Energy Material Sciences, Group Manager

Group Manager, Energy Material Sciences

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), a national laboratory under the stewardship of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM), is seeking an accomplished and collaborative Group Manager to lead the Energy Material Sciences group within the newly formed Energy Sciences and Engineering (ESE) Division, part of the Science, Energy, and Innovation (SEI) Directorate.

Energy Material Sciences is one of four founding groups within ESE, alongside Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, Fusion Energy and Isotope Science, and Research Computing and Computational Sciences. The group exists to advance the materials science that underpins the nation's energy mission and its critical minerals security — materials for the nuclear fuel cycle and radiological environments, materials for fusion and extreme environments, intermetallic and nanoscale materials that enable advanced manufacturing, and the processing science behind critical minerals and rare earth elements.

This is applied science that other groups, programs, and application areas draw on and build with; the Group Manager is accountable for making sure that research is deep, rigorous, and connected to where the laboratory's mission is headed.

As a line leader reporting to the ESE Division Director, the Group Manager is accountable for the stewardship, development, and support of the group's people and research facilities; the creation of an environment where materials research thrives; and the execution of technical work that aligns with the strategic direction set by the Division Director and SRNL leadership. The Group Manager also plays a direct role in cultivating the external partnerships — with DOE program offices, industry, and universities — that keep the group's science connected to real mission need and sustained by external investment.

This role requires deep technical credibility in energy materials science, a demonstrated record of developing researchers and research leaders, and the judgment to prioritize across a portfolio that spans multiple materials domains and technology readiness levels. Success is measured on the group's collective impact: the quality and trajectory of its science, the development and retention of its staff, the strength of its external partnerships and funding base, and its operational and safety excellence.

People Development and Culture Building

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high-caliber materials science staff. Identify and grow the next generation of technical leaders within the group.
• Reinforce the division's operating culture, values, and norms around scientific rigor, collaboration, psychological safety, inclusion, and accountability at the group level. Set the day-to-day tone for how the group works together.
• Create an environment where researchers are supported, developed, and enabled to do their best work. Manage performance, allocate staff and resources across the group's project portfolio, and make sound personnel and investment decisions.
• Foster a strong safety culture and ensure all group work — including laboratory, fabrication, and characterization activities — is planned and executed safely and in full compliance with environmental, safety, health, quality, and security requirements appropriate to a radiological and nuclear research environment.

Science Stewardship and Execution

• Work with the ESE Division Director to understand the strategic direction and mission priorities of the division and SEI, and translate that direction into the group's technical portfolio and resource allocation.
• Steward the scientific quality, rigor, and reputation of the group's work across its core domains — nuclear fuel cycle and radiological/actinide materials, fusion and extreme-environment materials, intermetallic and nanoscale materials for advanced manufacturing, and critical minerals and rare earth processing science. Serve as a credible scientific voice to sponsors, peers, and the external research community.
• Identify high-value materials science opportunities that align with DOE mission needs, SRNL strategic…