Senior/Principal R&D Electrical Engineer - Lightning and Electromagnetics, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 118,000 - 236,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Relocation assistance

Generous vacation

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM is seeking an R&D S&E Electrical Engineer specializing in pulsed power, electromagnetics, and lightning. You will lead testing, design capabilities, assess threats, and report results to sponsors and leadership.

You will collaborate with sponsors and cross‑disciplinary staff, drive research projects from concept to deployment, and maintain experimental capabilities for critical questions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with five years of directly relevant experience or equivalent.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead research and design in electromagnetics, direct‑strike and nearby lightning, and pulsed power.
• Define and oversee critical testing.
• Build relationships with sponsors and the technical community.
• Provide technical guidance on threats to systems in extreme environments.

Skills

Pulsed power

Electromagnetics

Lightning engineering

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Graduate degree in Electrical Engineering or Physics

PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field

Job description

Job ID: 699381

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Full/Part Time: Full-Time

Regular/Temporary: Regular

About Sandia

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

Join a dynamic team that helps tackle some of the most challenging issues facing our nation's security!
We are seeking an individual with technical expertise in pulsed power based experimental lightning and electromagnetics. This position will include elements of technical projects and scientific research and include assisting in resolution of problems, designing new capabilities, assessing current and future threats, presentation of results, and preparation of reports.
In this role you will be part of a team that supports the Department Manager in strategic and scientific advisory roles for assessment of equipment and circuit risks to lightning and electromagnetic environments, followed by devising and implementing mitigation technologies. This includes the creation and execution of research projects as well as maintaining and creating experimental capabilities needed to answer critical questions. You will collaborate with sponsors plus the lightning and with staff and technologists with backgrounds in experimental, theoretical, modeling, and simulation work.

On any given day, you will be called to:

• Lead research and design in electromagnetics, in direct strike and nearby lightning, and in pulsed power
• Define and oversee critical testing
• Build relationship with sponsors and the technical community, and
• Provide technical guidance regarding threats to systems in extreme environment

Join our team and achieve your goals while making a difference!

Due to the nature of the work, the selected candidate must be able to work onsite.

Salary Range

$117,500 - $235,700

*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 and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, 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

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Electrical Engineer candidate will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Ability to work independently and collaborate well in a multidisciplinary team of designers and test engineers.
• Outstanding verbal and written skills, including the ability to develop and present briefings that are clear and compelling.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or in a related field
• Experimental pulsed power education and experience
• Experience in research and publishing
• Demonstrated experimental experience
• Experience in design, maintenance, and operation of experimental capabilities
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-461 standards
• Experience leading and completing programs and projects
• Ability to interact effectively with all levels of internal and external sponsors
• Ability to organize, prioritize, and follow through to completion on multiple simultaneous tasks

About Our Team

Department 1331 is a multidisciplinary research and development group supporting National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Special Partnership Project (SPP) Programs. Our capabilities include experimental electromagnetics, the design and manufacturing of advanced power electronic, high voltage sciences, and the development and analysis of advanced materials and components. Team 1331-1 includes unique qualification and testing capabilities in ESD and triboelectric experimentation and in lightning and EMP including three large, pulsed power facilities: the Sandia Lightning Simulator, the Electromagnetic Environments Simulator and the Nearby Lightning facility. Department 1331 employs a comprehensive research and qualification approach that includes analysis, simulation, and hardware verification. Our customers include the DOE, NNSA, DHS and industry in applications of experimental electrical sciences for nuclear deterrence, homeland defense, and commercial applications. Our team has been extremely successful with attracting and conducting advanced research. 1331 is part of the Radiation, Electrical and High Energy Sciences (REHEDS) Research Foundation at Sandia.

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 indications 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.