Senior Nuclear Surety Systems Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory • Laurel, MD

30d

About The Position

Are you interested in applying technical leadership, innovation, system engineering skills, and specialty nuclear surety expertise toward the difficult critical challenges of ensuring the safety and security of this nation’s most critical defense systems?
Are you eager to apply strategy and innovative engineering approaches to transform how the DoD evaluates and analyzes modern nuclear surety design?
Would you like to help strategic weapon system programs ensure compliance with the DoD’s nuclear certification process that is crucial to ensuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of nuclear weapons and their systems, which are integral to national security?
If so, we are looking for someone like you to serve as the Senior Nuclear Surety Systems Engineer within the System Realization and Resilience Group (KBR) of the Force Projection Sector. Our team is responsible for enabling the realization of strategic systems, ensuring resilience and specialty disciplines are integrated throughout system development, and supporting credible verification of strategic weapon systems. We lead efforts in systems engineering, system security engineering, test and integration, digital engineering, nuclear command and control, and reliability engineering.
As the Senior Nuclear Surety Systems Engineer, you will...

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, computer science, or a related technical discipline.
• At least 4 years of relevant experience analyzing, evaluating, or ensuring the safety and nuclear surety of strategic weapon systems and/or related facilities.
• Knowledge of nuclear surety principles, standards, and regulations.
• Working knowledge of NWS safety design principles, NWS security, and use control (electronic and mechanical features that prevent unauthorized use and allow authorized use; includes PAL, CDS, APS).
• Excellent interpersonal skills, written and oral communications skills, and organizational skills, with a record of accomplishment in a team environment.
• Are willing and able to travel occasionally to support meetings with the government, design agents and other contractors at their locations, including travel to operational sites.
• Hold an active Secret security clearance and can ultimately obtain Top Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

• A Master’s degree or higher in a relevant engineering or technical discipline.
• Experience with DoD nuclear surety, certification, and safety requirements across the full systems engineering lifecycle for Nuclear Weapon Systems (NWS).
• Familiarity with USAF and Navy nuclear certification processes and artifacts (e.g., MNCL, SWOP 20-25), including support to NWSSG activities such as OSRs and safety studies.
• Prior support to strategic deterrence programs and associated weapon maintenance, storage facilities, or Strategic Systems Programs.
• Proficiency with systems engineering tools and safety/security analysis methods, along with a strong understanding of NWS safety, security, use control, and applicable cybersecurity principles.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Lab’s focal point and thought leader for nuclear surety engineering with emphasis on leveraging and implementing systems engineering principles to enhance strategic systems nuclear surety design and modifications.
• Develop and implement systems engineering processes to ensure compliance with nuclear surety standards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to review, analyze, and validate systems to ensure they meet nuclear surety requirements.
• Review nuclear surety requirements in support of Navy Technical Objectives Guidelines (TOG) and Air Force Weapon System Specification (WSS), recommend improvements, and apply system engineering best practices for requirement trace and validation.
• Provide technical guidance on nuclear weapon system (NWS) safety to DoD sponsors.
• Perform independent evaluation and safety assessments to influence design improvement consistent with government requirements.
• Review strategic weapon system certification processes and activities to ensure objective quality evidence and artifacts required for safety, security, control, and reliability certifications are identified, defined, understood, and accessible to sponsors.
• Develop nuclear surety risk assessment methodologies, models, and probabilities of occurrence for nuclear weapon mishap scenarios and assess mitigating factors.
• Conduct risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies to ensure the safety and security of nuclear systems.
• Analyze vulnerabilities and security risks, to include support to authorized special read-in programs (e.g., Unauthorized Launch Analysis (ULA)).
• Prepare technical products, reports, and deliverables to sponsors and stakeholders.

Benefits

• Our employees enjoy generous benefits, including a robust education assistance program, unparalleled retirement contributions, and a healthy work/life balance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level