Low-Level Radio Frequency Engineering Technologist (Engineering Technologist 3 or 4)

Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos (NM); On-site; USD 106,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Los Alamos National Laboratory seeks an Engineering Technologist to support the LLRF team in RF control system development. You will design, test and troubleshoot high-frequency electronics and RF PCBs, using LabVIEW/MATLAB, collaborating across engineering groups onsite in Los Alamos, NM.

The role requires a Bachelor's in Engineering or related field and extensive experience with electronics, prototyping, and control systems.

Qualifications

• Design and development of printed circuit boards (PCBs).
• Extensive experience with electronics maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Experience with industrial controls installation, programming and troubleshooting.
• Experience applying the full design cycle from requirements to documentation.
• Extensive prototyping of electronics with minimal guidance.
• Strong ability to develop electrical/electronic schematics and system documentation.
• Technical contributions evidenced by reports, publications, patents or products.

Responsibilities

• Design, construct, test and install high-frequency electronics and software for RF controls.
• Develop, test and troubleshoot custom analog/digital RF PCBs and related electronics.
• Test code in LabVIEW or MATLAB for RF control systems.
• Collaborate with technologists, technicians and engineers across departments.
• Support LLRF team with RF systems development and project execution.

Skills

PCB design

Electronics maintenance

Industrial controls Installation

Design cycle

Prototyping electronics

Electrical schematics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related

Tools

LabVIEW

MATLAB

C/C++

Python

Job description

What You Will Do

This position will be filled at either the Job Title Lower/Higher level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level. The Accelerator Operations and Technology Division (AOT), Radio Frequency Engineering (RFE) group is seeking an Engineering Technologist 3 or 4 for the Low-Level Radio-Frequency (LLRF) team.

The AOT division maintains, operates, and upgrades all accelerator systems used at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) complex. These consist of two 750-keV Cockcroft-Walton-based injector systems (H+ and H- systems), a 201.25-MHz drift-tube linear accelerator (LINAC) utilizing high-power diacrode tubes, an 805-MHz coupled cavity LINAC utilizing high-power klystrons as the primary power source, a proton storage ring, and roughly a kilometer of beam transport lines that deliver beam to the five independent research programs. The RFE group is principally responsible for all radio frequency (RF) systems and their associated amplitude and phase control in relation to the accelerating beam.

Due to the different types of equipment that we are involved with, when working in AOT-RFE no day is the same as the next. Members of the LLRF team are involved in the design, construction, testing and installation of high-frequency electronics and software systems dedicated to the control of RF waveforms to achieve optimal acceleration and bunching of the beam. The LLRF team works on ultra stable frequency sources, solid-state and vacuum tube based amplifiers, temperature controlled coaxial lines spanning the length of the accelerator, electronics detecting the beam amplitude at the injector, resonance control systems compensating for cavity changes due to RF heating and fast electronics meant to prevent a cavity arc from damaging amplifiers producing megawatts of power.

Engineering Technologist 3 ($106,400 - $176,000). The Low-Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) team at LANSCE is looking for a candidate with a background in Electronic Systems or related field to join the RF Engineering group. This is a support role with dynamic responsibilities, guided by the priorities of the High-Power Radio Frequency (HPRF) plant and RF controls required for the LAMP. Duties include troubleshooting programmatic equipment and extending to engineering and supervisory aspects of project execution, such as performing initial calculations, developing specifications, submitting procurement orders, and coordinating testing, delivery and installation.

The successful candidate will be a member of the Low-Level RF Team and will support the development and implementation of digital control systems. This work includes the development, testing and troubleshooting of custom analog, digital and RF printed circuit boards (PCBs), as well as testing code in LabVIEW or MATLAB for these systems. Close collaboration and coordination with other technologists, technicians and engineers on the LLRF team along with cooperation across other accelerator systems groups (such as software, instrumentation and accelerator physics) is expected.

Engineering Technologist 4 ($117,200 - $195,400). In addition to what was outlined at the lower level, at this level the successful candidate will independently lead the execution of low-level RF systems projects as a part of LAMP. This includes providing technical expertise and guidance on RF controls as well as offering both technical and operational guidance to LLRF technicians and engineers during installation, integration and operation of RF control systems.

What You Need

Minimum Job Requirements

• Proven success in design and development of printed circuit boards.
• Extensive experience with complex electronics maintenance and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience with industrial controls installation, programming and troubleshooting.
• Demonstrated experience applying the full design cycle including requirements gathering, design, implementation, debugging, testing, and documentation.
• Extensive experience in prototyping electronics with minimal to no guidance.
• A strong record of development of electrical and/or electronic schematics, block diagrams and/or other system documentation.
• A record of technical contributions evidenced by reports, publications, patents, or developed products.

Additional Engineering Technologist 4 Job Requirements

• Demonstrated leadership experience managing technical team of four or more individuals for at least two years.
• Acted as a leader in organizational planning, goal setting, and strategic direction.
• Successfully defined deliverables and led projects supporting business unit initiatives.
• Actively contributed to organizational planning, goal setting, and strategic direction.

Education/Experience Engineering Technologist 3

Position requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology Science, Math or related degree from an accredited institution and 8 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.

Education/Experience Engineering Technologist 4

Position requires a Bachelor' Degree in Engineering, Engineering Technology Science, Math or related degree from an accredited institution and 12 years of directly related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.

Desired Qualifications

• RF Systems design experience.
• Analog circuit design experience.
• High speed digital design experience.
• Programming experience in Tcl/Tk, C, C++, Java, Python, LabVIEW and MATLAB
• Accelerator systems experience, in particular RF systems and RF control.
• High-speed data converter (both analog-digital and digital-analog) design experience.
• Experience with all aspects of project management.
• Knowledge of control & data acquisition theory and instrumentation hardware
• Signal processing system design using FPGAs.
• Ability to obtain a Q clearance, which normally requires U.S. citizenship.

Work Environment

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

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 Korea (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

The Accelerator Operations and Technology (AOT) Division provides leadership in accelerator science, engineering, and operations in support of National User Facilities and in solving national security challenges. A principal element of the division's portfolio is operation, maintenance, and improvement of the injector, beam transport, linear accelerators, proton storage ring, and targets of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE), a multipurpose National User Facility that provides intense neutron and proton pulsed beams to support multidisciplinary fundamental and applied research and medical radioisotope production.

Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of