Senior Explosives Research Experiment Lead

LLNL•Livermore, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

We have an opening for Explosives Research Experiment Leads. You will lead experimental activities, under limited direction, involving the use of high explosives and other energetic materials, supporting the stewardship of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, conventional weapons design, counterterrorism eﬀorts, and commercial partnerships. This position is within the Strategic Deterrence (SD) Directorate. This position may offer a hybrid schedule, which includes the flexibility to work from home one or more days per week, after a probationary period. The specifics of the hybrid schedule, including the exact number of days required in the office and virtual work options, may vary based on the needs of the team and the organization. This position will be ﬁlled at either level depending on your knowledge, skills and experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if you are selected at the higher level.

Requirements

Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship.
Master’s degree in physics, engineering, a related ﬁeld, or equivalent combination of education and related experience.
Advanced knowledge of a speciﬁc area of science applicable to hydrodynamic testing.
Experience performing hands-on experimental science in bench top and/or test facility environments and familiarity with experimentation requiring formal conduct of operations.
Experience managing medium-sized technical projects.
Self-motivation and initiative in addressing challenging problems, and innovative ability to identify/develop creative solutions.
Signiﬁcant experience completing and/or leading top-quality research in relevant areas of physics and engineering.
Ability to travel.
Advanced interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence necessary to work eﬀectively with a wide range of personalities in both one-on-one and team environments.
Advanced written and verbal communication skills necessary to collaborate, present, and explain experimental design including proﬁciency in standard oﬃce computing software.
PhD in physics, engineering, a related ﬁeld, or equivalent combination of education and related experience.
Subject-matter expertise in one or more speciﬁc areas of science applicable to hydrodynamic testing.
Extensive experience leading large, multi-organizational technical projects.
Ability to lead and mentor others in part of a multidisciplinary team.
Substantial experience presenting and disseminating highly advanced research results at scientiﬁc conferences and peer-reviewed publications, in open and classiﬁed environments, internal and external to LLNL.
Substantial experience communicating results of work with external sponsors.

Nice To Haves

Experience working around explosives and/or with other high-hazard materials or eﬀects.
Experience using computer-aided design tools.
Experience with one or more of the following topics: dynamic radiography, high-speed photography, Photonic Doppler Velocimetry, radiometry, pulsed power (ﬂash lamps, ﬁre sets), system-generated EMP, grounding and shielding, modeling transmission and eﬀects of ionizing radiation.
Experience with scientiﬁc data analysis in mainstream programming languages or tools such as C++, Python, MATLAB, etc.
Knowledge of the SD weapons program and/or explosive hydrodynamic experimentation.

Responsibilities

Plan, execute, diagnose, analyze, and interpret explosively driven hydrodynamic experiments in collaboration with diagnostics operators, other scientists and high-level technical personnel, independently with minimal direction and at various state-of-the-art facilities across the DOE weapons complex.
Manage and oversee multiple parallel, complex experiments at diﬀerent stages of development and execution.
Champion and/or lead original scientiﬁc/engineering projects to further the design of hydrodynamic experiments, applying knowledge and skills.
Develop experimental requirements and oversee the implementation of the various components of the experiment.
Identify, advocate and facilitate the addition of advanced diagnostics and data analysis techniques for explosively driven hydrodynamic experiments.
Work with diagnostic designers to develop and integrate new capabilities.
Perform technical quality assurance checks on these experiments including performing or directing others to perform the setup, alignment, and execution of the conﬁrmatory dry runs to ensure that the expected data returned on the ultimate experiment will be of the highest quality possible within funding targets.
Analyze and interpret complex experimental data, document and report results, identify problems, plan projects to solve problems, and communicate lessons learned.
Present and disseminate research results to sponsors, and document experiment and results in open and classiﬁed environments.
Travel based on needs of projects (minimally or substantially).
Perform other duties as assigned.
Independently develop expertise in interrelated ﬁelds of physics, diagnostic techniques, or data analysis methods important to the design and execution of hydrodynamic experiments.
Anticipate project shortcomings in advance and direct resources to develop eﬀective solutions to improve eﬃciency in key areas relevant to hydrodynamic experiments.
Champion and/or lead projects requiring involvement of broader scientiﬁc community external to LLNL.