Job Information
Los Alamos National Laboratory Plutonium Modernization Program Director 6 in Los Alamos, New Mexico
What You Will Do
This is an exceptional opportunity for an experienced, skilled senior program manager to lead a large-scale development and production program, building pits for the nation's nuclear stockpile. The LANL Plutonium Modernization Program Director 6 assignment provides overall program leadership and direct line management for Plutonium Operations Program Office (PuOps), ensuring programmatic coordination of LANL's $1B pit mission activities with the NNSA NA-191 sponsor, in support of the US national plutonium pit mission. The Program Office is the primary interface with the NNSA sponsor and LANL execution organizations. Plutonium Operations organizational and planning actions are coordinated and integrated with both the ALDWP production and facility operations and with ALDPI equipment installations, including the Los Alamos Plutonium Pit Production Project (LAP4) Line Item.
In this strategic leadership role, you will be responsible for the development of comprehensive program plans encompassing execution strategies, milestones and deliverables, resource requirements, and long-range budget justifications that ensure mission success to meet organizational objectives and stakeholder expectations that shape the organization's future. As one of LANL's largest programs in both funding and visibility, this position involves significant interfaces with other NNSA sites and laboratories, as well as with mission site and headquarters sponsors and policymakers. If you thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and possess the necessary skills and experience, we look forward to receiving your application.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Leadership
Demonstrated expert-level knowledge as a senior leader or manager of a project or program office with significant total program cost and complexity. Experience in successful leadership and direction of large, complex technical programs and personnel, requiring multidisciplinary integration across multiple organizations.
Demonstrated experience leading strategic and tactical planning and execution, customer service, project management, continuous improvement, and management systems such as safety, security, configuration management, conduct of operations, and earned value management.
Record of professionally recognized accomplishments and demonstrated expertise in a major element of the nuclear weapons program, or other nuclear or high hazard programs.
Demonstrated experience interfacing with executive-level external and internal customers to strategize, develop, negotiate, and define goals, milestones, and scope that meet their current needs and align with future direction.
Demonstrated capability and experience in technical leadership and program management, including success in program development, program advocacy, creative problem solving, resource planning and allocation, earned value reporting, technical program execution, and negotiation.
Demonstrated success in a manufacturing environment or supporting complex experimental programs. Experience with war reserve manufacturing is highly desired.
Strong leadership characteristics including personal integrity and accountability, fiduciary responsibility, trustworthiness in relationships, commitment to quality and excellence in programs and operations.
Management
Lead and direct cross-functional program teams in executing the program plan, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and quality standards.
Expert-level knowledge and experience in developing and implementing organizational strategies and objectives.
Monitor and track progress of individual projects within the program, identifying potential risks and issues, and implementing appropriate corrective actions.
Foster effective collaboration among internal teams, stakeholders, and external partners to drive program success.
Regularly report program status, key milestones, and performance metrics to senior management and stakeholders.
Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills for multiple levels of employees and stakeholders a must.
Demonstrated ability to provide strong leadership, mentorship, prioritization, and management of assigned employees in a collaborative and participative environment to build strong teams.
Ability to identify potential risks and challenges to the program's success and develop risk mitigation strategies.
Strong analytical skills that enable creative solutions to challenging problems.
Demonstrated development and execution of strategic staffing plans within an organization including the management of recruiting, hiring, promotion and attrition of employees.
Teamwork/Coalition Building
Demonstrated success building and growing both internal and external relationships with higher-level managers and direct reports from a variety of constituencies, sponsors, and other organizations.
Demonstrated success guiding and leading efforts with expertise in building and managing integrated project teams.
Leads participation in national level working groups and collaborative program efforts.
Financial and Resource Management
Develop and manage the program budget, ensuring efficient utilization of resources and adherence to financial constraints.
Collaborate with finance and procurement teams to ensure timely and cost-effective procurement of materials, equipment, and services required for the program.
Optimize resource allocation and staffing within the program, ensuring the right skills and expertise are available to meet project requirements.
Compliance and Security
Demonstrated experience in developing, implementing, and enforcing plans or programs to meet or exceed contractual requirements, performance measures, regulations, and laws, including the proven ability to do so while operating within a highly sensitive national security environment.
Ensure compliance with relevant industry standards, regulations, and quality requirements throughout the program lifecycle.
Establish robust change control processes to manage scope changes, ensuring they align with program goals and objectives.
Demonstrated commitment to the organization's goals of operational leadership, assuring the security of classified information, assuring the health and safety of workers the public and environment, work force diversity and employee development.
Education and Experience: Position requires a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution and 15 years related experience; or, an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Desired Qualifications:
Experience interacting with and presenting to upper level LANL management, NNSA (or comparable customer), and US military (or comparable) customers.
Demonstrated successful experience interacting/interfacing with the Department of Energy program offices, programmatic secretarial offices, and NNSA sponsors.
Knowledge of NNSA structure, and experience working directly with NNSA and communicating budget requirements, scope requirements, milestone reporting, and program review processes and deliverables.
Experience with NNSA Program Management and Enhanced Management Level A or Level B project management requirements.
Change of station, detailee, or IPA experience in federal organizations, especially NNSA, DOE, DOD.
Experience in successful personnel and resource management.
Active Q clearance.
Derivative Classifier (DC) experience.
An understanding of nuclear weapons principles is highly desirable.
Professional certifications such as PMP (Project Management Professional), PgMP (Program Management Professional), or other continued development courses.
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 in order 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 the ALDWP-DPO Senior Director. The position commitment for this position is 2 years.
Note to Applicants:
For full consideration, please submit a comprehensive resume reflective of your relevant experience to the job requirements and desired skills stated above. A c over letter is required however, do not address each requirement specifically but instead describe your perspective as to why you are the ideal candidate for this position.
While the posted salary range for this position is broad, the offer to the selected applicant will be evaluated on skills, qualifications, and experience. It's common for selected candidate to grow into the full salary band over time.
Work Schedule : Due to the high visibility and priority of this program, this position may require work outside of standard work hours and schedules depending on the business rhythm cycle.
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 (https://directives.nnsa.doe.gov/supplemental-directive/sd-0206-0002) . 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 (https://www.directives.doe.gov/directives-documents/400-series/0472.2-BOrder-chg1-pgchg) for additional information.
HRP: This position is subject to the requirements of the DOE Human Reliability Program as specified in 10 Code of Federal Regulation, Part 712, §712.11. These requirements include on going drug and alcohol testing, as well as periodic medical and psychological evaluations.
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 (https://int.lanl.gov/policy/documents/P701.pdf) 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 1-505-665-4444 option 1.