Senior/Principal Systems Engineer, Defect Prevention/Reliability, Hybrid

Sandia National Laboratories; New Mexico; Hybrid; USD 118,000 - 236,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Affordable housing

Minimal traffic congestion

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories is seeking an experienced R&D Systems Engineer to support high-reliability microelectronic programs, including ASICs, HBTs, and Electrical Environmental Sensing Devices.

Responsibilities include providing engineering and defect prevention across wafer fabrication, packaging, and tests, guiding product realization from design through retirement, and leading root-cause analysis to drive improvements. DOE Q clearance is required.

Qualifications

• 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 US DOE Q-level security clearance.
• Graduate degree in Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience working with Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) laboratories and plants including Pantex, KCNSC, LLNL, LANL, and KCNSC/NMO.
• Experience working on engineering design, qualification, production, or related modeling/simulation projects.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated experience with weapon product realization in the NSE, including familiarity with NAP 401.1A, DPBPS, RPSS, and ISO 9001.
• Proven ability to provide critical R&D contributions throughout the entire product realization lifecycle, ensuring early and continuous application of quality principles.
• Experience developing and implementing quality and production policies, processes, and procedures.
• Engineering experience in microelectronics design, qualification, and manufacturing.
• Engineering experience in tester development, qualification, and/or operation within a production environment.
• Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification with demonstrated regular implementation of key principles and improvement initiatives.
• Excellent writing, presentation, facilitation, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to product realization teams and manufacturing process areas such as wafer fabrication, packaging, electrical test, burn-in, and product delivery for high-reliability microelectronic products.
• Engage in projects spanning all phases of the product realization lifecycle from conceptual design and development through production, maintenance, and retirement.
• Lead anomaly resolution and structured problem-solving teams through root cause analysis, identifying potential solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness.
• Implement process improvements to reduce defects while maintaining or enhancing performance parameters.
• Apply risk-based, graded approaches to determine the appropriate rigor of quality practices for each situation.
• Champion quality and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Participate in audits and assessments (e.g., ISO 9001, NNSA Quality Assurance Surveys, DMEA, RPSS).
• Occasional travel as required.

Skills

Systems engineering

Root cause analysis

Quality assurance

Risk management

Technical documentation

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Graduate degree in Engineering

Tools

ISO 9001

NAP 401.1A

DPBPS

RPSS

NNSA QA surveys

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 an experienced R&D Systems Engineer to join our organization. In this role, you will provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to MESA's high-reliability microelectronics programs, including Application Specific Integrated Circuits, Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors, and Electrical Environmental Sensing Devices.

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

Provide engineering and defect prevention expertise to product realization teams and manufacturing process areas such as wafer fabrication, packaging, electrical test, burn-in, and product delivery for high-reliability microelectronic products.

Engage in projects spanning all phases of the product realization lifecycle from conceptual design and development through production, maintenance, and retirement.

Lead anomaly resolution and structured problem-solving teams through root cause analysis, identifying potential solutions, and evaluating their effectiveness.

Implement process improvements to reduce defects while maintaining or enhancing performance parameters.

Apply risk-based, graded approaches to determine the appropriate rigor of quality practices for each situation.

Champion quality and continuous improvement initiatives.

Participate in audits and assessments (e.g., ISO 9001, NNSA Quality Assurance Surveys, DMEA, RPSS).

Occasional travel as required.

*The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite work. The selected applicant must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the assigned work location when necessary.

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 US DOE Q-level security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire:

The ideal R&D S&E Systems Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

Graduate degree in Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).

Experience working with Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) laboratories and plants including Pantex, Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Kansas City National Security Campus/New Mexico Operations (KCNSC/NMO).

Experience working on engineering design, qualification, production, or related modeling/simulation projects.

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:

Demonstrated experience with weapon product realization in the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE), including familiarity with relevant quality and product realization requirements such as NAP 401.1A, DPBPS, RPSS, and ISO 9001.

Proven ability to provide critical R&D contributions throughout the entire product realization lifecycle, ensuring early and continuous application of quality principles. This includes requirements engineering and traceability, validation and verification, qualification, production process development, risk analysis, technical documentation, and product acceptance.

Experience developing and implementing quality and production policies, processes, and procedures.

Engineering experience in microelectronics design, qualification, and manufacturing.

Engineering experience in tester development, qualification, and/or operation within a production environment.

Blue Dragon certified causal analyst with demonstrated regular application of its concepts and improvement efforts.

Lean Six Sigma Green or Black Belt certification with demonstrated regular implementation of key principles and improvement initiatives.

Critical thinking skills to identify, assess, and mitigate risks through practical defect prevention, ensuring safe, reliable, and robust products.

Excellent writing, presentation, facilitation, and organizational skills, with the ability to tailor messaging appropriately for different audiences and situations.

Ability to lead through influence and build trust-based relationships.

Self-motivated, positive individual comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

Commitment to modeling behaviors that reflect Sandia's core values.

Active US DOE Q-level security clearance or equivalent.

About Our Team:

The Defect Prevention and Reliability department is dedicated to ensuring the quality and reliability of MESA's high-reliability microelectronics products. We apply quality principles and risk management to proactively identify and mitigate defects throughout the entire product realization lifecycle from design and manufacturing to delivery. By leading defect prevention, reliability, and continuous improvement efforts, we enable the successful delivery of robust, mission-critical microelectronics for the nation.

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.

• Affordable housing, reasonable cost of living
• Minimal traffic congestion compared to larger cities