Postdoctoral Appointee - Metal Additive Manufacturing, Onsite

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting‑edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
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• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten‑hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part‑time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

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* These benefits vary by job classification.

At the forefront of manufacturing innovation, the Advanced Metals Processing team drives transformative solutions to complex materials challenges that support Sandia's national security mission. As part of Sandia's metal advanced manufacturing initiative, you will develop next‑generation manufacturing processes that redefine the state‑of‑the‑art in metal fabrication.

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to study structure‑property‑processing relationships in materials produced by laser‑powder directed energy deposition. In this role you will design and execute experiments to build AM metal parts. You will use your scientific insights to identify key features of the manufacturing process and resulting material to help shape the future of metal AM within the Nuclear Security Enterprise.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop an additive manufacturing process tailored to a new alloy
• Perform detailed characterization on a part microstructure to determine why it formed and how it may affect performance
• Design AM techniques for compositionally graded parts or multi‑material manufacturing
• Collaborate in diverse teams with other Sandia scientists and external partners to identify how metal AM can help solve complex manufacturing problems
• Share results through writing manuscripts for peer review, attending conferences, or presenting to Sandia stakeholders

Due to the nature of the work, the selected candidate must be able to work onsite.

• PhD in materials science, metallurgy, mechanical engineering or related field
• Experience with additive manufacturing technologies or physical metallurgy
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance

The ideal Postdoctoral Appointee - Metal Additive Manufacturing candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will also possess one or more of the following:

• Expertise with laser- and powder‑based metal AM techniques, especially directed energy deposition
• Experience working with and characterizing metal powders
• Experience preparing and characterizing metallographic samples to evaluate microstructure
• Proficiency with AM software workflow, topology optimization tools, or computational thermodynamics (CALPHAD) methodology
• Familiarity with alloy design and the state of the art in functionally graded or compositionally graded materials (FGM, CGM)
• Record of technical excellence demonstrated by publications and conference presentations
• The ability to conduct creative independent research
• Experience with AI, machine learning, or data science
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

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