Lead Scientist

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; California (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is seeking the MEC Department Head for the LCLS to lead and shape high energy‑density science at MEC, integrating collaboration across SLAC, Stanford, and national laboratories. The role focuses on strategic development, staff mentorship, and advancing user science programs at the LCLS facility.

You will drive engagement with the research community and DOE, guiding the MEC Institute Lead and ensuring alignment with the broader Fusion Energy Roadmap and SLAC’s

Qualifications

• Experience leading large, interdisciplinary science programs.
• Proven ability to mentor and develop staff scientists and research staff.
• Strong collaboration with national laboratories, academia, and private sector.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the MEC Department vision and strategy for high energy‑density science.
• Provide leadership to department staff, postdocs, and students; foster career development.
• Engage with the user community and DOE to align MEC with the Fusion Energy Roadmap.
• Partner with instrument teams to ensure high‑impact user science programs at MEC.”],
• CoT_job_summary_short
• COMPANY NAME: SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryKEY POINTS: LCLS MEC Dept Head, leadership, strategic vision, stakeholder engagement
• job_summary_short
• <p>SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is seeking the MEC Department Head for the LCLS to lead and shape high energy‑density science at MEC, integrating collaboration across SLAC, Stanford, and national laboratories. The role focuses on strategic development, staff mentorship, and advancing user science programs at the LCLS facility.</p><p>You will drive engagement with the research community and DOE, guiding the MEC Institute Lead and ensuring alignment with the broader Fusion Energy Roadmap and SLAC’s mission.</p>
• contract_type
• fulltime
• location_type
• on site
• remote_scope
• null
• perks
• []
• stated_min
• null
• stated_max
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• salary_estimation_cot
• MEC Department Head in California: market range roughly $180k–$260k gross annually due to senior leadership duties and location.
• estimated_low
• 180000
• estimated_medium
• 210000
• estimated_high
• 260000
• currency
• USD
• frequency
• yearly
• bonus
• null
• tax
• gross
• application_email
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• job_end_date
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• contact_person
• null
• hiring_department_name
• MEC Department
• hiring_department_name
• MEC Department

Skills

Leadership

Staff management

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic planning

Job description

Job Description

Position overview

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is an internationally preeminent science facility, operated by Stanford University at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory on behalf of the Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science. This facility provides world‑leading scientific capabilities to a global user community, covering a very broad research portfolio that includes the investigation of advanced materials and chemical catalysts for clean energy systems, drug discovery for modern pharmaceuticals, and fundamental studies of extreme states of matter. This is a pivotal time for LCLS, and a rare opportunity to shape the scientific nature and direction of the facility. We have entered the LCLS-II era, a new accelerator complex that will increase the X‑ray repetition rate and average power of the facility by up to 4 orders of magnitude. A subsequent upgrade to enable the delivery of high energy X‑rays (LCLS-II-HE) is also underway, opening the study of rare, transient, and heterogeneous systems with atomic spatial resolution and femtosecond precision. The Science Research and Development (SRD) division at LCLS comprises six departments, each aligned to a major research area (Bioscience, Material Science, Chemical Science, Atomic, Molecular and Optical (AMO) Science, Laser Science, and Matter in Extreme Conditions), to enable an integrated approach to scientific exploitation of LCLS. This posting is for the MEC Department Head; the opening comes at an important time for the field. MEC combines the unique hard X‑ray capabilities of LCLS with high‑energy laser drivers to create and probe matter at extreme temperatures and pressures. This enables research across a broad scientific landscape including high energy‑density science, laboratory astrophysics, plasma physics, shock‑driven material science, and fundamental studies of warm dense matter. MEC is operated with funding from both the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), reflecting its position at the intersection of fundamental high energy‑density science and applied fusion energy research. The field of high energy‑density science is experiencing rapid growth, driven in particular by the national imperative toward inertial fusion energy (IFE). With fusion ignition demonstrated and significant momentum building across the public and private sectors, there is an urgent need for precision measurements of plasmas and material properties and components at fusion‑relevant conditions. LCLS, coupled with next‑generation high‑power laser drivers, offers a unique national platform for this science; it can provide high‑fidelity validation of target physics, laser‑matter coupling, and materials behavior that is not available elsewhere. The MEC Department Head will play a central role in defining SLAC's engagement with the IFE community and the broader DOE Fusion Energy Roadmap, while continuing to advance the full breadth of MEC's high energy‑density science mission. MEC is a vital element of SLAC's broader High Energy Density Science and Technology (HED S&T) initiative, and the Department Head will contribute to this laboratory‑wide effort by ensuring that MEC's scientific strategy and capabilities are aligned with its goals. The MEC Department Head will develop an LCLS vision and strategy for high energy‑density science at MEC, informed by deep engagement with the research community spanning national laboratories, academia, and the private fusion energy sector. This strategy will be executed through collaboration with the user community, coupled to new developments in LCLS‑II‑HE hardware, high‑power laser technologies, target delivery systems, advanced diagnostics, and data science methods. The MEC Department Head will lead a team of staff scientists within the department provide broader leadership to other staff, students, and postdocs across SLAC, Stanford, and the wider community whose research is aligned with LCLS, or where there is the potential for engagement in the future. A key priority is working closely with the MEC Instrument Lead to ensure a high‑impact general user science program at the MEC instrument. The role includes supporting the career development of members of the department, outreach to the scientific community, lowering the barrier to new users, and partnering with the operations division to facilitate successful experiments that ensure the most impactful use is made of the facility. The position reports to the SRD Division Director.

Note

This is a regular‑continuing position at the Lead Scientist level. Appointment at this level requires evaluation of the candidate's scientific achievements by a review committee.