Communications Specialist

LLNL•Livermore, CA

14d•$140,712 - $144,900•Hybrid

About The Position

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is hiring a Communications Specialist to support the Office of the Deputy Director for Science and Technology (DDST). As part of the DDST communications team, this role supports initiatives and projects and develops integrated communication strategies and deliverables aligned with institutional priorities. The specialist leads communications for the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program and Academic Engagement Office (AEO), communicating the research, scientific talent, emerging science and technology investments, and academic partnerships connected to LLNL’s national security mission. The position is in the Technical Information Department and matrixed to DDST within the Director’s Office. The specialist works with colleagues across DDST, the Director’s Office, and LLNL, including management, program leaders, scientists, and administrative staff, to communicate program strategies and complex scientific and technical information to varied audiences. A hybrid schedule may be available after a probationary period, with details dependent on team and organizational needs.

Requirements

Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. Department of Energy Q-level security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required.
Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, or journalism, or an equivalent combination of education and experience in scientific or technical communication.
Experience as a scientific and/or technical editor or writer.
Advanced written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated success partnering across organizational levels to deliver polished, high-impact content advancing institutional priorities.
Extensive experience writing and editing across multiple scientific and technical areas, applying advanced technical communication principles, professional writing standards, and style conventions.
Ability to incorporate editorial feedback and refine work through iterative review, including editing others’ work and having one’s own work critically reviewed and revised.
Ability to handle unclassified, sensitive, and confidential issues with tact, diplomacy, and discretion.
Self-starter with the ability to multitask, meet deadlines, respond to tight schedules in a changing environment, and attend to high-consequence details; effective interpersonal skills and ability to work independently with minimal direction within a team.
Experience with Microsoft Office 365, including Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel; Adobe InDesign; and familiarity with design and content management systems.
Formal project-management experience leading complex production and technical writing and editing assignments, and in-depth knowledge of multiple digital and paper-driven production processes.
Experience evaluating and implementing tools, technologies, and processes, tracking performance metrics, and leveraging AI for ideation and workflow optimization.

Responsibilities

Develop original content and coordinate communication products, including news articles, presentations, administrative memos, reports, external reviews, social media, stakeholder briefings, and multimedia content.
Provide comprehensive editing for large or complex deliverables, including editorial development and review of logic, argument gaps, coherence, terminology, and compliance with information security requirements.
Partner with DDST team members to define communications strategies, messaging, audiences, and deliverables for specialized projects.
Support short- and long-term communications planning by developing assets, managing complex schedules, tracking resources, and coordinating large-scale production across teams and with editors, designers, photographers, and web strategists.
Assess incremental input and manuscript iterations, and develop communication styles for complex technical and potentially sensitive material.
Collaborate with administrative, management, scientific, and technical staff to define objectives and editorial requirements for complex projects.
Schedule and lead planning and status meetings to maintain communication and keep projects on track.
Contribute to evaluation and implementation of tools, technologies, and processes; help develop and track metrics and process-improvement methods.
Quality-check complex production jobs through interaction with the Print Plant, designers, and multimedia professionals.
Work independently on other assigned duties and manage workloads that may vary from heavy to light.