Early Career R&D Mechanical Engineer - Safety Mechanisms, Onsite

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking a R&D Mechanical Engineer to support the full lifecycle of surety components; development, production, and assessment of ongoing lifetime performance. These mechanisms play a critical role in assuring the safety and security of the nation's nuclear deterrent in a wide range of environments including severe accident scenarios. You will work on mechanism components comprised of assemblies of over 100 custom designed/built piece parts that have complex mechanical interactions.

On any given day, you would be called on to:

• Develop and down-select design concepts
• Negotiate functional and interface requirements with the next assembly customer
• Analyze designs to determine suitability of concepts and changes
• Lead generation and revisions of product design definition drawings using GD&T
• Develop and refine new designs through iterative design-build-test cycles
• Lead the assembly of prototype and developmental hardware
• Negotiate product manufacturing requirements with the production agency
• Review inspection results to verify product compliance with requirements
• Disposition product non-conformances based on design analysis and subject matter expert review
• Develop and execute test plans to validate designs
• Create test specifications and procedures for product acceptance and surveillance
• Develop and execute qualification plans to ensure product quality and compliance with requirements throughout production
• Generate and modify models to inform product design and support production
• Investigate anomalies and resolve through analysis and test-based methods
• Evaluate data from component and systems level tests to assess the ability of devices to continue to meet requirements in fielded systems
• Present designs, tests results, and findings to peers, customers, and management in formal and informal settings
• Document work in formal reports and memos
• Work and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams

Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

Salary Range:

$102,400 - $199,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Qualifications We Require:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance

Qualifications We Desire:

The ideal R&D S&E Mechanical Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience with mechanical engineering and product realization in the NNSA complex.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Experience in the design, development, and production of mechanical products, including working with suppliers and machine shops to fabricate hardware and performing mechanical testing (e.g., vibration, thermal)
• Experience in modeling and simulation of nuclear safety mechanisms, including rigid body dynamics and multi-body system analysis
• Proficiency with rigid multi-body dynamics modeling software such as LMS Virtual.Lab Motion, MSC Adams, or equivalent
• Experience developing virtual prototypes and using advanced modeling tools to solve complex engineering challenges related to surety components
• Experience in developing and validating models using test data, including design optimization, sensitivity analysis, and uncertainty quantification techniques (e.g., Monte Carlo methods)
• Familiarity with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), finite element analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, and non-destructive evaluation techniques
• Active DOE Q security clearance

About Our Team:

We are a mechanical engineering group responsible for safety and security mechanisms (components) for Nuclear Deterrence (ND) applications. We have responsibility for conceptual design, full-scale engineering development, product characterization, product qualification, component production support, and ongoing surveillance. Mechanisms for which we have design responsibility include unique signal Stronglinks, Environmental Sensing Devices, future safety concepts, and weapon release detection switches.

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are 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. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO:

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs:

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Job ID: 697659

Job Family: RD

Regular/Temporary Position: R

Full/Part-Time Status: F

Client-provided location(s): Albuquerque, NM

Job ID: Departmend_Of_Energy_-_Sandia_National_Laboratories_FGB-697659

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2026-05-06T18:44:15