Deputy Group Leader for Nuclear, Particle, and Astrophysics Group (T-2)

Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos (NM); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking a Deputy Group Leader for the Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology (NPAC) Group in the Theoretical Division. The role integrates technical leadership with funded research aligned to the group’s capabilities and direction.

The DGL will guide program execution and provide administrative support, contributing to the division leadership team and collaborating across LANL divisions.

Qualifications

• Expertise in theoretical nuclear physics, particle physics, astrophysics/cosmology, heliophysics/space physics, or plasma/fusion physics with peer-reviewed publications.
• Experience leading scientific or technical teams or projects, setting priorities and coordinating contributions.
• Record of recruiting, mentoring, and retaining students and postdocs, supporting their development.
• Experience managing financial and human resources, budgets, staffing and workloads.
• Ability to communicate complex scientific information to technical and nontechnical audiences; cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and management to the NPAC (T-2) group and partner with the Group Leader.
• Share 50% of duties in research and 50% in management, ensuring program execution and fiscal soundness.
• Contribute to division leadership and perform administrative tasks supporting the group.
• Collaborate with national and international NPAC efforts and with related LANL divisions.

Skills

Scientific Expertise

Technical Leadership

Recruitment & Mentoring

Resource Management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's Degree + 5 years experience

Job description

What You Will Do

The Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology (NPAC) (T-2) Group in Theoretical Division is seeking candidates for the Deputy Group Leader (DGL) position. The successful candidate will partner with the T-2 Group Leader (GL) in providing technical leadership and management to the group. The DGL will be a member of the Theoretical Division's leadership team and will report to the T-2 GL. This is a 50% management and 50% research position, and for the research portion, the successful candidate will conduct funded research aligned with the capabilities and direction of the group.

The DGL will assist and complement the GL in ensuring effective program execution and sound fiscal management across the group's portfolio. The DGL will also perform administrative tasks in support of the group and contribute to the Theoretical Division leadership team.

T-2 conducts basic and applied theoretical research in nuclear physics, heliophysics and space domain, astrophysics, and particle theory. We have efforts in nuclear structure, the dynamics of the quark-gluon plasma, the internal structure of hadrons and the physics of high-energy scattering, the equation of state for neutron stars, lattice quantum chromodynamics, dark matter searches, and searches for new physics beyond the Standard Model using low-energy nuclear experiments, inertial confinement fusion, nuclear data evaluation, nuclear reaction theory, space physics, and the plasma physics and planet formation. Further, we actively investigate the use of machine learning and quantum computing to accelerate these efforts. T-2 has a total budget of approximately $27M and includes roughly 20 Ph.D.-level staff scientists and about 15 postdoctoral researchers and students.

T-2 collaborates with experimental groups at LANL from the Physics Division and Materials Physics and Applications Division and maintains collaborations in XCP and XTD Divisions. The group keeps very strong ties with national and international efforts in experimental NPAC science. In basic science, these include medium-energy and heavy-ion research, neutrino physics (including accelerator experiments and neutrinoless double beta decay), and fundamental neutron physics pursued at LANL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In applied nuclear science, they include fission and other experiments at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center and experiments at the National Ignition Facility.

T-2's research portfolio is supported by the DOE Office of Science programs in Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, Fusion Energy Sciences, and Advanced Scientific Computing Research, as well as by NASA, NNSA Advanced Simulation and Computing, Physics and Engineering Models, the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, and the Department of War.

What You Need

Minimum Job Requirements

• Scientific Expertise: Expertise in theoretical nuclear physics, particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, heliophysics and space physics, or plasma and fusion physics, or other related subjects supported by peer-reviewed publications and scientific contributions in one or more of these areas.
• Technical Leadership: Experience leading scientific or technical teams or projects, including setting priorities, coordinating contributions, and achieving research or program objectives.
• Recruitment and Mentoring: A record of recruiting, mentoring, and retaining students and postdoctoral researchers, including supporting their research accomplishments and professional development.
• Resource and Personnel Management: Experience managing financial and human resources, including monitoring budgets, aligning staffing and workloads with program needs, and supporting employee development within a respectful and collaborative work environment.
• Communication and Collaboration: Experience communicating complex scientific and organizational information to technical and nontechnical audiences through written materials and oral presentations. Experience building productive working relationships with researchers, staff, and management across organizational boundaries.

Education/Experience: Position requires a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution and 5 years related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.

Desired Qualifications

• Ph.D. in Physics or closely related fields is strongly preferred
• Knowledge of DOE, DoW, and/or other internal and external programs.
• Success in proposing, developing, and sustaining research programs.
• Experience building collaborative relationships across group, division, laboratory, and national boundaries.
• Experience with administrative, personnel, budget, and/or programmatic business systems and procedures.

Work Location

The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.

Position commitment

Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 2 years.

Note to Applicants

• Please contact Duff Neill ([e-mail]), Amanda Neukirch ([e-mail]) or Melanie Vigil ([e-mail]) for more details about this position.

Where You Will Work

Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:

• PPO or High-Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
• Dental and vision insurance
• Free basic life and disability insurance
• Paid childbirth and parental leave
• Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
• Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
• Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
• Onsite gyms and wellness programs
• Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)

Additional Details

Directive 206.2

Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.

No Clearance

Position does not require a security clearance. Selected candidates will be subject to drug testing and other pre-employment background checks.

New-Employment Drug Test

The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.

Regular position

Term status Laboratory employees applying for regular-status positions are converted to regular status.

Internal Applicants

Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 for applicant eligibility requirements.

Equal Opportunity

Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to [e-mail] or call (505)-664-6947.