What You Will Do
Join the Weapons Mission Technology (WMT) group within the Weapons Research Services (WRS) Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)! Here's your opportunity to make a meaningful impact by contributing to our national security mission. At LANL, we tackle critical national security challenges with scientific, technological, and engineering excellence.
We are seeking a Solutions Architect who will play a key role in delivering innovative solutions to complex customer problems. In this role, you will collaborate closely with our enterprise security network customers, including the LANL Weapons Directorate, NNSA, and other DOE partners like Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Y-12 National Security Complex, Pantex (PX), Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC). Your responsibility will be to gather business requirements and transform them into technical solutions through careful analysis and design. Additionally, you will help guide and educate our team throughout the engineering lifecycle to ensure the successful and targeted delivery of solutions.
As the Solutions Architect, you will be the lead architect for complex hardware, software, database, networking, and telecommunication solutions. You'll be responsible for aligning Laboratory-wide requirements with enterprise needs, incorporating these into solutions that may include commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) products or internally developed software and hardware. Your role will also include project management for implementing these complex solutions, ensuring proper documentation, marketing, training, budget management, scheduling, resource utilization, and the realization of benefits.
You will bring broad expertise or unique knowledge to the role, using your skills to develop institution-wide processes, products, and services. You'll work on highly significant, complex issues, providing innovative solutions that have a broad impact across the industry. Operating under executive direction, you will set long-term goals and independently determine the best course of action to achieve them. With wide latitude in your methods and techniques, you will be recognized as a national authority in your area of specialization, influencing the future success of concepts, products, or technologies.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Safety and Security
Safety and security are a primary responsibility for all Laboratory employees. Assures safety and security compliance, maintains required safety and security training, and makes safety and security an integral part of every task, including taking the necessary steps to stop work if continuing the job is unsafe or compromises security. Adheres to Laboratory policies, programs, procedures and practices.
Technical Knowledge
Expert knowledge and demonstrated application of current and future network, data management, security, hardware, software development, and systems programming technologies. Expert knowledge and demonstrated experience in the development of complex processes, products, and services to facilitate the standardization of solution design, deployment, and risk/compliance. Demonstrated skills in researching, investigating, and recommending alternative software and hardware solutions. Integrates broad information technology knowledge across Laboratory weapons organizations to develop highly innovative solutions for important and extremely complex problems. Develops and advances state-of-the-art concepts, theories, methods, techniques and approaches to address specialized problems affecting telecommunications, data management, security, networking, hardware/software development or systems programming. Influences national professional standards and products. Leads the identification, promotion, and development of new IT capabilities for the Laboratory. Authors presentations, technical reports, and papers intended for national audiences. Develops intellectual property leading to publications, copyrights, and/or patents.
Project and Program Initiatives
Experience estimating scope/schedule/budget and then executing work scope with project management skills and tools using formality of operations principles (e.g., Agile development). Experience with planning, designing, and building complex digital road maps. Initiates and leads large-scale technical projects, with project teams spread across organizational boundaries and in partnership with National Security Enterprise partnering organizations to solve highly complex problems. Develops long-range positions on programs or technologies for institutional and external organizational partner consideration. Leads major projects with Laboratory-wide impact. Develops and implements project management plans for complex and interdisciplinary projects. Leads the development of scope, schedule, and budget and defines deliverables at program level.
Collaboration and Communication
Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills with demonstrated experience interacting with all levels of personnel, stakeholders, and customers, including demonstrated ability to form productive collaborations and translate technical concepts to non-technical audiences. Demonstrated experience in building, mentoring, and providing technical guidance to large and interdisciplinary teams, strong teaming skills.
Leadership
Participates in planning Laboratory and/or new information technology product line strategies and directions. Participates in technical decision-making at national or industry level. Makes decisions and/or recommendations that guide the development of critical Laboratory products and services. Actively participates in national professional societies, DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration complex interactions, special assignments, and/or external collaborations. Leads peer review across organizations or disciplines and participates in external peer review of technical products, projects, programs, and capabilities. Serves as technical resource and mentor to Laboratory IT staff. Provides mentoring and training for senior technical staff and assists them in achieving their career goals. Serves as a role model for effective and creative leadership within the Laboratory. Fosters a mutually respectful and inclusive work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment.
Education/Experience: Position requires a Bachelor's Degree and 15 years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Desired Qualifications:
- In depth experience with commercial off-the-shelf software packages (COTS) including PTC products, use, and programming workflows
- Familiar with product life cycle management, digital thread, and digital transformation
- Experience working with primary WRS inter-site organizations, e.g., Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Enterprise (NNSE) sites, including Pantex, Savannah River Site, Savannah River National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and Kansas City National Security Campus, and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in strategic software system design and implementation
- Demonstrated experience designing, building, and maintaining classified systems and platforms
- Experience working with weapons programs
- Experience and knowledge in the field of cyber security
Direction
Supervision Received
- Works without supervision. Consistently briefs senior-level Laboratory and/or governmental managers.
Supervision Exercised
- Provides technical direction to interdisciplinary teams or organizations for the development of highly complex systems.
- Serves as a role model for effective and creative technical leadership across the institution.
Contacts
- Senior Laboratory management and subject matter experts across a wide spectrum of disciplines.
- Expected to give public presentations to peer organizations throughout the complex.
- Maintains significant contact with industry to be aware of and often direct changes in IT technologies, products and services.
Work Environment:
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 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 1 year.
Note to Applicants:
For full consideration, applicants must submit a comprehensive cover letter that addresses the key requirements of the position. Position will require occasional domestic travel.
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. 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 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 for applicant eligibility requirements.
Incentive Compensation Program: Position is eligible to participate in the Triad Incentive Compensation Program. You must be in an eligible position for a minimum of 3 months, before July 1st and remain in an eligible position as of the end of the fiscal year, September 30th. The annual distribution is prorated based on the number of months in the eligible position.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to 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 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 1-505-664-6947 option 2 and then option 3.