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These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

Are you passionate about working with a comprehensive range of materials characterization, technical problem-solving, and collaborating with world-class experts in the field of tribology? If so, we invite you to consider applying for this unique role, where you will have the opportunity to develop new insights through the formulation and testing of hypotheses using exceptional resources tailored for the task.

Researchers in our group employ a cross-disciplinary and collaborative approach to activities such as:

• Developing experimental and analytical techniques to identify materials degradation mechanisms
• Quantifying materials aging kinetics and lifetime
• Modifying materials and processing techniques to minimize and mitigate degradation
• Conducting failure analysis
• Developing new methods and capabilities to accelerate materials innovation

While excelling in research activities, we also maintain a strong customer focus, supporting organizations across Sandia's mission space, as well as collaborating with other federal agencies, academia, and industry.

As a member of the technical staff at Sandia, you will have the opportunity to apply integrated technical judgment, utilizing the scientific method to recognize problems, formulate hypotheses, and test these hypotheses through experimentation, data collection, and analysis. These activities will require a strong understanding of and the ability to apply scientific and engineering principles, along with the creativity to develop new models and concepts. Engineering customer support will draw on this fundamental knowledge and require practical application to engineering designs, specifications, and testing methodologies. The ability to manage customer relationships and meet deliverables on a strict schedule is a critical skill for this position.

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, planning, conceiving, conducting, and managing research and development efforts for Sandia's customers and sponsors. These customers focus on a range of scopes, from fundamental materials research to applied engineering research and decision-making. An understanding of the capabilities of experimental tools and how best to leverage these resources to address materials-related questions is essential for success in this position.

Due to the nature of the work the selected applicant must be able to work onsite in Albuquerque, New Mexico Relocation will be provided for those that qualify.

Salary Range:

$114,000 - $227,500

*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:

• Possess a PhD in materials science, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field plus a bachelor's in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM)
• Experience with friction and wear as they relate to the function and reliability of various coatings, electrical contacts, and electromechanical devices
• Experience with a range of materials characterization techniques
• Evidence of research achievements, demonstrated through technical publications and presentations
• Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance

Qualifications We Desire:

• Demonstrated ability to conceive, promote, and develop proposals and programs for new business areas
• Familiarity with electromechanical testing systems and devices
• Demonstrated academic excellence
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Effective interpersonal skills, including the ability to work as a member or leader of a multi-disciplinary team, directing lab technologists and interacting with staff and customers to ensure accurate data and timely completion of project deliverables
• Critical thinking and creativity to design tests and test hardware, perform experiments, and interpret test data
• A materials science focus on material properties, reliability, and aging
• Experience in failure analysis
• Familiarity with materials degradation modes, including surface oxidation, wear and corrosion
• Experience in modeling materials degradation phenomena
• Knowledge and experience with design of experiments

About Our Team:

The mission of the Materials Mechanics and Tribology department 1851 is to develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanical behavior of materials and to utilize this understanding to resolve the engineering challenges facing Sandia's national security missions. The department has successfully addressed materials problems in Nuclear Deterrence (ND) applications ranging from routine material compatibility concerns to time-sensitive production issues. In addition to ND, the department has a strong record of applying its resources to develop solutions for unique challenges, including hard coatings, lubricants for satellite mechanisms, materials degradation in hypersonic contact, and understanding tribochemistry on surfaces exposed to trace organics.

To tackle these and other unique challenges, the department is actively developing novel materials processing and characterization techniques. Current activities include the development of high-throughput and in-situ methods for mechanical and tribological testing of solid lubricant materials, digital image correlation, failure and deformation under complex loading, tribochemical properties of nanocrystalline materials, ductile and brittle fracture mechanisms, and 3D characterization of microstructures and components using destructive serial sectioning and x-ray computed tomography. Department members collaborate extensively across organizations within Sandia in New Mexico and California and manage several multi-million-dollar programs.

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.

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: 694933

Job Family: RD

Regular/Temporary Position: R

Full/Part-Time Status: F