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Job Description
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
Extraordinary co-workers
Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
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 vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance
World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at:
These benefits vary by job classification.
What Your Job Will Be Like
The Radiation Effects Sciences & Applications Group is seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Appointee to conduct groundbreaking research and analysis of radiation transport and/or induced effects in electronics and materials. Your work may range from performing experiments and simulations to predict and better understand radiation impacts on powerful analog in-memory computing platforms to performing discovery physics experiments on emerging materials such as wide bandgap devices for power applications and new tailored additively manufactured materials. You may perform theoretical and computational research to understand the effects caused by ionizing radiation from nuclear weapons, space environments, experimental facilities, and other sources. You will work in a collaborative environment with a diverse team and have access to some of the world’s most powerful tools.
On any given day, you may be called on to:
Perform simulations on world class computing platforms to investigate radiation effects in electronics and advanced materials.
Team with other specialists, including those performing radiation experiments at pioneering facilities at Sandia, universities and other facilities across the country to design experiments, analyze results, and to present new insights or observations.
Use and/or develop radiation transport codes to model the interaction of particle radiation (X-rays, electrons, neutrons, and gamma-rays) with matter.
Summarize findings in internal reports and as appropriate, publish results in journal articles and present at conferences.
Some travel will be required for project meetings and conferences.
Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.
Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories
Qualifications We Require
PhD degree in Engineering, Material Sciences, Physics, Computer Science or a closely related field
Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q clearance
Qualifications We Desire
A strong record of scientific and/or technical achievements through publication, as evidenced by peer-reviewed journals and external presentations at appropriate scientific conferences.
Experience in radiation sciences and effects in electronics or materials.
Experience modeling radiation effects in electronics or materials.
Experience with computational modeling and simulation of radiation transport and/or multi-physics applications.
Experience working with interdisciplinary teams.
About Our Team
The Radiation Effects Sciences & Applications Group is to assure and verify the capability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile to survive and operate through radiation and electromagnetic environments. These activities range from fundamental radiation effects research to qualifying the performance of electronic piece parts, subsystems, and systems to natural space-based and/or human-made radiation environments (e.g., environment produced by nuclear detonations). We accomplish our mission by performing basic and applied radiation effects research on materials and electronics through test and evaluation using innovative photon, ion, neutron, electron, and laser sources located at Sandia National Laboratories and other laboratories throughout the United States. We also develop critical radiation, electrical, and plasma diagnostics to characterize our test environments as well as perform simulations to investigate the radiation response of electronics and other test objects. We develop computer codes to qualify future weapon and satellite electronic systems to various radiation environments and effects. Department personnel also provide mentorship to electronic designers to assure accurate design techniques related to mitigating the deleterious effects of radiation and qualification assessments of nuclear weapon hardware to each of Sandia’s production groups. This team is part of the Radiation, Electrical and High Energy Density Science (REHEDS) Research Foundation at Sandia.
Posting Duration
This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.
Security Clearance
Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.
Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.
EEO
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.
NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs
If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.
If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.
Position Information
This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia’s discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment.
Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.
