Kinetic Technologies Group Leader - Active Security Clearance Required - Military Veterans
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Company Description
Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!
Are you interested in joining some of the brightest talent in the world to strengthen the United States' security? Come join Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where our employees apply their expertise to create solutions for BIG ideas that make our world a better place.
We are dedicated to fostering a culture that values individuals, talents, partnerships, ideas, experiences, and different perspectives, recognizing their importance to the continued success of the Laboratory's mission.
Pay Range
$182,310 - $277,344 Annually
$182,310 - $231,180 Annually for the SEL.3 level
$218,700 - $277,344 Annually for the SEL.4 level
This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting; pay will not be below any applicable local minimum wage. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.
Job Description
We have an opening for one Kinetic Technologies Group Leader with responsibilities for leading teams of engineers and supporting personnel working on conventional weapon and high-speed kinetics projects within the Weapon Technologies and Engineering (WTE), Weapons Physics Design (WPD) and Global Security programs. The Kinetic Technologies Groups design, certify, and transition to industry warheads and other hardware for advanced conventional weapon systems; develop and execute innovative high-speed experiments with advanced diagnostics to study high-speed kinetic effects; and research enabling materials and other advanced capabilities. As a line supervisor, your responsibilities will complement your assigned programmatic activities. You will work with program leadership to identify current engineering capability gaps within the Kinetic Technologies organization and develop a broad range of technical staff to meet these needs. This position is in the Defense Technologies Engineering Division (DTED), within the Engineering Directorate.
Depending on your assignment, this position may offer a hybrid schedule, blending in-person and virtual presence. You may have the flexibility to work from home one or more days per week.
This position will be filled at either level based on knowledge and related experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if hired at the higher level.
You will
- Provide leadership, supervision, and technical, strategic, and administrative direction, guidance, and support in accomplishing project/program goals and objectives to a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and engineers.
- Collaborate with Project Leaders to identify workforce needs, lead, carry out, and/or coordinate recruiting, hiring, training, career development, and performance and salary management activities as needed to meet programmatic staffing, employee development, and performance related needs, including providing career counseling, mentoring, and coaching, and monitoring employee performance goals and conducting annual employee performance reviews.
- Ensure team compliance with all safety and operational standards, while also making certain that safety related Laboratory and Directorate policies are understood, applied, and followed.
- Guide workload planning for multiple projects among group members, assigning work, remaining aware of complex technical goals, problems, and solutions, and tracking progress of project schedule and milestones to ensure desired results and deadlines are met.
- Exercise advanced level skills in the application and development of engineering best practices, and/or business principles, and theories, concepts, and techniques for the development of hardware subject to extreme environments with significant safety implications.
- Lead team in conducting thoughtful and comprehensive reviews of complex engineering designs, providing expert technical analysis and recommendations for design optimization, and applying advanced knowledge and using innovative methods/technology where applicable.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Additional job responsibilities, at the SEL.4 level
- Serve as subject matter expert in kinetic applications for the program at meetings, briefings, design reviews, and committee activities both internal and external to the Laboratory.
- Use creativity and innovation to lead the application and development of principles, theories, and concepts related to kinetic effects and conventional warheads.
- Pilot change by developing new projects or programs, modifying approaches, and/or redefining customer requirements to impact operations or directions.
- Act as primary technical contact and work across stakeholder groups to identify and implement process improvements to enable more effective and efficient reviews, and to make recommendations and provide strategic technical advice to management and external customers.
- Mentor staff across the organization, including other mentors.
Qualifications
- This position requires an active Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance or active Top Secret clearance issued by another U.S. government agency at the time of hire.
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, or related technical field, or equivalent combination of education and related experience.
- Advanced knowledge of, significant experience with, and detailed understanding of either conventional weapons and warheads and/or high-speed experimental techniques, in relevant regulatory requirements.
- Advanced level problem-solving skills, with the ability to develop and implement effective solutions for complex technical challenges.
- Significant leadership experience and demonstrated ability to successfully lead work in a technical or scientific environment with career staff from different disciplines.
- Advanced communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to lead cross-functional teams and collaborate with diverse stakeholders, as well as promote and maintain productive relationships across programs and directorates.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring timely and accurate completion of reviews and assessments.
Additional qualifications at the SEL.4 level
- Expert knowledge of, and extensive experience in utilizing, systems engineering principles and tools for program execution.
- Extensive experience in the leadership of personnel for technical projects, including project planning and execution, establishing staffing pipelines, and providing technical mentorship across a broad range of activities.
- Expert communication, facilitation, interpersonal, and collaboration skills necessary to effectively present, explain, influence, and advise senior management, external sponsors, and/or key stakeholders.
Qualifications We Desire
- Master's degree in Engineering or related field.
- Broad knowledge of Laboratory policies and practices.
