Inertial Confinement Fusion Chief Engineer

LLNL•Livermore, CA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has an opening for an Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Chief Engineer to provide technical leadership, operational integration, and project engineering oversight for the ICF Science portfolio. This role is responsible for aligning scope, schedule, budget, and shot execution priorities across ICF, National Ignition Facility (NIF) Operations, and partner organizations to ensure successful delivery of program objectives. This position is in the Laser Systems Engineering & Operations (LSEO) Division within the Engineering Directorate. This position requires full-time on-site presence due to the nature of the work.

Requirements

Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship.
Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, or a related technical field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Significant experience leading highly complex technical, scientific, or engineering programs with multiple stakeholders, and competing priorities.
Demonstrated expertise in project engineering, systems integration, scheduling, and operational coordination in a high-consequence technical environment.
Experience managing program scope, milestones, budget performance, and status reporting for multidisciplinary efforts with long-range objectives.
Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor project engineers or comparable technical staff, establish priorities, allocate resources, review work for adequacy, and ensure successful delivery of objectives.
Expertise of configuration management principles and change control processes.
Demonstrated ability to influence and build effective working relationships across program, operations, engineering, and fabrication organizations, and to resolve competing requirements across organizational boundaries.
Expert written and verbal communication, facilitation, and collaboration skills, with the ability to advise senior management and/or external sponsors, represent organizational priorities, and communicate complex technical and operational issues clearly.

Nice To Haves

Masters or PhD in engineering, physics, or a related technical discipline.
Experience supporting ICF, high energy density (HED), NIF, or similarly complex experimental science campaigns, including responsibility for integration across operational and technical interfaces.
Familiarity with shot planning, target fabrication interfaces, capsule coating coordination, annual shot proposal processes, and campaign-level execution planning.
Experience leading implementation of process improvements, workflow mapping, systems engineering methods, or project management tools that improve execution of complex programs.
Record of technical contributions to publications, reviews, or program strategy documents.

Responsibilities

Operate under consultative direction with substantial authority, using in-depth analysis and subject matter expertise in highly advanced concepts, to resolve a range of highly complex problems, independently determine strategies, modify approaches, and pursue actions that impact organizational operations or directions and achieve long-term goals.
Direct integration activities across ICF Science, including shot scheduling, project engineering, budget tracking, and project status reporting.
Resolve highly complex execution issues that affect program priorities, operational outcomes, and long-range campaign objectives.
Provide authoritative technical direction for the ICF project engineering scope, including establishing priorities, shaping execution strategies, guiding project engineers supporting ICF and NIF facility campaigns, and ensuring work products meet mission, scope, schedule, and quality objectives.
Serve as the primary point of contact with engineering line organizations, NIF Operations, Expert Group leadership, and partner organizations to resolve complex shot-related issues, reconcile competing requirements, and enable execution readiness.
Establish and communicate weekly shot priorities, support prioritization through the Joint Program change control board (CCB) and related operational forums, and recommend adjustments to plans and priorities to meet evolving program needs.
Direct configuration management of the ICF program plan, evaluate impacts of proposed changes to approved scope and priorities, and recommend or negotiate modifications needed to achieve program objectives.
Develop and communicate integrated schedules for ICF efforts, including layered shot planning, joint experiments, annual shot proposal activities, and campaign reviews, while identifying risks, resolving conflicts, and adjusting execution strategies to meet major milestones.
Evaluate quarterly milestones, campaign progress, staff effort charges, and budget status, and advise ICF senior leadership on execution risks, resource tradeoffs, schedule impacts, and recommended corrective actions.
Lead coordination across engineering, operations, fabrication, and partner organizations to gain cooperation, resolve conflicting priorities, and drive integrated solutions for program objectives.
Represent ICF priorities and technical execution needs to management and partner organizations and provide technical and operational advice on matters affecting project and program success.
Perform other duties as assigned.