Mid - Early Career R&D S&E, Mechanical Engineer - Project Lead, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; New Mexico; On-site; USD 102,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Teleport/Relocation assistance

Flexible work arrangements

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories seeks a highly skilled R&D Mechanical Engineer to join the Primary Standards Lab as a project lead, focusing on calibration and certification of measurement equipment for NNSA standards laboratories and Sandia line organizations. The role requires strong problem-solving skills and broad metrology experience.

On-site work is required, with involvement in developing procedures, reports, and certification documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline or equivalent experience demonstrating independent R&D capability.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE-Q clearance or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Support daily operations of the Vacuum Project within the Primary Standards Lab.
• Apply measurement science knowledge to related systems, equipment, methods, and procedures.
• Collaborate with PSL engineers/technologists to address measurement and quality issues.
• Support development of new measurement technologies and procedures.
• Provide oversight for operation and maintenance of precision calibration systems.
• Assemble/modify pressure manifolds and document compliance with Safety requirements.

Skills

Calibration

Metrology

Problem solving

Teamwork

Measurement uncertainty

Excel

Python

LabVIEW

C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in relevant discipline

Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering (desirable)

Tools

LabVIEW

Python

C++

Visual Basic

Maximo

Job description

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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-workers

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:

We are seeking a highly skilled R&D Mechanical Engineer to join our team. As a Mechanical Engineer and Project Lead at the Primary Standards Laboratory, you will play a crucial role in supporting Sandia in its global security missions. The PSL is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory providing metrology support to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). This individual will be responsible for the calibration and certification of measurement/test equipment for NNSA standards laboratories and Sandia line organizations. This position requires problem solving skills and a high technical capability related to calibration/measurement systems equipment, methods, and procedures. This position also involves generating certificates/reports, developing/maintaining procedures, and working with the project leader to make improvements. The Engineer will lead the calibration and certification of measuring and test equipment such as capacitance diaphragm gauges, thermocouple gauges, ion gauges and other measurement and test equipment for NNSA standards laboratories and Sandia line organizations. This position requires problem solving skills and a high technical aptitude related to metrology and calibration spanning a broad range of measurement areas, systems and equipment, methods, and procedures. Additionally, this candidate will be expected to develop and provide recommendations to resolve calibration issues and improve calibration quality and efficiency.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

Support the daily operations of the Vacuum Project within the Primary Standards Lab.

Apply knowledge, experience, and technical proficiency in measurement science with related systems, equipment, methods, and procedures.

Team with other PSL engineers/technologists to tackle measurement and quality issues.

Support research in metrology for development of new measurement technologies and procedures.

Research and support the development of new measurement technologies, techniques and procedures.

Provide oversight for the operation and maintenance of precision electro-mechanical calibration systems.

Operate, maintain, solve precision electro-mechanical calibration systems, process measurement data, perform error analysis, and generate certificates/reports.

Assemble/modify pressure manifolds and document compliance to SNL Pressure Safety requirements. - Conduct/support research and development of new measurement technologies.

Improve performance/quality metrics for measurement system capabilities and identify ways to optimize calibration workflows.

Travel on a limited basis to support NNSA technical surveillances and related activities.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant will be required 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 or equivalent

Qualifications We Desire:

The ideal R&D S&E, Mechanical Engineering 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:

Advanced degree in STEM field (Engineering, Physics, and/or Physical Sciences)

Experience/demonstrated ability to assemble, disassemble and trouble-shoot electro-mechanical or pressure/vacuum systems.

Experience working in a high-rigor, high-quality lab environment in accordance with all procedures, policies, and practices.

Experience developing and documenting effective processes and procedures.

Experience with high-precision scientific measurements including primary/secondary standards and calibration systems for vacuum.

Experience with collection, manipulation and/or troubleshooting of electronic signaling from test equipment such as multimeters, signal conditioners, oscilloscopes, power supplies, etc.

Experience with measurement uncertainty, propagation of errors, error budgets, and statistical analysis techniques using Microsoft Excel.

Excellent teaming, interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.

Familiarity with the ISO 17025 standard.

Experience working in positions with heavy emphasis on attention to detail.

Experience developing and validating calibration-related methods, processes, technical work documents and procedures.

Experience programming computer-controlled equipment using LabView or be familiar with other programming languages such as Python, C#, or C++.

Training and/or experience in statistics, error analysis and uncertainty calculations.

Experience using large, integrated software applications such as Maximo.

Experience and/or training in Lean Six Sigma, ISO 9001, AS9100.

Already possess a DOE -L or Q or DoD clearance.

Experience working within a rigorous quality system in lab environment.

Experience using LabView, Python, or Visual Basic

About Our Team:

Department 2944, Primary Physical Standards, provides calibration support to the Nuclear Security Enterprise, including support for SNL research and production organizations. Department 2944 includes multiple projects and consists of parameters such as pressure, vacuum, leaks, volume, radiation, optics, force, mass and dimensional measurement. Primary Physical Standards, maintains a wide variety of measurement expertise and consults on technical problems, calibrates reference standards, and assists in technical guidance of the DOE/NNSA Nuclear Weapons Complex contractor standards laboratories. The overall calibration program is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by the NIST National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP).

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.