What You Will Do
The Weapon Verification and Validation Division (V-Division) ensures that weapon designs meet all requirements and perform as intended. The division verifies design compliance and validates performance through a combination of investigations, qualification tests, and evaluations. This mission is accomplished through close communication and collaboration with sister divisions within the Weapons Engineering Directorate (ALDW). V-Division carries out its work through assembly, non-destructive evaluation, test design and planning, and test execution, all aimed at confirming the reliability and effectiveness of weapon systems.
The Weapons Test Execution Group (V-21) is responsible for planning and overseeing the execution of weapon tests. V-21 supports experimental evaluations across multiple domains, including mechanical, thermal, hydrodynamic, and subcritical testing. The group leverages capabilities across the national security enterprise, integrating diverse experimental expertise to design, field, and execute large-scale joint tests in partnership with weapon development organizations. As ALDW's center of excellence for complex weapon experimentation, V-21 plays a critical role in advancing the sustainment and modernization of the U.S. nuclear deterrent, ensuring that each experiment delivers the data and insight necessary to maintain a safe, secure, and effective stockpile.
This position is part of the Physics Validation (PV) team within V-21, which supports a range of Integrated Weapon Experiments, including weapon hydrodynamic tests and subcritical experiments. This specific job posting focuses on the hydrodynamic testing portion of our work. In hydrotesting, the PV team provides device engineers and the Lead Test Engineer, who together form one part of a three-person leadership team for each weapon hydrotest. The leadership team consists of the Lead Test Engineer, Lead Physicist, and Lead Experimenter. The Lead Test Engineer follows a Systems Engineering Lifecycle to design, develop, and deliver the experimental device for each test. This role involves extensive collaboration with more than a dozen groups across the laboratory, requiring individuals who can work effectively with team members from diverse technical backgrounds and experience levels to achieve the common goals of the experiment. Because these tests involve many stakeholders, success in this position depends on the ability to communicate clearly, understand differing objectives, and balance competing priorities. The role offers a unique opportunity to learn about various weapon systems and future concepts, while building hands-on experience in prototyping, design, and experimental execution. Our work spans many scientific and engineering disciplines, and success requires working closely with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to expand technical knowledge and develop expertise in relevant areas. The position also provides strong leadership opportunities, as the Lead Test Engineer heads the experiment team and serves as the primary point of contact among all participating organizations.
As an R&D Engineer on our team, you'll take ideas from concept to reality-designing, building, and testing functional prototype hardware assemblies that directly support our national security mission. You'll tackle a wide variety of mechanical and systems engineering challenges, from defining and managing requirements to performing concept modeling, component design, system integration, and full-scale testing and validation. Every project offers the opportunity to apply creativity and technical expertise to solve complex problems. In addition to hands-on engineering, you'll contribute to the success of our programs by preparing and presenting technical reports, planning documents, and briefings for both internal and external stakeholders. You'll also engage directly with senior laboratory management and external partners on high-visibility projects that shape the future of our mission. This role is ideal for engineers who are collaborative, curious, and driven to learn. You'll have the chance to mentor junior staff, grow your leadership skills, and make a direct impact in advancing cutting-edge national security research.
This position will be filled at either the R&D Engineer 2/3 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.
R&D Engineer 2 ($106,400-$176,000)
Plan project scope
R&D Engineer 3 ($128,000-$215,900)
In addition to what was outlined at the lower level, at this level the expectation is that the employee will provide leadership support to the team and provide extensive expertise to the team & stakeholders.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Additional Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 3:
In addition to the requirements outlined above, qualification at the higher level requires:
Education/Experience at lower level: Position requires a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from an accredited institution and 4 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Education/Experience at higher level: Position requires a Master's Degree in Engineering from an accredited institution and 6 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation. At this level a Ph.D. may be preferred.
Desired Qualifications:
Work Location: The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.
Work Schedule: 9/80 with either A or B Friday off, 5/40 is ok with management agreement. 4/10 is not allowed.
Position commitment: Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is one year.
Note to Applicants:
Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.
Clearance: Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance. and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad.
New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call (505)-664-6947.
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