First Line Manager (Manufacturing Manager 3)

Los Alamos National Security LLC; Los Alamos (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & vision insurance

Life & disability insurance

Maternity & parental leave

401(k) matching

Tuition assistance

PTO and flexible schedules

Onsite gyms & wellness programs

Job summary

Los Alamos National Laboratory seeks a First Line Manager for the Production Assurance Engineering Group (PA-1). This role leads a team of quality engineers in Nuclear Non-Weapons Production, driving recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and retention to build a high-performing organization.

You will interact with customers across disciplines, set budgets, schedules, and performance standards, and ensure data packages meet requirements.

Qualifications

• Leadership/management skills demonstrated; supervising, mentoring, and developing staff.
• Experience developing work scopes, schedules, budgets, and coordinating activities.
• Project management skills supporting multiple projects and strategic planning; QA compliance experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead, grow, and develop a team of quality engineers in Nuclear Non-Weapons Production.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, mentor, and retain talent; build a high-performing organization.
• Define capabilities, negotiate scope, cost, and scheduling with customers and management.
• Champion quality systems thinking and continuous process improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Quality engineering

Budgeting

Scheduling

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in a related field

Tools

Nuclear facility operations

Job description

What You Will Do

This position is open for both internal and external candidates to apply.

The Production Assurance Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory works to ensure that all ALDWP weapons, weapons-related, and non-weapon products meet or exceed defined quality expectations while continuously improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Weapons Quality Management System. The successful applicant will join the Production Assurance Engineering Group (PA-1), a dedicated staff providing independent verification of customer requirements through production assurance and product quality engineering. The group includes three teams of quality engineers supporting Pit Production, Detonator Production, and Nuclear Non-Weapons Production. These teams work closely with product engineers to ensure product data packages are complete, compliant, and ready for seamless product acceptance.

The selected candidate will report directly to the PA-1 Group Leader and serve as the First Line Manager (FLM), with primary responsibility for leading, growing, and developing the team of quality engineers supporting Nuclear Non-Weapons Production. A key responsibility of this role is building and sustaining a high-performing organization by recruiting, hiring, onboarding, mentoring, and retaining talented quality engineers.

You will represent the business unit on technical and administrative issues, both internal and external to the Laboratory, and define business unit capabilities and requirements that translate into work scope, cost, and scheduling. You will interact regularly with customers from multiple disciplines (both direct and indirect) and collaborate and negotiate with customers and management regarding matters of significance to the organization. Additionally, you will ensure that budgets, schedules, and performance standards are realistically established and achieved. The FLM must be a champion for quality systems thinking, employee development, and continuous process improvement.

What You Need

Minimum Requirements

• Leadership/management skills: Demonstrated record of successful technical leadership and proven ability in supervising, directing assignments, assuring training and development, resolving conflicts, mentoring, team building, managing staff requirements, motivating employees, and monitoring performance.
• Knowledge and Expertise: Demonstrated experience in developing work scope, schedules, budgets, and coordinating work activities. Experience planning for and managing tactical execution of work; tracking and reporting progress. Experience performing work in a manufacturing environment and executing work in compliance with facility requirements, conduct of operations, conduct of engineering and conduct of maintenance standards.
• Project Management skills: Demonstrated skills supporting simultaneous projects, executing organizational strategies, participating in strategic and operational planning and program implementation. Experience operating in facilities compliant with government agencies' ordinances and regulations regarding QA compliance programs.
• Communication Skills: Record of effective written and oral communication skills as evidenced by internal and/or external interactions, presentations, and publications. Proven experience working constructively and effectively with personnel from different organizations at all levels.

Education

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

Qualifications:

DOE Order 426.2 requires a Bachelor's degree and 4 years of nuclear facility experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Quality Standards: Working knowledge of quality assurance standards. Standards may include or be similar to NAP 401.1 (formerly NAP-24), NQA-1, ISO 17025 or DOE 414.1D.
• Facility Experience: Experience with high explosives, nuclear and/or high hazard facility operating requirements, and experience operating on safety authorization basis and/or Conduct of Operations planning and execution.
• Clearance: Active DOE Q Clearance
• Management Experience: A minimum of 2 years related management experience.
• Collaboration: Experience working as a member of a multidisciplinary team including technicians, engineers, administrative staff, etc.

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 1 year.

Note to Applicants

This position requires enrollment in the Human Reliability Program which is a security and safety reliability program to ensure that individuals who have access to certain materials, nuclear explosive devices, facilities and programs meet the highest standards of reliability and physical and mental suitability. It includes a thorough screening process covering credit checks, background screening, initial and random drug/alcohol screens, medical, and psychological evaluations

Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China - including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau - as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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 maternity and parental leave
• Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
• Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
• Flexible schedules and time off (PTO)
• 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.

Clearance

Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance. and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad.

*Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE Order 472.2 for additional information.

HRP

This position is subject to the requirements of the DOE Human Reliability Program as specified in 10 Code of Federal Regulation