MST-Process Engineer; R&D Engineer

What You Will Do

The Nuclear Materials Science Group (MST‑16) seeks a highly skilled and motivated R&D Engineer to support research of plutonium materials at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The position encompasses a wide range of activities, including providing system engineering oversight as the primary technical interface for assigned facility systems. This includes ensuring safe, reliable, and compliant operation through design review, maintenance oversight, configuration management, and application of engineering standards.

The role also offers the opportunity, if desired, to perform hands‑on sample preparation and characterization in a glovebox environment.

Nuclear Materials Science (MST‑16) is an international leader in plutonium science and engineering and supports a wide range of fundamentals to applied programs important to US interests in energy and national security. Programmatic work includes Plutonium Sustainment, Pit Surveillance, Science Programs, Life Extension Programs, Advanced Certification, various global security programs, and Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) projects. MST‑16 maintains a multidisciplinary expertise in actinide materials science and engages in areas important to Laboratory missions, including material characterization, phase stability, mechanical and dynamic properties, aging, electronic structure, corrosion, and surface science.

Our work takes place in the Plutonium Facility (PF‑4), the Radiological Laboratory/Utility/Office Building (RLUOB), the Target Fabrication Facility (TFF), and numerous other facilities at LANL and across the country.

• Ensure that new and modified operations and equipment comply with safety basis documents including the Documented Safety Analysis (DSA) and the Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs) and are reviewed and approved by all other applicable safety management programs.
• Manage equipment maintenance through preventive and predictive maintenance plans and implement corrective maintenance solutions by initiating programmatic maintenance and facility service requests.
• Manage and maintain equipment configuration management by ensuring that drawings, data, and information in electronic databases such as the Master Equipment List are consistent, accurate, and aligned with the actual in-field configuration.
• Remain cognizant of system‑specific maintenance and operations history and industry operating experience, as well as manufacturer and vendor recommendations and any product warnings regarding the assigned systems.
• Serve as a writer and reviewer for work authorizing documents and safety management evaluations.
• Contribute to the completion of milestones associated with specific projects and directly contribute to the achievement of programmatic objectives.
• 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.

• Successfully complete oral board qualification as a process engineer for MST‑16‑applicable processes and systems.
• Independently facilitate new installations and decommission of instruments and equipment aimed at enhancing our programmatic portfolio.
• Have significant responsibility for safety/security envelopes for projects, the team, or the group and may work in areas involving high consequences for safety.
• Serve as a liaison between organizations to maintain overall cognizance of assigned systems, providing system engineering support for operations and maintenance, and technical support of the line management safety responsibilities for ensuring continued system operational readiness.
• Serve in a supplementary officer role, such as a Pressure Safety Officer, Electrical Safety Officer, Mechanical Material Handler Coordinator, Subcontractor Technical Representative, and/or Derivative…