Pulsed Power R&D Engineer (R&D Engineer 1/2)

$101,700 - $168,200/Yr

Los Alamos National Laboratory - Los Alamos, NM

Full-time - Entry Level

Los Alamos, NM

501-1,000 employees

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Pulsed Power R&D Engineer position at Los Alamos National Laboratory involves working within the Accelerator Operations and Technology Division, specifically in the Radio Frequency Engineering group. The role focuses on the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of pulsed power systems and high-voltage power supplies used in accelerator systems. The position may be filled at either the R&D Engineer 1 or R&D Engineer 2 level, depending on the candidate's qualifications, with responsibilities expanding at the higher level to include planning and managing maintenance activities and analyzing system data for performance improvements.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of LANSCE pulsed power systems and high-voltage power supplies.
• Work under the direction of senior engineers to plan and implement new pulsed power systems.
• Provide on-call support for the LANSCE Pulsed Power team after hours and on weekends.
• Analyze pulsed power systems data to inform design enhancements for improving performance and reliability.
• Collaborate with other researchers on special projects across the laboratory.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to read and understand schematics.
• Undergraduate training in electrical engineering fields related to high-voltage and pulsed-power engineering.
• Verbal communication and interpersonal skills, with experience in producing written documents.
• Ability to accomplish technical tasks independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• For R&D Engineer 2: Record of contributions to the design, development, testing, and installation of high-voltage, high-current, or pulsed power systems.
• For R&D Engineer 2: Experience troubleshooting, installing, and testing pulsed power systems.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with high-voltage DC and pulsed-power systems.
• Experience with computer-based circuit layout simulation (PSpice, Multisim, LTSPice, etc.).
• Design experience with high-speed circuits and PCB architecture (Altium, KiCad, Cadence, Mentor Graphic).
• Some experience with microcontrollers and PLC programming.
• Familiarity with 3D CAD software (SolidWorks, AUTOCAD, AutoDesk Inventor/Fusion).
• Experience with matrix algebra and block diagram simulation software (Matlab/Simulink, Scilab/Xcos, etc.).
• Operations experience at an accelerator facility.

Benefits

• PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with a large nationwide network.
• Dental and vision insurance.
• Free basic life and disability insurance.
• Paid childbirth and parental leave.
• 401(k) with 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).