Mechanical Design Engineer; R&D Engineer

What You Will Do

Join the frontline of National Security as a Design Engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory!

Are you ready to make a direct impact on the future of our nation's nuclear deterrent? At Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), we are searching for a passionate and driven Mechanical Design Engineer to join our Rapid Engineering Design & Integration (REDI) team within the Advanced System Development Group (Q-18). This is not just a job; it's a mission of critical national importance.

In Q-18, we responsively address emerging national security challenges through simultaneous technical and programmatic excellence and innovation in the development of future weapons systems with our laboratory and national defense partners. Focusing on effective design, development, and peer review of future weapons systems with an emphasis on improved performance, safety, and agility in support of our nation's foremost defense missions.

We are seeking qualified and enthusiastic individuals to work in Q-18's Rapid Engineering Design & Integration (REDI) team. The REDI team is responsible for developing initial engineering designs for new and modified weapons systems in support of urgent warfighter requirements. You will be part of an agile and responsive team that blazes the trail for the next generation of nuclear weapons.

You will be responsible for developing mechanical designs and facilitating fabrication in support of the group's national defense mission and you will ensure that designs are manufacturable and able to withstand the complex deployed weapon environments.

In this role, you will:

• Join a mechanical design team developing cutting‑edge weapon designs that meet the performance, safety, and agility requirements of our nation's future nuclear weapons systems.
• Apply mechanical design expertise, and best practices to both new weapon systems and the modification of existing programs.
• Generate and release critical deliverables to meet key customer milestones, ensuring our projects align with national security needs.
• Play a role in technical reviews, briefing management and stakeholders on project progress and innovations.

R&D Engineer 2 ($106,400 - $176,000)

Technical Expertise:

• Familiarity with nuclear weapons development and design.
• Experience with at least some of the R&D product lifecycle, from requirements generation, validation and verification, prototyping and testing.
• Experience in Mechanical Engineering Design including hand calculations and engineering analysis.
• Experience with Creo and PDMLink with demonstrated experience designing complex assemblies.
• An understanding of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), materials, and precision mechanical design.
• Ability to produce formal fabrication drawings that follow industry standards.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes and design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) principles.

Communication and Teamwork:

• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Experience working effectively both independently and in a team.

R&D Engineer 3 ($128,000 - $215,900)

In addition to the outlined responsibilities at the R&D Engineer 2 level, the minimum requirements at the R&D Engineer 3 level include:

Technical Expertise:

• Experience in nuclear weapons development and design.
• Experience with the full R&D product lifecycle, from requirements generation, validation and verification, prototyping and testing.
• Expertise in Mechanical Engineering Design including hand calculations and engineering analysis.
• Expertise with Creo and PDMLink with demonstrated experience designing complex assemblies.
• Ability to perform drawing checks and verification of the work from other designers in accordance with drafting standards.
• Experience with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), materials, and precision mechanical design.
• Ability to produce formal fabrication drawings that follow industry standards.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes and design‑for‑manufacturing (DFM) principles.

Communication and Teamwork:

• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Experience working effectively both independently and in a team.

Safety and Security:
Safety and security are primary responsibilities for all…