Measurements Specialist​/Statistician; MC&A Technical Specialist

What You Will Do

The Security Programs - Nuclear Material Control and Accountability group (SP‑NMCA) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is responsible for implementation and execution of the Nuclear Material Control and Accountability (NMCA) Program. In its essence, SP‑NMCA provides assurances to external stakeholders and federal regulators that no nuclear material has been lost, stolen or diverted from its legitimate programmatic use. As such, the group members serve as the interface between LANL programmatic groups utilizing and/or processing nuclear material and the regulator, helping to navigate the legal framework through use of practically implementable, technically defensible and legally compliant means.

To aid in this holistic effort, SP‑NMCA is looking for qualified candidates to implement the measurement control program within the LANL Plutonium Facility. This is an exciting opportunity for high‑performing and motivated technical professionals to shape the future of nuclear material process operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory by working collaboratively to improve accountability of nuclear material while maintaining or improving upon critical requirements, both legal and technical.

This position will be hired under the functional areas of either NMCA Statistician or Measurements specialist. This position will often include duties in nuclear facilities where SNM is present. We are a growing organization that values employees, diversity, and a work‑life balance.

$114,700 - $191,200

The Nuclear Material Control and Accountability group (SP‑NMCA) is seeking an energetic, interactive, customer‑focused professional to provide operational and programmatic support related to the measurement of special nuclear materials. The MC&A Technical Specialist is an essential function that provides independent verification and validation of non‑destructive assay (NDA) measurements used to demonstrate nuclear material control and accountability.

$125,200 - $211,300

At the higher level, the MC&A Technical Specialist provides independent verification and validation of non‑destructive assay (NDA) measurements used to demonstrate nuclear material control and accountability; supports the qualification of measurement systems used to perform measurements of accountable nuclear materials, and supports response to facility operational events involving accountable nuclear material.

In addition to what was outlined at the lower level, at this level the senior MC&A Technical Specialist is expected to independently evaluate current inventory differerence evaluation methods, develop, propose and technically justify measurement uncertainties in response to inventory differences and report progress to the NMCA Technical Support Program Manager on recommended solutions. The Senior MC&A Specialist is expected to have a firm grasp on statistical analysis methods, be able to interpret the results, and provide guidance to junior team members.

• Demonstrated experience solving problems using technically defensible methods to analyze data.
• Knowledge and understanding of NDA measurement methods, such as gamma‑ray spectroscopy, passive/active neutron counting, calorimetric assay and other non‑destructive and destructive assay techniques used for the quantification of special nuclear materials.
• Willingness and ability to support and participate in engagement with specialized professional, research or operations organizations to mobilize cross‑organizational resources to solve outstanding NMCA challenges.
• Knowledge and understanding of statistical methods for data analysis.
• Advanced ability to communicate technical information to technical and non‑technical audiences.

• Gathering data and performing exploratory analysis towards the development of measurement uncertainties, the evaluation of the inventory difference model and propagation of variance.
• Willingness and ability to lead engagement with specialized professional, research or operations organizations to…