Intern - Materials Mechanics and Tribology - R&D Undergraduate Year-Round

What Your Job Will Be Like:

Are you passionate about research related to materials science? If so, you may want to consider applying to join Sandia’s Materials Mechanics & Tribology department as an R&D Intern. In this role, you will have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with other inter-disciplinary research groups within Sandia National Labs to tackle unusual research problems related to three-dimensional materials science.

Our team has an immediate opportunity for an undergraduate student intern focused on three-dimensional materials characterization. Job responsibilities include customizing, operating, and analyzing data output from a variety of automated tools, including mechanical serial sectioning, SEM-based serial section, and X-ray Computed Tomography, as well as crafting and applying various imaging and data processing techniques to produce three-dimensional reconstructions and quantification of features of interest using Python, ImageJ, MatLab, and other software to create presentations, memos, and publications for scientific journals.

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

• Customize, operate, and analyze data output from a custom automated mechanical serial-sectioning system
• Apply various image and data processing techniques to produce quantitative measures of microstructure, defects and/or other features of interest
• Prepare presentations or written documentation to summarize work and communicate results to internal customers or externally via journals or at conferences

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

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.

Qualifications We Require:

You bring the confidence and skills to be eligible for the job by meeting these minimum requirements:

• Currently attending and enrolled full time in an accredited undergraduate program
• Pursuing a science, engineering, or math major
• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0
• Ability to work up to 25 hours per week during the academic year, and up to 40 hours per week during the summer
• U.S. citizenship

Qualifications We Desire:

• Currently pursuing an Undergraduate degree in Materials Science & Engineering or related science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) discipline
• Experience with automated image processing and data science methods
• Experience in programming for data analysis and machine interfacing, not language-specific
• Strong technical writing skills and the ability to communicate findings both verbally and visually
• Evidence of the ability to collaborate across technical disciplines and cultivate productive working relationships
• Mechanical skills such as working with power/hand tools, equipment assembly, or machining
• Able to obtain and maintain a DOE L-level security clearance

About Our Team:

The mission of the Materials Mechanics and Tribology Department (1851) is to develop fundamental understanding of mechanical behavior of materials and to operationalize this understanding to resolve the engineering challenges facing Sandia's national security missions. The department has solved materials problems in Nuclear Deterrence (ND) applications ranging from routine material compatibility concerns to manufacturing scale issues. In addition to ND, the department also has a strong record of applying its resources to develop solutions for many unique challenges including hardening drill bits, lubricating satellite mechanisms, coating hypersonic rails, and even measuring the elasticity of eye corneas.

To address these and other unique challenges, the department is also heavily active in developing novel and emerging processing and characterization techniques. Current activities include the development of high-throughput and in-situ methods for mechanically testing additively-manufactured (AM) metals and tribological coatings, highly customized tribological testing, digital image correlation, failure and deformation under complex loading, stress mapping using photo-luminescence and Raman spectroscopy, tribology of nanocrystalline materials, ductile and brittle fracture mechanisms, and 3D characterization of microstructure and components with destructive serial sectioning and X-ray computed tomography. The department members collaborate heavily across organizations within multiple Sandia locations, Kansas City National Security Campus and Universities and manage several multi-million-dollar programs. As a testament to their effectiveness, staff within the department were awarded multiple Asian American Engineer of the Year Awards, a National Black Engineer of the Year Award, multiple Hispanic National Achievement Awards, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The department's technologists, post-docs, and staff have also been awarded several patents and intellectual property provisions.

Our team is committed to nurturing a culture compatible with a broad group of people and perspectives in accordance with the changing makeup of the workforce. In support of this vision, our center actively recruits applicants from diverse groups of backgrounds and fosters an inclusive community.

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 vacations, 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.

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 L-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 the 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.

Job ID: 687619