Cleared Early Career Electrical Engineer, Autonomous Sensing and Perception- Onsite

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 vacation, 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.

On any given day, you may be called on to: We are seeking a R&D S&E Electrical Engineer to join the Autonomous Sensing and Perception team.

The selected candidate will perform software/algorithm research and development work focused on making orbital, aerial, and terrestrial sensors and their associated platforms and support equipment more autonomous through the application of cutting-edge remote sensing and perception methods, with specific emphasis on algorithm development for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery analysis capabilities. The selected candidate will develop and deploy automated SAR software solutions within autonomous sensing systems.

The successful application will have experience in SAR signal processing as well as other relevant technical areas such as programming (C++ and python), algorithm development, remote sensing, image and signal processing, computer vision, pattern recognition, version control systems, automated software testing, software containerization and deployment methodologies.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop algorithms that will enable the autonomous processing of multiple live SAR sensor streams in real time, in both data center and edge environments
• Contribute to long term, strategic upgrades to existing algorithms as well as short term, reactive upgrades to address critical needs
• Contribute to development and improvement of existing algorithms as well as the exploration and implementation of new algorithms
• Conduct analysis of SAR sensor data collections employing advanced statistical methods and other quantitative mathematical techniques to extract meaningful insights suitable for high-confidence decision making
• Develop applications that would allow for information to be automatically extracted from sensor and platform data and properly contextualized for autonomous high-confidence decision making
• Investigate and remediate problems in real time within operational systems and workflows
• Develop verification and validation routines to ensure compliant inputs and outputs for SAR algorithms within operational frameworks contributed to by internal and external collaborators
• Assist in upholding best software practices by contributing to CI/CD pipeline design, implementation, maintenance, and documentation using GitLab CI/CD and other DevOps tools
• Develop applications that use SAR modeling and simulation software to train autonomous systems
• Collaborate with multiple diverse teams of scientists and engineers from across Sandia and external partner organizations (government, academia, industry) that are designing and building multiple sensor systems, platforms, and ground stations
• Work onsite due to the sensitive and classified nature of the work environment

*Some travel is required for this position.

$102,400 - $199,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Active DOE Q and SCI level clearances.

The ideal R&D S&E Electrical Engineer candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Electrical Engineering or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Ability to work independently and collaborate well in a multidisciplinary team of designers and test engineers.
• Outstanding verbal and written skills, including the ability to develop and present briefings that are clear and compelling.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Experience in analysis and algorithm development for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) - detection, classification, coherent change detection, polarimetric analysis, etc. - including knowledge and experience in relevant programming languages such as C++, Python, and MATLAB.
• Experience designing and developing robust software solutions, utilizing software engineering best practices and programming to enhance data processing efficiency, testing coverage, validation and verification, and overall system performance.
• Knowledge of and ability to develop production-grade software using standard methodologies in a fast-paced and operationally-focused environment
• Synthetic remote sensing data generation software (e.g. Xpatch, DIRSIG)
• Experience with automated software testing
• Experience working on Linux systems
• Familiarity with containerization technologies and patterns (Docker/podman/apptainer)
• Strong troubleshooting skills across development, staging, and production environments
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently and make informed decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• An interest in pursuing professional development opportunities focused on increased remote sensing, computer vision, and machine intelligence domain expertise, increased software engineering proficiency, and increased technical leadership

The Autonomous Sensing & Perception Departments at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) specialize in developing and deploying quantitative methods for detecting, identifying, classifying, localizing, and contextualizing objects of interest across a variety of sensor data. This expertise spans a wide range of sensor modalities, including Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR), Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), and Full Motion Video (FMV), among others. We leverage advanced algorithms that blend classical statistical methods with cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to create robust solutions for automated sensing applications.

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) SCI security clearance to start, or equivalent active security clearance with another U.S. government agency (e.g., DOD). 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 and SCI access, both of which require US citizenship. SCI access may also require a polygraph examination. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain these levels of access 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 the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

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.

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.