Early Career, Computer Science - Software Simulation and Analysis, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; New Mexico; On-site; USD 102,400 - 199,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9/80 schedule

4/10 schedule

Telecommuting options

Relocation assistance

Generous vacation

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories is seeking early‑career software engineers to modernize legacy systems and build high‑fidelity simulations for national security applications. You’ll work across the full software stack, from legacy Fortran/C/C++ to Python and GPU‑accelerated libraries, collaborating with multi‑disciplinary teams.

The role emphasizes Agile development, modern tooling, and opportunities to lead funded projects, with onsite requirements and competitive benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent combination demonstrating independent R&D ability.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance.
• Graduate degree with independent research component preferred.
• Experience across full software lifecycle with modern practices (Agile, CI/CD, version control).
• Experience modernizing legacy code and scientific models to newer languages/platforms.

Responsibilities

• Develop high‑fidelity modeling, simulation, and ML surrogates using Agile practices.
• Refactor legacy code (Fortran, C, C++, MATLAB) to modern languages.
• Translate/modernize older models to Python/C++/GPU‑accelerated libraries.
• Collaborate with architects, developers, and customers to deliver extensible software.
• Contribute to missions spanning signal processing, analytics, cloud, ML, and big data.
• Provide model and system level expertise to users and partners.
• Lead funded efforts for current and emerging needs.
• Participate in leadership development and cross‑team initiatives.

Skills

Software development

Agile / Scrum / SAFe

Team collaboration

Communication

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

M.S. or Ph.D. in Computer Science or related field

Job description

Early Career, Computer Science - Software Simulation and Analysis, Onsite

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:

Are you excited about using state‑of‑the‑art technologies while also maintaining and modernizing legacy systems that are critical to national security? Join our dynamic Sandia team, where you’ll tackle a mix of innovative and longstanding challenges across the full software stack.

Typical responsibilities (you may work on any of these on a given day):

• Agile development of new software for high‑fidelity modeling, simulation, and machine learning surrogates; leverage networked compute servers or HPC resources as needed.
• Maintain, extend, and refactor legacy codebases (e.g., Fortran, C, legacy C++, MATLAB, or other older languages) to keep existing models operational and performant.
• Translate/modernize older models to newer languages or frameworks (e.g., moving Fortran physics models to Python/C++/GPU‑accelerated libraries).
• Collaborate with architects, developers, technical leads, customers, and end‑users to gather requirements, design solutions, and deliver extensible, well‑documented software.
• Contribute to missions that span signal & image processing, physics, analytics, cloud computing, machine learning, modeling & simulation, service‑oriented architectures, microservices, big‑data management, visualization, and pattern recognition.
• Provide model and system level expertise to users, programs, and partners, acting as a trusted technical resource.
• Develop proposals and lead funded efforts for both current challenges and emerging needs.
• Participate in leadership development activities (independent projects, mentorship, cross‑team initiatives).

Why Join Us?

Impactful work that directly supports national security.

Opportunities to lead and shape cutting‑edge R&D while preserving essential legacy capabilities.

A collaborative environment that values continuous learning, innovation, and career growth.

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:

• A 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.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance.

Qualifications We Desire:

• Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Computer Science or a highly related field, with an independent research component (thesis/dissertation).
• Proven software development expertise across the full lifecycle, including modern practices (Agile, CI/CD, version control).
• Experience modernizing legacy code and modernizing scientific models to newer languages or platforms.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills; ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
• Passion for continual learning and expanding technical skillsets.

Additional Experience We Are Looking For:

• Development Process – Full software lifecycle using Agile, Scrum, or Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe).
• Legacy Systems – Maintenance, debugging, and migration of code written in Fortran, legacy C/C++, MATLAB, or similar environments.
• Data Processing & Analytics – Design and implementation of critical data processing pipelines and analysis tools.
• Problem Solving – Strong analytical, creative, and troubleshooting abilities.
• Communication – Excellent presentation, documentation, and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Team Collaboration – Ability to operate both independently and within large, multidisciplinary teams.
• Prioritization – Proven track record of juggling competing priorities and delivering on schedule.
• Customer Focus – Proactive, can‑do attitude with a focus on responsive, high‑quality support.
• Mission Knowledge – Familiarity with the USNDS mission, including ground and flight systems (beneficial but not required).

About Our Team:

The Software Simulation and Analysis department performs research and development to advance flexible, extensible, and robust large‑scale software applications for remote sensing system‑level simulation as well as real‑time remote sensing ground station data processing that transform data to knowledge enabling our customers to take action with confidence.

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.

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.