Where You Will Do What You Will Do
This position will be filled at either the R&D Engineer 2 or 3 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.
This is an opportunity to be part of the first new weapon system program in over 30 years. Q-20, W93/Mk7 Systems Development and Realization Group, defines, develops, and fields the warhead system for the newest Navy sub-launched ballistic missile weapon program. We support the DoD/Navy SSP and DoE/NNSA customers in defining the mission need and corresponding technical and programmatic requirements. The W93 collaborates closely with Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Lockheed Martin Space design agencies, developing the re-entry system, ensuring safe, secure, & reliable warhead performance and a relevant nuclear deterrent. Q-20 also incorporates the production agency teams (KCNSC, Pantex, SRS, Y-12, LANL, and SNL) tightly into the design, qualification, and realization processes.
Q-20 is seeking a Systems Engineer to support the development, management, and implementation of requirements across complex engineering programs. This position will work closely with Requirements Engineers, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) practitioners, system architects, and technical stakeholders to establish and maintain a disciplined requirements engineering framework that enables digital engineering and model-based development practices.
In this role, you will be responsible for translating mission and stakeholder needs into high-quality technical requirements, maintaining traceability throughout the system lifecycle, supporting verification planning, and ensuring requirements remain consistent with evolving architectures and system models.
This position offers an opportunity to shape modern systems engineering practices and contribute to the Laboratory's digital transformation initiatives.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
R&D Engineer 2 $106,400- $176,600
- Collaborate with Requirements Engineers to develop, analyze, and maintain technical requirements across system, subsystem, and component levels
- Collaborate with MBSE engineers to ensure requirements are accurately represented and traced within system models
- Support requirements decomposition, allocation, verification planning, and change management activities
- Facilitate requirements reviews with technical subject matter experts and program stakeholders
- Support development of requirements management processes, standards, and best practices
- Systems Engineering Knowledge: Demonstrated knowledge of systems engineering principles, requirements development, verification, validation, and lifecycle management.
- Requirements Engineering: Experience developing, analyzing, decomposing, allocating, and managing technical requirements for complex systems.
- Traceability and Verification: Demonstrated experience establishing requirements traceability and supporting verification and validation activities.
- Collaboration: Ability to work effectively with multidisciplinary teams, including systems engineers, architects, MBSE practitioners, and program stakeholders.
- Communication: Strong technical writing, presentation, and facilitation skills.
R&D Engineer 3 $128,000-$215,900
In addition to the requirements listed above:
- Lead requirements engineering activities across complex projects involving multiple organizations and stakeholders
- Develop and implement requirements governance strategies, quality metrics, and process improvements
- Provide technical leadership in requirements analysis, traceability, verification planning, and configuration management
- Mentor junior staff and support organizational adoption of digital engineering and MBSE practices
- Lead cross-functional working groups focused on requirements integration and technical baseline management
- Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead technical teams and requirements-focused initiatives across organizational boundaries.
- Requirements Governance: Experience establishing requirements management frameworks, review processes, quality standards, and metrics.
- Strategic Systems Engineering: Demonstrated experience influencing technical baselines, architecture decisions, and system development strategies.
- Program Integration: Experience coordinating requirements activities across multiple projects, organizations, or external partners.
- Mentoring: Demonstrated ability to coach and develop junior engineers.
Education/Experience for R&D Engineer 2 : Position requires a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering from an accredited institution and 4 years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 3: Position requires a Master's Degree in Engineering from an accredited institution and 6 years of related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation. At this level a Ph.D. may be preferred.
Desired Qualifications:
- Experience with quality assurance standards such as NQA-1, NAP-401.A, or DOE Order 414.D
- Knowledge and experience with execution of the NNSA Phase X Process and Defense Programs Business Process System (DPBPS) requirements
- Knowledge of INCOSE Systems Engineering practices
- Experience with requirements development and component to system integration
- Know-how to develop design of experiments for material and component studies;
- Experience with PTC CREO parametric modeling software or other CAD programs
- Knowledge of GD&T standards and practices
- Experience with requirements management software such as DOORS Next.
- Understanding of testing in support of component validation/verification efforts
- Demonstrated experience in secure work environment or working with sensitive or classified information
- Active Q clearance, which normally requires US citizenship
Work Location: The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.
Position commitment: Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 2 years.
Note to Applicants:
- For full consideration, a comprehensive cover letter addressing your qualifications against the minimum and desired skills requirements is required.
Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
- PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
- Dental and vision insurance
- Free basic life and disability insurance
- Paid childbirth and parental leave
- Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
- Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
- Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
- Onsite gyms and wellness programs
- Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2 (https://directives.nnsa.doe.gov/supplemental-directive/sd-0206-0002) . Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.
Clearance: Q (Position will be cleared to this level). Selected applicants will be subject to a background investigation conducted by or on behalf of the Federal Government, and must meet eligibility requirements* for access to classified matter. This position requires a Q clearance. and obtaining such clearance requires US Citizenship except in extremely rare circumstances. Dependent upon the position, additional authorization to access classified information may be required, which may or may not be available to dual citizens. Receipt of a Q clearance and additional access authorization ultimately is a decision of the Federal Government and not of Triad.
*Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE Order 472.2 (https://www.directives.doe.gov/directives-documents/400-series/0472.2-BOrder-A/@Aimages/file) for additional information.
New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.
Regular position: Term status Laboratory employees applying for regular-status positions are converted to regular status.
Internal Applicants: Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 (https://int.lanl.gov/policy/documents/P701.pdf) for applicant eligibility requirements.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call (505)-664-6947 opt. 3.
