Project Engineer; Nuclear Facility Engineer

What You Will Do

The position will be filled at either the Nuclear Facilities Project Engineer 3 or 4 level, depending on the candidate’s skills. Additional responsibilities outlined below will apply if the candidate is hired at the higher level. The Plutonium Infrastructure Engineering Division (PIE‑DO) of Los Alamos National Laboratory develops, maintains, and applies a diverse set of engineering capabilities to support the Laboratory’s Plutonium Facility.

PIE‑DO implements the Conduct of Engineering (COE) program on Division projects, ensuring risk management and customer satisfaction in a safe, secure, cost‑effective, and environmentally responsible manner.

• Lead as the technical representative for engineering activities related to planning, design, execution, and closeout of projects.
• Manage engineering design efforts by internal and/or external teams, facilitate design reviews, and ensure implementation of comments.
• Verify complaint design delivery at each stage (30/60/90/100 %).
• Manage technical requirements for construction (designer‑constructor interfaces, design changes, submittals, inspections, RFIs, FCRs, commissioning, turnover).
• Collaborate with the integrated project team to assure scope, requirement tracking, and safety in design.
• Work with LANL Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) reps and subject‑matter experts to resolve issues.
• Plan and forecast project engineering staffing needs.
• Review progress against approved schedules and budgets, evaluate variances, and develop corrective actions.
• Enforce LANL Conduct of Engineering policies, programs, procedures, and practices.
• Mentor junior project engineers and oversee their work.
• Participate in process improvement initiatives.
• For level 4:
  Demonstrate proven leadership experience and strategic thinking for institutional programs.

• Experience with design and construction contracts.
• Experience with a conduct of engineering program (e.g., LANL COE).
• Familiarity with cost engineering functions, cost estimating, cost control, and variance analysis.
• Advanced knowledge of assessment/audit practices.
• Collaboration with SMEs, construction personnel, and peers.
• Advanced technical knowledge to evaluate and interpret engineering requirements.
• Mentoring experience.
• Experience with industry codes and standards (NEC, IBC, ASME, NFPA, etc.).
• Experience with national quality standards (ASME NQA‑1, ISO 9000, etc.).
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Desktop automation skills (MS Office Suite).
• Advanced training in problem‑solving methodologies (Lean Six Sigma, root‑cause analysis).

• Advanced knowledge of construction engineering principles and practices.
• Experience in a senior engineering role implementing, overseeing, or assessing engineering activities.
• Expert knowledge of quality assurance tools and practices.
• Expert‑level assessment/audit practices.
• Expert knowledge of construction codes, standards, formal project‑management methodologies, and Laboratory business systems and functional organizations.
• Strategic thinking for development of institutional programs and initiatives.
• Advanced capability in evaluating complex technical systems through structured assessments, data analysis, and performance monitoring.
• Deep understanding of national consensus standards and application within engineering, testing, and operational environments.
• Strong analytical proficiency in applying statistical and metrology methods to diagnose process variation, determine root causes, and improve reliability and performance.

Level 3 requires a bachelor’s degree in engineering and at least 6 years of practical work experience. Level 4 requires the same degree and at least 12 years of practical work experience.

Advanced engineering or technical degrees are highly desired. Current registration as an Engineer in Training (EIT) or Professional Engineer (PE) is highly desirable.

Current registration as an Engineer in Training (EIT) is highly desirable. Current registration as a Professional Engineer (PE) is highly desirable.

• Advanced degree in a relevant…