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: http://www.sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to join our team for a specific post-doctoral appointment in the study of hypersonic red vs. blue navigation, guidance and control (NGC) capabilities.The scope of the work spans from applied analysis of on-going guidance and navigation development to investigating novel approaches to guidance and navigation in contested environments. On-going development includes analyzing the navigation quality of trajectories resultant from mission planning using advanced in-house tools. The research arm of this work will include a literature review of exploration-based approaches to solving the constrained & contested guidance problem and down-select of 2 methods to compare their efficacy. This work requires a strong theoretical background in direct and indirect optimization, navigation sensor fusion, unconstrained vehicle dynamics, and GNSS signal processing.

On any given day, one may be called upon to:

• Model contested navigation and kinetic intercept threats in multi-system hypersonic engagements in modeling and simulation (Matlab or Python)
• Develop contested navigation algorithms for hypersonic systems
• Develop techniques and algorithms for constrained and unconstrained hypersonic guidance problems
• Create broad-reaching modeling and simulation tools in NGC as part of a collaborative team-based effort
• Work in multidisciplinary teams consisting of electrical engineers, computer scientists, physicists, materials scientists, and mathematicians.
• Conduct innovative research, publish, and present results in refereed journals and conferences.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite a minimum of one week per month, with remote employment optional for the duration of the post-doctoral appointment.

Qualifications We Require:

• PhD in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or relevant field, conferred within five (5) years prior to employment
• Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE L clearance
• Background in stochastic estimation
• Background in guidance optimization problems
• Experience in programming in Matlab

Qualifications We Desire:

Experience in:

• GPS and multi-GNSS Signal Processing
• Alternative position, navigation, and timing (alt-PNT) sensors, algorithms, and techniques
• Navigation warfare (e.g., jammers and spoofers)
• RF signal processing theory and RF propagation theory
• AI/ML Background (especially adversarial learning techniques)
• Advanced Control Theory
• Convex Optimization techniques
• Multi-agent reinforcement learning
• Guidance and Control theory for hypersonic systems

Proficiency with programming languages including C++, Python, and Simulink

Record of publication and innovation, as evidenced by peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, technical books or issued patents.

Strong written and oral communication skills

About Our Team:

Department 05449, Autonomy for Hypersonics, manages the Autonomy for Hypersonics Mission Campaign (A4H), an innovative research portfolio in autonomous systems development and flight demonstrations of technology advancements. This department also supports the research and development of software, autonomy algorithms, prototype hardware, target recognition, and navigation/guidance/control. We actively partner with domain experts, both at the Labs and throughout the nation, to implement high-impact research to meet national defense needs.

A4H is pursuing research and development in autonomous systems to enhance the capabilities of the nation's hypersonic vehicles as well as other high-consequence systems. A4H enables increasingly agile hypersonic weapons that adapt to unexpected scenarios, empowering the U.S. to respond to threats anywhere in the world without putting our war fighters at unnecessary risk. The challenging flight environment and limited available flight data make hypersonics one of the most complex applications for autonomy. Sandia and its partners are developing algorithms, sensors, and compact computing hardware that compress complex data processing and analysis methods into real-time decisioning tools. The goal of A4H is unprecedented flexibility in response to newly designated targets, evolving target conditions, difficult operating environments, and unexpected flight conditions.

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:

This position does not currently require a Department of Energy (DOE) security clearance.

Sandia will conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Furthermore, employees in New Mexico need to pass a U.S. Air Force background screen for access to Kirtland Air Force Base. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause access to be denied or terminated, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

If hired without a clearance and it subsequently becomes necessary to obtain and maintain one for the position, or you bid on positions that require a clearance, a pre-processing background review may be conducted prior to a required federal background investigation. Applicants for a DOE security clearance need to be U.S. citizens. 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.

Members of the workforce (MOWs) hired at Sandia who require uncleared access for greater than 179 days during their employment, are required to go through the Uncleared Personal Identity Verification (UPIV) process. Access includes physical and/or cyber (logical) access, as well as remote access to any NNSA information technology (IT) systems. UPIV requirements are not applicable to individuals who require a DOE personnel security clearance for the performance of their SNL employment or to foreign nationals. The UPIV process will include the completion of a USAccess Enrollment, SF-85 (Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions) and OF-306 (Declaration of for Federal Employment). An unfavorable UPIV determination will result in immediate retrieval of the SNL issued badge, removal of cyber (logical) access and/or removal from SNL subcontract. All MOWs may appeal the unfavorable UPIV determination to DOE/NNSA immediately. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the MOW may try to go through the UPIV process one year after the decision date.

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.

Job ID: 694409

Job Family: 92

Regular/Temporary Position: T

Full/Part-Time Status: F

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.