Does a career focused on changing the world's energy future intrigue you? If so, we might have just the opportunity you're looking for!

Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Advanced Manufacturing group (AMG) is seeking forward-thinking, professionals interested in exploring a career as a Group Lead!

This role requires one to provide technical, strategic, and human capital leadership for the AMG within the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Department of the Energy and Environment Science and Technology (EES&T) directorate. The group oversees and leads the research, development, and deployment (RD&D) associated with developing advanced manufacturing techniques for materials discovery, design, improved functional properties, characteristics and performance. This group is also involved in developing, designing, improving real-time online materials monitoring, materials characterization techniques and associated equipment.

This position is for an experienced materials scientist/engineer/Metallurgist at Ph.D level. INL’s MSE department seeks to bolster its current expertise in the advanced manufacturing area. Currently our capabilities include field assisted sintering, joining and several directed energy deposition printing methods. The position will require R&D leadership as well as respective coupling to other advanced manufacturing activities, including automation and high temperature mechanical processing of materials produced by these methods.

This position seeks an individual with a strong background in solidification, physical metallurgy, ceramics processing, field assisted sintering, and advanced manufacturing techniques. The candidate will lead through application of their established knowledge in the development of automated processing solutions for complex net-shape, high-throughput, large-scale, joining, high-temperature mechanical and chemical processing. The candidate is expected to develop R&D programs and support existing programs in the various advanced manufacturing processing techniques. The application of field assisted joining, 3D metal processing, ceramic and composite additively manufactured parts will be engaged. The end applications are typically focused on components for service in extremely harsh environments found in power generation, aerospace, and ballistic protection applications. Complimentary expertise is also desired in materials as well as manufacturing process development for high-strength, lightweight and/or creep/oxidation-resistant metal alloys. Integrating, modeling, simulations into system development, processes, materials production automation, and advanced materials processing approaches are also important skills for this position.

This role is responsible for R&D in the aforementioned areas and for leading technical team(s) in those areas. As a principal investigator, the successful individual will be responsible for writing proposals, obtaining funding from appropriate organizations, and guide others in research studies to prove new principles and concepts. They must also obtain and retain a security clearance at the Q level.

The ability to take a leadership role in developing new programs associated with advanced materials development and assessment in support of grand ideas at the departmental, directorate and lab levels, as well as mentoring and organizing team members to successfully achieve goals is a prerequisite of this position.

The Group Supervisor:

• Provides guidance to departmental business plan and performance of duties of a line management Principal Investigator for assigned work activities.
• Takes lead in establishing beneficial collaborative relationship with customers, technical representatives and field operations personnel seeking application based advance materials deployment and development.
• Serve as a technical resource to others, including mentorship and provision of guidance to junior level scientists
• Contributes to report generation, publications, proposals and concepts submitted for external funding.
• Conducts and documents work, collects, interprets laboratory data, plans research tasks, assess and applies research techniques to those tasks.
• Represents the MS&E Department and INL with sponsors and peers through programmatic and technical presentations.
• Engages in external technical leadership associated with relevant technical conferences.
• Acts as the Department Manager, in their absence.
• Provides input on quarterly staff performance evaluations including feedback, personal goal setting, and career development.
• Assists in creating, updating, and executing a strategic plan for the department.
• Assists with talent development, recruiting new staff, retaining existing staff, and identifying professional growth opportunities for group members.
• Ensures work within the group is executed safely, efficiently, within budget parameters, and appropriate scope.
• Develops and maintains group’s existing technical capability base, identifies and builds new group capabilities, and executes technical programs.
• Provides technical leadership and assists in coordinating and aligning group activities with departmental goals.
• Demonstrates technical leadership within the group’s area of study/expertise.
• Provides weekly updates for assigned group projects and develops presentation material to highlight group capabilities to potential customers.

Minimum Requirements:

• PhD in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, or related field
• 10 years of related post-PhD experience.
• Established reputation and relationships with other researchers in materials related working, including development and characterization.
• Experience identifying collaboration opportunities between experimental and modeling activities.
• Experience meeting the goals of internal and external partners.
• Experience building and leading teams and mentoring and training junior staff.
• Experience serving as the technical decision-making and direction at the medium to large-scale project level.
• Record of high-quality research in structural materials and a research background in functional materials is a plus.
• Experience conceiving and developing multi-disciplinary research projects on structure/property relationships of materials.
• Demonstrated record of effective teamwork and working effectively across organizational boundaries.
• Demonstrated excellence in interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
• Record of commitment to safe, secure and environmentally sound operations.
• Achievement through reports, publications, intellectual property, or technical products.
• Familiarity with National Laboratory programs.
• Experience in structure/property characterization of materials, including development of new materials, neutron irradiation effects, physical metallurgy, and materials characterization techniques.

Job Information

• Salary Grade: 220
• Multi-Level: This is a multi-level posting and the selected individual will be placed at the appropriate level dependent on depth and breadth of proven experience and skills

INL Overview:

INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission in nuclear energy research, science, and national defense. With more than 5,000 scientists, researchers, and support staff, the laboratory works with national and international governments, universities and industry partners to discover new science and development technologies that underpin the nation’s nuclear and renewable energy, national security, and environmental missions.

INL Mission:

Our mission is to discover, demonstrate and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options and critical infrastructure.

INL Vision:

Our vision is to change the world’s energy future and secure our nation’s critical infrastructure.

Selective Service Requirements:

To be eligible for employment at INL males born after December 31, 1959 must have registered with the Selective Service System (SSS).

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of INL to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information. Women and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.

COVID Safety Protocols:

As a condition of employment, Idaho National Laboratory will inquire about COVID vaccination status and expects candidates to comply with all required COVID safety protocols, including mask-wearing as applicable. If safety protocols evolve to include mandatory vaccinations, Idaho National Laboratory will require compliance with such vaccine mandates subject to applicable protections under State and Federal Law.

Reasonable Accommodation:

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Other Information:

When applying to positions please provide a resume and answer all questions on the following screens. Applicants, who fail to provide a resume or answer the questions, may be deemed ineligible for consideration.

Benefits & Salary:

We have an extremely competitive salary structure, robust relocation package, and phenomenal benefits.