- Knowledgeable in one or more of the following areas: conventional warheads, weapon delivery systems, high explosives, conventional weapons lethality, collateral damage, high speed experimental techniques, diagnostic techniques relevant to conventional weapons.
Additional Information
#LI-Hybrid
Position Information
This is a Career Indefinite position, open to Lab employees and external candidates.
Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?
- Included in 2025 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
- Flexible Benefits Package
- 401(k)
- Relocation Assistance
- Education Reimbursement Program
- Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
- Our core beliefs - visit https://www.llnl.gov/inclusion/our-values
Security Clearance
This position requires an active Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance or active Top Secret clearance issued by another U.S. government agency at time of hire.
Pre-Employment Drug Test
External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.
Wireless and Medical Devices
Per the Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory must meet certain restrictions with the use and/or possession of mobile devices in Limited Areas. Depending on your job duties, you may be required to work in a Limited Area where you are not permitted to have a personal and/or laboratory mobile device in your possession. This includes, but not limited to cell phones, tablets, fitness devices, wireless headphones, and other Bluetooth/wireless enabled devices.
If you use a medical device, which pairs with a mobile device, you must still follow the rules concerning the mobile device in individual sections within Limited Areas. Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities require separate approval. Hearing aids without wireless capabilities or wireless that has been disabled are allowed in Limited Areas, Secure Space and Transit/Buffer Space within buildings.
Pre-Placement Medical Exam
A job related pre-placement medical examination may be required.
How to identify fake job advertisements
Please be aware of recruitment scams where people or entities are misusing the name of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to post fake job advertisements. LLNL never extends an offer without a personal interview and will never charge a fee for joining our company. All current job openings are displayed on the Career Page under "Find Your Job" of our website. If you have encountered a job posting or have been approached with a job offer that you suspect may be fraudulent, we strongly recommend you do not respond.
To learn more about recruitment scams: https://www.llnl.gov/sites/www/files/2023-05/LLNL-Job-Fraud-Statement-Updated-4.26.23.pdf
Equal Employment Opportunity
We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.
Reasonable Accommodation
Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.
California Privacy Notice
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants privacy rights to all California residents. The law also entitles job applicants, employees, and non-employee workers to be notified of what personal information LLNL collects and for what purpose. The Employee Privacy Notice can be accessed here .
Livermore, CA

Science and technology on a mission
For more than 60 years, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place.
Livermore’s defining responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. Yet LLNL’s mission is broader than stockpile stewardship, as dangers ranging from nuclear proliferation and terrorism to energy shortages and climate change threaten national security and global stability. The Laboratory’s science and engineering are being applied to achieve breakthroughs for counterterrorism and nonproliferation, defense and intelligence, energy and environmental security.
Our MissionLawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a mission of strengthening the United States’ security through development and application of world-class science and technology to:
- Enhance the nation’s defense.
- Reduce the global threat from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
- And respond with vision, quality, integrity and technical excellence to scientific issues of national importance.
- Lead the nation in stockpile science, innovation and sustainment.
- Be the foremost national security laboratory, anticipating, innovating and delivering solutions for the nation’s most challenging security problems.
- Be the premier destination for our nation’s very best scientists and engineers.
- Ideas. Livermore is the “new ideas” laboratory, and we continue to aspire to intellectual leadership, originality, and audacity. We support an environment that encourages open exchange and critique. Ideas also improve operations and lead to new, better ways of doing business.
- Impact. Innovation happens when new ideas have impact—on our mission, on people’s lives. Ultimately, our success depends on applying frontier science and technology, through disciplined engineering, to deliver solutions for—have impact on—our mission.
- Integrity. We serve the public interest and act to sustain the public trust through transparency, honesty, and objectivity. We act ethically in our research activities, our business practices, and our interactions with each other. We are dedicated to collective success, and committed to safety and security as an integral part of the mission.
- Inclusiveness. The challenges of our mission demand that we draw on the widest possible diversity of talents, thought, and experiences. To capitalize on the range of individual and diverse talents needed for mission success, we form and work in teams, characterized by mutual respect and support.
- Zeal. It’s good to love what you do. We value enthusiasm for and commitment to the Lab’s mission. We have a “fire in the belly” to excel, lead, and change the world. And as an institution, the Lab will aspire to be a place where people can find fulfillment and love their work. Our Priorities
- Deliver on our stockpile stewardship mission.
- Enhance and expand our mission in the broad national security space.
- Sustain and ensure that we are at the cutting edge in the science, engineering and technology capabilities our sponsors need.
- Ensure excellence in execution: deliver results of the highest quality, on schedule and on budget.
- Ensure excellence in operations: safety, security, environment and state of the art business practices and processes.
- Improve our cost effectiveness.
- Provide a first-class workplace environment to our employees.
- Expand our contributions to the local and national economy through partnerships with academia and industry.