Senior Principal Scientist (Multi-Level)

Nevada National Security Sites•Las Vegas, NV

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Mission Support and Test Services, LLC (MSTS) manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Our MISSION is to help ensure the security of the United States and its allies by providing high-hazard experimentation and incident response capabilities through operations, engineering, education, field, and integration services and by acting as environmental stewards to the Site’s Cold War legacy. Our VISION is to be the user site of choice for large-scale, high-hazard, national security experimentation, with premier facilities and capabilities below ground, on the ground, and in the air. Our 2,750+ professional, craft, and support employees are called upon to innovate, collaborate, and deliver on some of the more difficult nuclear security challenges facing the world today. MSTS offers our full-time employees highly competitive salaries and benefits packages including medical, dental, and vision; both a pension and a 401k; paid time off and 96 hours of paid holidays; relocation (if located more than 75 miles from work location); tuition assistance and reimbursement; and more. MSTS is a limited liability company consisting of Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell), Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Jacobs), and HII Nuclear Inc.

Requirements

Bachelor’s in calculus-based technical (STEM) field plus at least 5 years relevant experience. (Senior Scientist)
Skill building experience must demonstrate either deeper technical specialization or additional cross-disciplinary knowledge. (Senior Scientist)
Graduate research experience may be recognized. (Senior Scientist)
Track record leading end-to-end accelerator or plasma or pulsed power campaigns (requirements, designs, safety basis, execution, analysis, publication or report). (Senior Scientist)
Deep expertise in at least two of: injector physics/diodes & cathodes; transport and stability mitigation (BBU/corkscrew); target/x-ray source design & spot optimization; high-speed diagnostics; pulsed power drivers. (Senior Scientist)
Highly Desired PhD (or MS/BS with 7- 10 years) in relevant field. (Senior Scientist)
Design Authority experience; developed new diagnostics. (Senior Scientist)
Multiphysics optimization linking EM, thermal, structural and beam dynamics. (Senior Scientist)
Cost/schedule awareness, vendor/partner technical management. (Senior Scientist)
Bachelor’s degree in a calculus-based (STEM) field, plus at least 9 years’ relevant experience. (Principal Scientist)
Skill building experience must demonstrate either deeper technical specialization or additional cross-disciplinary knowledge. (Principal Scientist)
Graduate research experience may be recognized. (Principal Scientist)
Proven PI/Co-PI with delivered mission outcomes; sets technical strategy and risk posture. (Principal Scientist)
Authority in instability mitigation, injector & transport tuning, or target/diagnostics architecture for ns phenomena. (Principal Scientist)
Communicates complex tradeoffs to execs/stakeholders; builds collaborations (labs, universities, vendors). (Principal Scientist)
Desired PhD and recognized subject matter expert with 12 years (or equivalent impact) in high-current accelerators systems, LIAs, or pulsed-power-driven x-ray or particle sources. (Principal Scientist)
Prior Design Authority experience on accelerator or pulsed-power systems; developed new diagnostics. (Principal Scientist)
Track record of closing the loop between models and measurements. (Principal Scientist)
Publications or patents that influenced operational practices at labs or facilities; committee/review pane service. (Principal Scientist)
University/lab collaboration building and mentoring senior engineers/scientists. (Principal Scientist)
Bachelor’s degree in calculus-based (STEM) field, plus at least 14 years’ relevant experience. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Skill building experience must demonstrate either deeper technical specialization or additional cross-disciplinary knowledge. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Graduate research experience may be recognized. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Demonstrated technical authority across three or more domains: injector/cathodes, transport & instability mitigation (BBU/corkscrew), target/x-ray source/spot optimization, fast diagnostics and DAQ, pulsed-power drivers, radiation effect and shielding. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Proven record of program-level leadership: architecture decisions, verification/validation strategies, hazard/safety bases, and delivery against mission Key Performance Parameters. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Expertise of modeling-to-measurement integration. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Strong communication with executives and external stakeholders (DOE/NNSA, partner labs, vendors, academia). (Senior Principal Scientist)
Desired 15 years (or equivalent impact) advancing high-current accelerators, LIAs, or pulsed-power driven sources with authoritative contributions adopted in operations. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Recognized SME (fellowships/committee leadership/standard bodies), patents or seminal publications impacting accelerator operations. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Experience standing up new diagnostics and next-generation targets or other accelerator crucial sub-systems. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Prior Q-cleared work and leadership a high-consequence experiments or facilities. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Accelerator physics: high-current electron sources/diodes.
LIAs, magnetic focusing/solenoids, emittance, envelope physics, space-charge, BBU & corkscrew, tune/optics matching.
Pulsed Power and HV: LTD concepts, solid state pulsed power, switching, transmission lines, grounding/isolation, EMI diagnostics and survivability.
Beam-target/x-ray production: converters, bremsstrahlung yield, spot optimization, dose/fluence, target thermal response.
Diagnostics and DAQ: fast detectors, timing/jitter, calibration/uncertainty, signal integrity, high-rate data pipelines.
Vacuum and magnet systems: UHV practices, leak-check, magnet mapping/alignment, field quality and trim strategy.
Modeling tools (examples): LSP, WARP, COMSOL, Geant4, MCNP, Python, CHICAGO, FLAG.
Working knowledge of supervised machine learning, basics of model validation in test operations.
Controls and test infrastructure: EPICS, LabVIEW, timing/fan-out, triggers, oscilloscopes/digitizers, safety interlocks.
Must possess a valid driver’s license.
Applicants offered employment with MSTS are also subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance.
Applicants for employment must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship, at least 18 years of age.

