ESN Associate Program Leader (APL) - Platform and Infrastructure - ACTIVE SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Livermore (CA); Hybrid; USD 227,000 - 288,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible schedules

Job summary

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is seeking an ESN Associate Program Leader to guidePlatform and Infrastructure modernization within the Enterprise Infrastructure Services division. Hybrid work option offered with some in‑person and remote work.

The role requires an active DOE Q clearance or Top Secret, a strong track record in enterprise IT leadership, and experience in cloud, VDI, and large-scale network designs.

Qualifications

• DOE Q-level clearance or active Top Secret clearance at hire.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or related field or equivalent experience.
• Experience leading large, diverse technical organizations delivering enterprise IT infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Lead ESN modernization strategy and cloud/server/network initiatives.
• Oversee ESN Platform and Infrastructure portfolio and stakeholder engagement.
• Direct infrastructure operations with focus on uptime and efficiency.
• Drive transformation and modernization, align resources, define priorities.
• Shape ESN infrastructure evolution with executive collaboration.
• Plan budgets, workforce development, and supply chain for infrastructure.
• Manage vendor relationships, SLAs, and contract negotiations.

Skills

DOE clearance

Enterprise IT leadership

VDI architectures

Hybrid cloud

Vendor management

Budget planning

Strategic roadmaps

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/CE or related field

Tools

Microsoft Azure

AWS

VMware vSAN

Nutanix

Job description

ESN Associate Program Leader (APL) - Platform and Infrastructure - ACTIVE SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED

Mid-Senior Level | Full-time
Information Technology/Computing | Livermore, CA | 09/16/2026
Reference #: REF8852D
Job Code: SEL.4 Science & Engineering TSL 4
Organization: Computing
Position Type: Career Indefinite
Security Clearance: Active DOE Q clearance (or active Top Secret clearance)
Drug Test: Required for external applicant(s) selected for this position (includes testing for use of marijuana)
Medical Exam: Not applicable

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has turned bold ideas into world-changing impact advancing science and technology to strengthen U.S. security and promote global stability.

Our mission spans four critical national security areas nuclear deterrence, threat preparedness, energy security, and multi-domain defense empowering teams to take on the toughest challenges of today and tomorrow. With a culture built on innovation and operational excellence, LLNL is a place where your expertise can make a real impact.

Job Description

We have an opening for an Enterprise Secure Network (ESN) Associate Program Leader (APL) - Platform and Infrastructure. You will provide strategic and operational leadership to advance ESN and ESN Hub modernization for the infrastructure organization that enables reliable, secure, scalable, and modern enterprise services across ESN. The Associate Program Leader will lead a broad portfolio of technical workstreams and serve as a trusted partner in shaping the future of the ESN infrastructure. This position is in the Enterprise Infrastructure Services (EIS) Division, within the Computing Directorate, in support of ESN.

Hybrid schedule, blending in-person and virtual presence. You will have the flexibility to work from home up to one day per week.

You will

• Lead strategic direction for ESN modernization by partnering with ESN leadership and architecture teams to define and champion long-term cloud, server, and network strategies that enable program growth and mission success.
• Provide leadership oversight of the ESN Platform and Infrastructure portfolio by building strategic relationships with program and enterprise leadership as well as NNSA stakeholders to drive interoperability across ESN and adjacent programs.
• Direct infrastructure operations through delegation and team empowerment, ensuring maximum uptime and efficiency while developing leadership capabilities across program and technical teams.
• Drive organizational transformation for infrastructure modernization and operational excellence by establishing strategic priorities, aligning cross-functional resources, optimizing team structures, and ensuring accountability for execution across multiple technical teams.
• Serve as the strategic visionary for ESN infrastructure evolution, collaborating with executive leadership and stakeholders to shape the delivery of resilient, secure, and efficient services.
• Oversee strategic planning for budgets, workforce development, and supply chain strategies that support infrastructure operations and lifecycle management.
• Lead vendor and stakeholder relationships by leveraging procurement expertise to guide contract negotiations, establish performance frameworks including SLAs, and ensure effective service provider management.
• Champion governance frameworks and ensure organizational alignment with IT policies and cybersecurity protocols.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• This position requires an active Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance or active Top-Secret clearance issued by another U.S. government agency at the time of hire.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, or a related field, or equivalent combination of technical training and experience.
• Expert experience leading large, diverse technical organizations in the delivery of mission critical enterprise IT infrastructure with minimal direction in a complex enterprise environment.
• Expert experience mentoring technical teams on modern VDI architectures, such as Citrix, VMware Horizon, or AVD, hybrid cloud integration patterns, and enterprise-scale network designs that support large user environments, including SD-WAN, QoS policies, protocol optimization, and multi-datacenter load balancing.
• Subject-matter expertise in enterprise IT vendor management and strategic vendor partnerships, including Microsoft EA/AWS EDP negotiations, licensing optimization across subscription, consumption-based, and perpetual models, RFP/RFQ processes for infrastructure and software platforms, SLA-driven contract negotiations, FinOps and cloud cost governance, and evaluation of emerging technology providers such as Microsoft, AWS, VMware, Cisco, and Oracle.
• Expert strategic leadership experiencetranslating vision into enterprise modernization programs, including cloud migrations, datacenter consolidation, application rationalization, mission-critical infrastructure upgrades, DevSecOps transformation, and BCDR architecture for tier-1 applications.
• Expert experience building technology roadmaps, securing executive sponsorship, and delivering large-scale initiatives with measurable business or mission impact while maintaining operational continuity is preferred.
• Expert communication and collaborative leadership, building trust across infrastructure, application, security, and operations teams while engaging executive stakeholders and C-suite executives (CIO, CISO, CFO) through transparent communication and technical credibility.
• Expert experience leading enterprise infrastructure transformation, including data center modernization, such as hyperconverged infrastructure, VMware vSAN, and Nutanix, network evolution, hybrid cloud architecture using technologies such as VMware Cloud Foundation, Azure Stack HCI, and AWS Outposts, and storage upgrades including flash arrays and NVMe.

Qualifications We Desire

• Experienced infrastructure leader with deep technical credibility, strong people leadership, and a clear vision for evolving ESN to meet future mission requirements.
• Effective in both day-to-day operational leadership and long-term strategy for platform and
• infrastructure services.

Pay Range:

$227,430 - $288,396 Annually

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting; pay will not be below any applicable local minimum wage. An employee’s position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Additional Information

#LI-Hybrid

Position Information

This is a Career Indefinite position, open to Lab employees and external candidates.

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?

• Included in 2026Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
• Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)

This position requires an active Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance or active Top Secret clearance issued by another U.S. government agency at time of hire.

Pre-Employment Drug Test

External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.

Wireless and Medical Devices

Per the Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory must meet certain restrictions with the useand/or possession ofmobile devices in Limited Areas. Depending on your job duties, you may be required to work in a Limited Area whereyou are not permitted to have a personal and/or laboratory mobile devicein your possession. This includes, but not limited to cell phones, tablets, fitness devices, wireless headphones, and other Bluetooth/wireless enabled devices.

Ifyou useamedical device, whichpairs with a mobile device,you must still follow the rules concerningthe mobile device in individual sections within Limited Areas. Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities requireseparate approval. Hearing aids without wireless capabilities or wireless that has been disabled are allowed in Limited Areas, Secure Space and Transit/Buffer Space within buildings.

We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Reasonable Accommodation

Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.

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