sandia NW drawing and authorization system.
• Perform Fault Tree and Failure analysis at the system, subsystem, component, and ancillary equipment level to identify failure modes in analog and digital circuit designs.
• Develop testing approaches and test configurations to ensure that designs effectively meet requirements in a safe manner across a wide range of environmental conditions.
• Understand component functionality in light of its parent product use, from FPGA/ASIC/SoC through PWB/PWAs, subassemblies, systems, and software to effectively verify functionality and safety of those products in normal and abnormal environments.
• Develop qualification and safety plans to ensure successful authorization of high-consequence hardware and software products.
• Partner with component/system design teams, test organizations, safety and surety engineering, and independent assessment to devise and execute analysis and testing of Category 1 designs.
• Present at program technical reviews and nuclear explosive safety studies – specifically regarding failure modes, risks, and issues identified.
• Interface with colleagues within Sandia and externally at LANL, LLNL, Pantex, Kansas City, and the NNSA.
• Interface with the Nuclear Explosive Safety Study Group (NESSG).
• Work independently and within teams to coordinate and execute large scale Category 1 design projects.
• Apply technical judgement and software engineering principles to recognize problems, develop requirements, monitor and support design/development methods, and deliver qualified, accepted digital product.
• Lead R&D teams in identifying and transforming unknown technical challenges into known technical risks to ensure and improve the safety, security, and reliability of the product.

*Occasional travel between Albuquerque and production facilities is required. Due to the nature of the work, at least 80% on-site work at the Pantex facility is required for this position.

Salary Range:

$104,100 - $207,100

*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 and five years of relevant work experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience defined by the following parameters:
• An Associate’s plus nine (9) years of relevant work experience; or
• A High School Diploma and thirteen (13) years of relevant experience.
• Active DOE Q or DOD TS security clearance and ability to obtain other higher clearances.

Qualifications We Desire:

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

• Graduate degree in electrical 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 collaborative well in a diverse team of designers and test engineers.
• 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:

• Analog and digital circuit design or verification
• Hardware description language (HDL) such as VHDL or Verilog for digital design or verification
• Embedded software development, analysis, or verification
• Safety circuit design, analysis, or verification
• Interfaces to Nuclear Explosive electrical systems
• Experience with design, development, and delivery of high-consequence Category 1 NW products or equipment, such as acceptance testers, use control equipment or T-gear for military or aerospace applications.
• One or more of the following:
• Software development and verification using Unified Modeling Language (UML)
• Software for high-consequence applications, including formal software safety analysis, software verification and qualification.
• Modeling and simulation of analog and digital hardware products.
• Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills, including proven abilities in effective negotiation, delegation, and conflict resolution in diverse team environments
• Ability to integrate ideas and work effectively across diverse technical organizations within and external to Sandia.
• Ability to balance multiple, sometimes conflicting, priorities.
• Familiarity with MATLAB, Creo, Spice, PDMLink, and PRIME.
• Familiarity with development of safety-related test plans for components, systems, or ancillary equipment.

About Our Team:

The Surety Engineering group (2920) is a center of excellence for research and development (R&D) Technical Quality at Sandia National Laboratories. With multidisciplinary engineers at numerous sites, 2920 provides R&D hardware and software quality and systems engineering expertise throughout the entire product realization lifecycle, as well as trains fellow scientists and engineers in defect prevention strategies and graded approaches to product qualification. We deliver strong technical solutions that increase customer confidence against loss, damage, and errors by minimizing a product’s risk through the prevention, early detection, and mitigation of defects. Our engineers play an important role in R&D project teams responsible for realizing high-consequence products, providing customized engineering support that ensures the appropriate qualification and testing evidence meets design requirements in a predictable, timely, and consistent manner.

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

Position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q security clearance to start, or equivalent active security clearance with another U.S. government agency (e.g., DOD). Sandia is required by DOE directive 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 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.

EEO:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs:

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Job ID: 693801

Job Family: RD

Regular/Temporary Position: R

Full/Part-Time Status: F

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.