R&D Engineer 3/4: Weapons Surveillance Engineer - Military Veterans

Job Title R&D Engineer 3/4: Weapons Surveillance Engineer
Location Los Alamos, NM, US
Organization Name Weapon Systems Engineering (W-9)
Minimum Salary
Maximum Salary

What You Will Do

This position will be filled at either the R&D Engineer 3/4 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.




R&D Engineer 3 ($122,300-$206,300)

R&D Engineer 4 ($146,800-$245,700)

The Weapon Systems Engineering (W-9) Division provides systems engineering and program management to ensure the safety, reliability, and security of our nation's nuclear stockpile for the entire life cycle. (W) Division is responsible for leadership of activities in stockpile surveillance, assessment, certification, and life extension projects.

The Weapon Systems Engineering Division, Systems Surveillance Group (W-9) is the Design Agency (DA) representative to the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). W-9 is responsible for establishing surveillance requirements and oversight of activities associated with surveillance of LANL-designed systems at the Production Agencies (PA)s within the NSE.

The successful applicant will work in the Weapon Systems Surveillance group (W-9) as a Weapon System Surveillance Engineer for the W93. This position includes a fairly high degree of autonomy and periodic travel. The focus of this activity will be associated with planning and execution of surveillance activities associated with stockpile return weapon components and materials. This includes disassembly operations at the Pantex Plant followed by testing and analysis of components removed during disassembly and shipped to various PAs. The position also includes compiling surveillance data, communicating results to engineering and physics design stakeholders, and annually summarizing surveillance results during Annual Assessment.

As a Weapon System Surveillance Engineer in W-9, the successful candidate will be responsible for the following

• Ensure planning and communication to carry out surveillance testing at the Production Agencies across the Nuclear Security Enterprise, including writing and releasing documents in the EA system providing Design Agency (DA) sample selections, test requirements, and instructions to the PAs


• Lead or support qualification of new and existing surveillance tests and ensure that qualifications are maintained in accordance with Defense Programs Business Process System (DPBPS) requirements.


• Ensure all data streams are annually evaluated and trended to support aging models and/or provide an understanding of the time-dependent state of health the W93.


• Report surveillance results as input to the W93 Annual Assessment Report and end-of-year surveillance briefing.


• Lead or support investigations resulting from anomalous observations reported in surveillance.


• Seek input directed at addressing potential knowledge gaps on the state of health and aging of components, and compile opinions to evaluate and prioritize new evaluation tools that could help address such concerns.


• Communicate and work interdependently with component surveillance engineers, weapon system engineers, primary physicists, and W-Division management.


• Participate in the various Component Evaluation Program Planning Committee (CEPPC) meetings and advocate for recommendations made by the committees.


• Maintain requirements and make adjustments to the Surveillance program to ensure a healthy and comprehensive surveillance program.

What You Need

Minimum Job Requirements:

Minimum requirements for R&D Engineer 3

• Demonstrated working knowledge of nuclear weapon design, development, production, or stockpile requirements.


• Thorough knowledge of fundamental engineering and material science principles and practices.


• Demonstrated ability to maintain a high level of accuracy and completeness for status reporting.


• Demonstrated ability to organize and track evaluations and completed work.


• Good written and oral communications skills.


• Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal supervision.


• An understanding of Environmental Safety and Health, and security requirements.


• Ability to obtain or currently hold a DOE Q clearance.

Additional Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 4:

• Recognized and demonstrated ability to lead projects involving multiple team members across laboratory organizations.


• Detailed knowledge of weapon design, production or surveillance.


• Demonstrated previous involvement in the development and implementation of new technologies or process improvements.

Education/Experience for R&D Engineer 3:

Position requires a master's degree in engineering from an accredited institution and 6 years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation. At this level a Ph.D. may be preferred.

A minimum B.S. in engineering from an ABET-accredited college or university with a minimum 2 years of relevant experience.

Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 4:

Position requires a master's degree in engineering from an accredited institution and 12 years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation. At this level a Ph.D. may be preferred. A minimum B.S in engineering or science from an ABET-accredited college or university (advanced degree preferred) and a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience.

Desired Qualifications:

• General knowledge of the engineering authorization system and document management systems.

• Working experience at one or more of the NNSA design labs or production plants.

• Working experience with classified computing systems and classified documents.

Note to Applicants:

Please submit a detailed cover letter with your resume addressing all required and desired skills. (Please save cover letter with job number and name).

This position will be physically located at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, NM but occasional travel will be required.

Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:

§ PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network

§ Dental and vision insurance

§ Free basic life and disability insurance

§ Paidchildbirth and parental leave

§ Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)

§ Learning opportunities and tuition assistance

§ Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)

§ Onsite gyms and wellness programs

§ Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)

Additional Details

Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.

Clearance: Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance. and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad.

*Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE Order 472.2 for additional information.

New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.

Regular position: Term status Laboratory employees applying for regular-status positions are converted to regular status.

Term position: Regular-status Laboratory employees applying for term-status positions may retain regular status with approval of the cognizant Principle Associate Director.

Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call 1-505-664-6947 option 2 and then option 3.

Employment Status Full Time
Appointment Type Regular
Regular