Nice To Haves

Highly Desired PhD (or MS/BS with 7- 10 years) in relevant field. (Senior Scientist)
Design Authority experience; developed new diagnostics. (Senior Scientist)
Multiphysics optimization linking EM, thermal, structural and beam dynamics. (Senior Scientist)
Cost/schedule awareness, vendor/partner technical management. (Senior Scientist)
Desired PhD and recognized subject matter expert with 12 years (or equivalent impact) in high-current accelerators systems, LIAs, or pulsed-power-driven x-ray or particle sources. (Principal Scientist)
Prior Design Authority experience on accelerator or pulsed-power systems; developed new diagnostics. (Principal Scientist)
Track record of closing the loop between models and measurements. (Principal Scientist)
Publications or patents that influenced operational practices at labs or facilities; committee/review pane service. (Principal Scientist)
University/lab collaboration building and mentoring senior engineers/scientists. (Principal Scientist)
Desired 15 years (or equivalent impact) advancing high-current accelerators, LIAs, or pulsed-power driven sources with authoritative contributions adopted in operations. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Recognized SME (fellowships/committee leadership/standard bodies), patents or seminal publications impacting accelerator operations. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Experience standing up new diagnostics and next-generation targets or other accelerator crucial sub-systems. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Prior Q-cleared work and leadership a high-consequence experiments or facilities. (Senior Principal Scientist)

Responsibilities

Contribute to ECSE program advancing high-current pulsed accelerator, beam transport, and x-ray source performance.
Responsibilities span experimental activities (e.g. diagnostics developments), modeling and simulations, data analysis, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with pulsed power, target, controls, and operation teams in high-consequence DOE environment.
Prepare the accelerator for state-of-the-art experiments and to solve challenging problems that will improve accelerator performance and understanding of the physics behind.
Devise imaginative, thorough, and practical solutions requiring evaluation of standards and processes.
Design, execute and analyze accelerator/beam experiments.
Develop, commission, and operate beam and x-ray diagnostics.
Build, validate, and apply physics models and Multiphysics simulations; compare to experimental data and iterate designs.
Apply targeted Machine Learning to speed up tuning, improve diagnostics insights, and support experiments planning; build data workflows and integrate with controls where appropriate, validate models against measurements.
Author test plans, procedures, and technical reports; present results to program leadership and external partners.
Work safety with high voltage, radiation, vacuum/pressure systems; follow Work Planning & Control and configuration management.
Collaborate across controls (timing/EPICS), solid state pulse power, alignments, targets, and operations.
Lead major ECSE workstreams; define technical roadmaps; serve od design and test readiness reviews; mentor team. (Senior Scientist)
Lead a small Machine Learning deployment tied to an experiment; establish validation/rollback. (Senior Scientist)
Maintain a rigorous safety culture; own hazard analysis and control implementation for a campaign; enforce configuration management and readiness checklist. (Senior Scientist)
Serve as technical lead for major ECSE capability areas; define requirements, interfaces, and acceptance criteria. (Principal Scientist)
Plan and lead the future multi-campaign test efforts from IOC to FOC. (Principal Scientist)
Integrate cross-discipline work (pulsed power, magnets/alignment, controls/EPICS, target/diagnostics) to achieve replicable beam/x-ray performance. (Principal Scientist)
Set minimal standards for Machine Learning use and oversee one or two high value deployments. (Principal Scientist)
Maintain a rigorous safety culture; author/approve procedures and hazard analysis; set the safety basis and acceptance criteria for operations, make go/no-go decisions. (Principal Scientist)
Mentor senior scientists and engineers; build hiring pipelines and guide career development. (Principal Scientist)
Author publications; produces intellectual property; contributes to strategies, reports and technical proposals. (Principal Scientist)
Serve as technical leader/design authority for major ECSE capabilities; set technical vision, requirements flow down, interface control, and acceptance criteria. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Lead multi-campaign test strategies from IOC to FOC, balancing risks, schedule, and performance. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Establish and enforce diagnostics/analysis standards across the program. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Own cross-discipline integration (pulsed power, magnets/alignment, controls/EPICS, target/diagnostics) to achieve replicable beam/x-ray performance. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Define a focused Machine Learning roadmap (few high-impact use cases) and governance for safe adoption. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Develop and mentor technical leaders; build recruiting pipelines. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Define the program’s safety strategy – establish leading indicators, conduct audits, and drive continuous improvements across teams. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Influence external partnership and vendor roadmaps; guide make/buy decisions, and technology maturation plans. (Senior Principal Scientist)
Steward budget and EVMS at the capability level; anticipate long-lead risks; drive corrective actions. (Senior Principal Scientist)