Cleared R&D Computer Engineer - Counter-Autonomy, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 102,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Relocation assistance

Generous vacation

Medical benefits

401k

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque seeks a highly motivated computer engineer to tackle challenging problems in intrusion detection for national security. You will work in a multidisciplinary team to develop and integrate solutions for threat detection using ML, robotics, and sensor data.

On any given day you will formulate algorithms, write clean code, develop ML models, design robotic systems, and collaborate across projects to deliver results for government sponsors.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent combination of education and experience demonstrating independent research ability.
• Active DOE L or higher level clearance or equivalent.
• Ability to perform independent research and development.

Responsibilities

• Formulate algorithmic and machine learning approaches to data analysis and target localization.
• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code for security system implementations.
• Develop machine learning models and integrate them into autonomous platforms.
• Design and implement robotic systems for surveillance and tracking.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to meet project requirements.
• Analyze and visualize large datasets from intrusion sensors and related sources.

Skills

C++

Python

Go

JavaScript

TypeScript

Machine learning

Computer vision

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering or related field

Tools

OpenCV

CUDA

TensorRT

ONNX Runtime

PyTorch

NVIDIA DeepStream

Job description

Job ID: 698747

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Full/Part Time: Full-Time

Regular/Temporary: Regular

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 vacation, 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 highly motivated computer engineer to assist with a broad range of challenging technical problems associated with intrusion detection of physical threats to national assets from unauthorized people, vehicles, and autonomous platforms (drones or unmanned aerial vehicles). The successful candidate will work in an innovative, multi-disciplinary team environment to develop and integrate solutions for our national security.

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

• Formulate algorithmic and machine learning approaches to solve data analysis and target localization and classification tasks.


• Write clean, efficient, and well-documented code for physical security system implementations.


• Develop machine learning models and integrate them into autonomous platforms.


• Design and implement robotic systems for various applications such as surveillance and tracking.


• Assist other staff as a contributor on both customer and internally funded projects.


• Work in a sensor testing and data collection team, in both indoor and outdoor field settings.


• Analyze and visualize large datasets from intrusion sensors, UAS, and other sources.


• Develop and execute test plans, integrate hardware and software, conduct experiments, and analyze results to advise government sponsor decisions.


• Troubleshoot issues with existing code and collaborate with colleagues to resolve technical challenges.


• Write proposals for internally or externally funded R&D projects.


• Summarize and present results to other staff and sponsors and develop papers and briefings for publication.


• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify project requirements and develop solutions that meet those needs.


• Stay up-to-date with emerging trends and technologies in robotics, machine learning, and UAS technology.

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

Salary Range

$102,400 - $199,700

*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

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, 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.


• Active DOE L or higher level clearance or equivalent

Qualifications We Desire

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

• Graduate degree in Computer Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).


• Demonstrated ability to execute and deliver technical work products with application of appropriate rigor and pedigree documentation (design/code reviews, technical oversight/approvals, project team concurrence, artifact generation, etc.).


• Experience in computer systems design and software development for real-time and embedded processing systems, distributed processing systems, or real-time client server implementations.


• Familiarity with hardware/software requirements generation for verification, validation and qualifications


• Demonstrated interpersonal skills and ability to work in a multidisciplinary, multi-disciplinary team setting for a common purpose.

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

• Strong knowledge of computer vision, deep learning, and reinforcement machine learning techniques.


• Strong written communication skills (e.g., published research in technical journals)


• Desire to work on solutions to National Security problems, especially in counter-autonomy and physical security system applications.


• Experience with S3 buckets, OpenCV, and dynamic visualization of sensor data.


• Demonstrated ability to perform machine learning related activities such as pipeline development, model explainability, and uncertainty quantification.


• Strong teamwork and leadership skills.


• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed (less than 15% of the time).


• Experience with C++, Python, Go, JavaScript, TypeScript, or similar languages.


• Experience with GPU, embedded, or constrained-compute inference optimization.


• Familiarity with CUDA, TensorRT, ONNX Runtime, NVIDIA Triton, NVIDIA DeepStream, OpenCV, PyTorch, or comparable frameworks.


• Experience training, evaluating, or deploying computer-vision models.


• Understanding of multi-sensor fusion, track correlation, time alignment, coordinate transformation, confidence handling, and uncertainty management.


• Experience integrating third-party sensors, vendor hardware, or externally developed software components.

About Our Team

The Mission of department 6554 is to counter evolving autonomous threats to key national facilities and to improve the performance of physical security systems protecting those sites. We are part of a larger group focused on Autonomy and Unmanned Systems. We address real-world problems through research, development, testing, and evaluation of components and systems to advance the science of physical security. This enables customers to mitigate threats to these facilities by improving the ability to sense, assess, track, and respond to physical incursions. Our work addresses current physical security operational challenges and evolving threats such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). We specialize in the testing and evaluation of Counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems, which counter the danger posed by UAS, and we are a C-UAS test agent for DOE, NNSA, and DHS.

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

Position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) L security clearance to start, or equivalent active security clearance with another U.S. government agency (e.g., DOD).

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 maintain a DOE L-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.