Weapons Engineering R&D Engineer

What You Will Do Are you ready to start your engineering career with a mission that matters? The Weapons Engineering Directorate at Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking passionate entry‑level R&D Engineers to join our team and help shape the future of our nation’s security. At Los Alamos National Laboratory, you will:

• Innovate and Create:
  Design, analyze, and build cutting‑edge tools, instruments, and systems that enable researchers to explore, monitor, test, and discover both natural and man‑made phenomena.
• Solve Critical Challenges:
  Apply engineering principles, theories, concepts, and practices to develop solutions for a broad range of technical challenges, including nuclear deterrence and threat reduction.
• Collaborate and Contribute:
  Work alongside integrated research and development (R&D) teams to solve complex engineering problems.
• Engage in Cutting-Edge R&D:
  Participate in the research, design, testing, analysis, verification, and validation of engineering solutions that support our R&D initiatives.
• Advance Your
  
  Skills:
  
  Learn and employ advanced technologies and analysis techniques from our world‑class engineering community.
• Adapt and Succeed:
  Thrive in a dynamic environment where you will meet evolving R&D requirements while upholding safety, security, compliance, and schedule imperatives.

Submit one application to be considered for various R&D Engineer 1 or R&D Engineer 2 positions across the Weapons Engineering Directorate. Eligible applicants will be included in our candidate pool which hiring managers use to fill entry‑level R&D Engineer positions as needed. Learn about our Directorate, divisions, and groups at the Weapons Engineering website. This is a posting for an ongoing pool, rather than for a single position that will be filled by a certain date, and candidates may be selected at any point until early December 2025.

This position will be filled at either the R&D Engineer 1 or R&D Engineer 2 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 1 ($94,500 -$154,600) The successful candidate will:

• Assist in the research, design, testing, analysis, verification, and validation of engineering and technology solutions to support R&D initiatives
• Develop technical approaches, using judgment within defined practices and procedures, and make technical decisions, including preliminary selections and adaptations of technical alternatives, for assigned work
• Assist in the development of new methods, techniques, or approaches to address critical technical problems
• Potentially contribute to the development of technical products such as journal papers and reports
• Contribute to the completion of milestones associated with specific projects and directly contribute to the achievement of programmatic objectives
• Take responsibility for understanding tasks and own contributions to deliverables, set direction and goals for assigned tasks, and manage their own assignments
• Give presentations at discipline‑specific meetings and colloquia, and may participate in professional societies, National Nuclear Security Administration/Department of Energy complex interactions, special assignments, and/or external special interest groups
• Continuously develop technical expertise and knowledge within the discipline, and acquire new skills in related disciplines, potentially attaining additional certifications and/or qualifications, including more advanced educational degrees
• Assure safety and security compliance, maintain required training, and integrate safety and security into every task, including stopping work if it is unsafe or compromises security
• May receive general instructions and technical guidance, with objectives defined and both in‑process work and results subject to supervisory review, and may direct the work of junior staff

R&D Engineer 2 ($104,100 – $172,200) In addition to the duties outlined at the lower level, the successful candidate will:

• Contribute to the research, design, testing, analysis, verification, and validation of engineering and technology solutions in…