Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, Group Manager

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 Advanced Manufacturing and Automation group within the newly formed Energy Sciences and Engineering (ESE) Division, part of the Science, Energy, and Innovation (SEI) Directorate.

Advanced Manufacturing and Automation is one of four founding groups within ESE, alongside Energy Material Sciences, Fusion Energy and Isotope Science, and Research Computing and Computational Sciences. The group advances the science and emerging technologies that will shape the next generation of manufacturing and industrial processing – integrating materials science, manufacturing processes, robotics, advanced sensing, controls, and data to understand how materials, components, equipment, and processes can be designed together for targeted performance.

Its research addresses high-consequence challenges where conventional technologies fall short, particularly nuclear and radiological operations, critical-material processing, and other harsh or complex environments, and spans the full arc from fundamental process-structure-property relationships through custom experimental equipment to robotic and adaptive processing systems capable of sensing changing conditions and responding intelligently.

The group operates across SRNL’s research infrastructure and mission environments rather than any single facility, based on the scientific, security, scale, and application requirements of the work. The Group Manager is accountable for ensuring this research portfolio is deep, rigorous, and connected to where the laboratory’s mission is headed, and for working with other organizations across SRNL to build a connected pathway from scientific discovery and early experimentation through prototype development, technology maturation, and mission application.

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; for creating an environment where this research thrives; and for executing technical work aligned with the strategic direction set by the Division Director and SRNL leadership. The Group Manager also plays a direct role in cultivating 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 technical credibility across materials, manufacturing, and automation; a demonstrated record of developing researchers and research leaders; and the judgment to prioritize a portfolio that ranges from fundamental science through custom equipment development to fielded robotic and adaptive systems. 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.

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high‑caliber technical staff spanning materials, manufacturing and process engineering, robotics, sensing, and controls disciplines. 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 work in radiological, secure, and other high‑consequence environments – is planned and executed safely and in full compliance with environmental, safety, health, quality, and security requirements.