Early Career RD Mechanical Engineer - Design/Engineering - Onsite

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

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque seeks an early-career Mechanical Engineer to support the full lifecycle of safety mechanisms, including development, production, and assessment of lifetime performance. You will work on safety-critical components and software, with a focus on design concepts, testing, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Onsite work is required, and the role requires a bachelor’s degree and DOE Q clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance.
• Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering preferred.
• Experience with precision metal parts manufacturing and CAD tools.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.
• Active DOE Q security clearance is required.

Responsibilities

• Develop and down-select design concepts.
• Analyze designs for concept suitability and changes.
• Lead generation and revisions of design drawings using GD&T.
• Develop and refine designs through design-build-test cycles.
• Lead assembly of prototype hardware.
• Negotiate manufacturing requirements with production.
• Review inspection results for compliance.
• Dispose non-conformances based on analysis.
• Develop and execute test plans and specifications.
• Develop qualification plans to ensure quality across production.
• Generate and modify models to support production.
• Investigate anomalies via analysis and testing.
• Evaluate data from tests to ensure fielded performance.
• Present designs and results to peers and management.
• Document work in formal reports and memos.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

DOE Q clearance

Verbal & written communication

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline

Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CAD software (Pro/E/Creo/SolidWorks)

FEA software

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-wokers
• 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

Join our team as an early career Mechanical Engineer to play a vital role supporting the full lifecycle of safety mechanisms including development, production, and assessment of ongoing lifetime performance. These mechanisms play a critical role in assuring the safety and security of the nation's nuclear deterrent in a wide range of environments including severe accident scenarios. In this role, you will develop in-depth knowledge of the design and functionality of safety-critical components and/or software. You will work on mechanisms comprised of custom designed and built piece parts with complex mechanical interactions.

On any given day, you would be expected to:

• Develop and down-select design concepts
• Analyze designs to determine suitability of concepts and changes
• Lead generation and revisions of product design definition drawings using GD&T
• Develop and refine new designs through iterative design-build-test cycles
• Lead the assembly of prototype and developmental hardware
• Negotiate product manufacturing requirements with the production agency
• Review inspection results to verify product compliance with requirements
• Disposition product non-conformances based on design analysis and subject matter expert review
• Develop and execute test plans to validate designs
• Create test specifications and procedures for product acceptance and surveillance
• Develop and execute qualification plans to ensure product quality and compliance with requirements throughout production
• Generate and modify models to inform product design and support production
• Investigate anomalies and resolve through analysis and test-based methods
• Evaluate data from component and systems level tests to assess the ability of devices to continue to meet requirements in fielded systems
• Present designs, tests results, and findings to peers, customers, and management in formal and informal settings
• Document work in formal reports and memos
• Work and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams

Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories.

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

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

• Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience with mechanical engineering and product realization in the NNSA complex.
• 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 manufacturing processes associated with precision metal parts (ex. CNC machining, gaging, CMM based inspection)
• Basic proficiency with CAD Systems (e.g., Pro/E, Creo, or SolidWorks), as well as tolerance analysis methods
• Experience with mechanical analysis including the use of commercial FEA software for piece part and sub-assembly level analysis
• Familiarity with:
  • Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
  • Materials characterization techniques
  • Technical curiosity and an interest and aptitude for learning
• Active DOE Q security clearance

About Our Team

We are an engineering group responsible for safety and security mechanisms for Nuclear Deterrence applications. We have responsibility for conceptual design, full-scale engineering development, product characterization, product qualification, component production support, and ongoing surveillance. Mechanisms for which we have design responsibility include unique signal strong links, environmental sensing devices, and weapon release detection switches. We operate across multiple engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, computer, materials and systems engineering) with opportunities to develop cross-disciplinary knowledge. Our engineers use their extensive component and system knowledge, as well as experimental data and modeling, to ensure products reliably function as intended with assured safety.

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.

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.