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:
The Measurement & Modeling Science Group is seeking a Research and Development Manager for the Applied Science and Engineering Integration Department. This department serves as a strategic integration hub for Center 1800 by aligning engineering support, digital infrastructure, ES&H, mission assurance, quality assurance, safeguards and security, facilities coordination, communications, and continuous improvement activities.
The selected manager will lead a multidisciplinary team responsible for translating DOE/NNSA and corporate requirements into practical laboratory-specific processes, developing digital tools and integrated work systems, strengthening Center-wide work practices, and building partnerships across line, program, and corporate organizations.
The manager will help shape how Center 1800 applies work controls, uses data to inform decisions, standardizes safe and effective laboratory practices, and modernizes Center processes through digital transformation. The department enables Center leadership and technical organizations to focus on mission execution by creating practical systems that help researchers navigate requirements, make risk-informed decisions, and access actionable metrics, integrated communications, and sustainable processes for safety, security, assurance, facilities, data, and infrastructure.
On any given day, you may be called on to:
- Provide strategic leadership for the department, including vision, priorities, staff development, resource planning, and alignment with Center 1800's research and mission objectives.
- Develop practical Center-level systems that help researchers and leaders navigate institutional requirements, make timely risk-informed decisions, and align work practices with mission priorities.
- Lead digital transformation efforts that improve how research teams plan work, access information, track resources, manage data, and execute laboratory activities.
- Establish performance analytics that provide timely insight into work risks, resource needs, instrument utilization, research infrastructure, improvement activities, and Center performance trends.
- Translate DOE/NNSA, ES&H, Safeguards and Security, Quality Assurance, facilities, and other institutional requirements into clear, practical approaches that work in laboratory and R&D environments.
- Serve as a Center-facing integrator who helps research teams resolve barriers, clarify requirements, coordinate stakeholder input, and identify practical paths forward.
- Build trusted partnerships with researchers, technical managers, Center leadership, and corporate partners to align institutional expectations with the realities of experimental and computational work.
- Lead integrated communications strategies that clarify decisions, reduce noise, explain the purpose and value of requirements, and help staff understand how to move work forward.
- Guide Center support functions that enable safe and effective research, including work planning, worker qualification, infrastructure coordination, safety programs, assessments, corrective actions, emergency preparedness, hazardous waste, and continuous improvement.
- Foster a safe, secure, inclusive, transparent, and high-performing environment that encourages critical thinking, empowers employees, and enables impactful research and mission execution.
Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.
Salary Range:
$163,700 - $278,000
*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 and eight (8) years of directly relevant experience, 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 Manager candidate at Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:
- Two or more years of demonstrated leadership experience
- A graduate degree in science or engineering (MS or PhD)
- Outstanding interpersonal skills in developing trusting relationships with peers, staff, management, customers and stakeholders
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in the development and delivery of presentations, proposals, reports, and documentation
Also, for this posting, we are seeking individuals with the following:
- Demonstrated leadership experience, including the ability to set direction, develop people, build effective teams, and align staff capabilities with research and mission needs.
- Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary or cross-functional teams, managing competing priorities, and delivering results in a complex technical environment.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with technical staff, managers, senior leaders, and institutional partners.
- Experience developing practical systems, frameworks, or work practices that help R&D organizations navigate requirements, manage risk, and execute work effectively.
- Experience leading digital transformation, workflow modernization, or data-enabled improvement efforts that reduce burden and improve research execution.
- Experience developing, deploying, or sustaining digital tools, dashboards, data systems, performance analytics, or digital-thread capabilities in a technical or laboratory environment.
- Experience translating DOE/NNSA, corporate, regulatory, ES&H, quality, security, facilities, or other institutional requirements into clear, practical approaches for R&D teams.
- Experience applying engineering judgment, systems thinking, risk-informed decision-making, or domain expertise to solve complex problems across multiple stakeholder organizations.
- Experience with data governance, metadata standards, access controls, records management, information lifecycle management, or secure data-sharing practices.
- Experience building trusted partnerships across research, line, program, and corporate organizations to resolve barriers and align expectations with mission priorities.
- Familiarity with laboratory environments and mission-enabling functions such as hazardous materials, chemical safety, waste management, worker qualification, work planning and controls, facilities coordination, quality assurance, safeguards and security, or emergency preparedness.
About Our Team:
The Applied Science and Engineering Integration Department establishes and sustains the culture, principles, and practices that enable Center 1800 to execute its mission safely, securely, efficiently, and with high quality. The department serves as the Center's strategic integration hub for aligning institutional requirements, laboratory work practices, digital infrastructure, information management, communications, and mission-enabling support functions. By translating DOE/NNSA and corporate expectations into clear, Center-specific approaches, the department helps ensure that work controls, assurance mechanisms, and decision processes are practical, consistent, and aligned with mission needs.
A central focus of the department is to strengthen Center-level governance, data-informed decision-making, and digital transformation. The department leverages R&D experience, engineering judgment, domain expertise, and stakeholder partnerships to develop integrated approaches that improve visibility, reduce non-core burden, support resource planning, and enable continuous improvement. Through this work, the department helps Center 1800 mature its use of digital tools, performance analytics, materials data governance, Safe Conduct of Research practices, integrated communications, and strategic partnerships with corporate organizations.
The Applied Science and Engineering Integration Department is part of the Measurement & Modeling Science Group, a multidisciplinary organization specializing in measurement, characterization, materials modeling, and applied materials science. The group develops new R&D capabilities, provides expertise and analysis in support of Sandia's multiple missions, and supports nuclear weapons, non-proliferation, and national security portfolios through the close integration of modeling, experimentation, advanced diagnostics, and state-of-the-art laboratory capabilities.
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: 699469
Job Family: RD
Regular/Temporary Position: R
Full/Part-Time Status: F
