High Power Radio Frequency Engineer (R&D Engineer 1 or 2)
- Req. Number: IRC134386
- Organization : AOT-RFE - The Accelerator Operations and Technology Division- Radio Frequency Engineering
- City, State: Los Alamos, New Mexico
What You Will Do
The Accelerator Operations and Technology Division (AOT), Radio Frequency Engineering (RFE) group is seeking an RF power engineer.
The AOT division maintains, operates, and upgrades all accelerator systems used at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) complex. These consist of two 750-keV Cockcroft-Walton-based injector systems (H+ and H- systems), a 201.25-MHz drift tube linear accelerator utilizing LDMOS transistors, tetrodes and higher-power diacrode tubes, an 805-MHz coupled cavity linac utilizing klystrons as the primary power source, a proton storage ring, and roughly a kilometer of beam transport lines that feed beam to the five independent research programs. The RFE group is principally responsible for all RF systems, pulsed power systems, and high-power DC power supplies used to operate magnets on the beam transport lines. Low-level RF (LLRF) control and monitoring of the various RF sources used to drive the beam is critical to the high performance and successful operation of the accelerator.
This position will be filled at the R&D Engineer 1 or the R&D Engineer 2 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.
R&D Engineer 1 ($92,300 - $151,000)
As a member of the AOT-RFE high power RF Engineering team, the successful candidate, working closely with other engineers, technologists and technicians, will contribute to the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the LANSCE high power RF (HPRF) systems, including high-voltage power supplies and associated electronics, and high-power RF test stand operation and upgrade.
The position will also involve working under the direction of senior engineers to plan and implement RF system upgrades as part of the LANSCE Modernization Project ("LAMP"), e.g. Radio Frequency Quadrupole accelerator tetrode amplifier system, Thyristor crowbar as ignitron replacement, Solid State RF amplifier development for UHF and for low frequencies (1-10 MHz).
The successful candidate will also provide on-call support for the LANSCE high power RF systems after hours and on weekends. The on-call assignment will typically be for one week per month during accelerator operations (approximately 7 months per year). New employees will go through a training period prior to being placed on-call (typically 1 year).
R&D Engineer 2 ($101,700 - $168,200)
In addition to what was outlined at the lower level, at this level, the position at this level will be responsible for planning and managing maintenance activities; analyzing RF system data to inform design enhancements for improving performance and reliability; planning, designing, implementing, and managing RF system upgrade projects, e.g. Radio Frequency Quadrupole RF amplifier system, Thyristor crowbar as ignitron replacement, Solid State RF amplifier system-level and component level development.
The successful candidate will also provide power electronics expertise to all segments of the group, particularly in the areas related to solid state and gridded vacuum tube amplifiers and the equipment required to operate them. There will also be opportunities to support LANSCE physicists and scientists on special projects.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 1:
Additional Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 2: In addition to the requirements outlined above, qualification at the higher level requires:
Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 1 level: Position requires a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited institution related to the occupation combined with 2 years of related experience.
Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 2 level: Position requires a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited institution and 4 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Desired Qualifications:
Desired Qualifications:
Essential Job Functions (can perform with or without reasonable accommodation): Ability to speak, ability to hear in a normal range, standing, walking, reaching overhead, reaching horizontally, reaching down, gripping with hands, typing or keyboarding.
Note to Applicants: Consideration for the position will be strictly limited to applicants that submit a comprehensive cover letter addressing, bullet by bullet, each of the required and desired skills.
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 their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 1 year.
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:
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. 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.
No Clearance: Position does not require a security clearance. Selected candidates will be subject to drug testing and other pre-employment background checks.
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 for applicant eligibility requirements.
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 or preference, 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.
The Accelerator Operations and Technology Division (AOT), Radio Frequency Engineering (RFE) group is seeking an RF power engineer.
The AOT division maintains, operates, and upgrades all accelerator systems used at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) complex. These consist of two 750-keV Cockcroft-Walton-based injector systems (H+ and H- systems), a 201.25-MHz drift tube linear accelerator utilizing LDMOS transistors, tetrodes and higher-power diacrode tubes, an 805-MHz coupled cavity linac utilizing klystrons as the primary power source, a proton storage ring, and roughly a kilometer of beam transport lines that feed beam to the five independent research programs. The RFE group is principally responsible for all RF systems, pulsed power systems, and high-power DC power supplies used to operate magnets on the beam transport lines. Low-level RF (LLRF) control and monitoring of the various RF sources used to drive the beam is critical to the high performance and successful operation of the accelerator.
This position will be filled at the R&D Engineer 1 or the R&D Engineer 2 level, depending on the skills of the selected candidate. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if the candidate is hired at the higher level.
R&D Engineer 1 ($92,300 - $151,000)
As a member of the AOT-RFE high power RF Engineering team, the successful candidate, working closely with other engineers, technologists and technicians, will contribute to the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of the LANSCE high power RF (HPRF) systems, including high-voltage power supplies and associated electronics, and high-power RF test stand operation and upgrade.
The position will also involve working under the direction of senior engineers to plan and implement RF system upgrades as part of the LANSCE Modernization Project ("LAMP"), e.g. Radio Frequency Quadrupole accelerator tetrode amplifier system, Thyristor crowbar as ignitron replacement, Solid State RF amplifier development for UHF and for low frequencies (1-10 MHz).
The successful candidate will also provide on-call support for the LANSCE high power RF systems after hours and on weekends. The on-call assignment will typically be for one week per month during accelerator operations (approximately 7 months per year). New employees will go through a training period prior to being placed on-call (typically 1 year).
R&D Engineer 2 ($101,700 - $168,200)
In addition to what was outlined at the lower level, at this level, the position at this level will be responsible for planning and managing maintenance activities; analyzing RF system data to inform design enhancements for improving performance and reliability; planning, designing, implementing, and managing RF system upgrade projects, e.g. Radio Frequency Quadrupole RF amplifier system, Thyristor crowbar as ignitron replacement, Solid State RF amplifier system-level and component level development.
The successful candidate will also provide power electronics expertise to all segments of the group, particularly in the areas related to solid state and gridded vacuum tube amplifiers and the equipment required to operate them. There will also be opportunities to support LANSCE physicists and scientists on special projects.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 1:
- Demonstrated ability to read and understand schematics.
- Demonstrated undergraduate training in electrical engineering fields that support competency in microwave engineering such as high-voltage and pulsed-power engineering, RF power amplifiers and transmitters, DC and pulsed-power systems, microwave and RF components, or RF transport systems such as waveguide and coaxial lines.
- Demonstrated experience in effectively producing written documents and successful oral communication skills.
Additional Job Requirements for R&D Engineer 2: In addition to the requirements outlined above, qualification at the higher level requires:
- Demonstrated record of contributions to the design, development, testing, and installation of high-power RF amplifier systems using solid state VMOS, LDMOS, or GaN devices, high-power RF amplifiers based on gridded vacuum tubes, along with associated high-voltage or high-current pulsed DC power delivery technologies.
- Demonstrated experience working as part of a team to develop RF amplifier and/or pulsed DC power delivery systems.
- Demonstrated recent and successful hands-on experience troubleshooting, installing, and testing of high-power RF or pulsed power systems.
Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 1 level: Position requires a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited institution related to the occupation combined with 2 years of related experience.
Education/Experience at R&D Engineer 2 level: Position requires a bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET accredited institution and 4 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
Desired Qualifications:
Desired Qualifications:
- Experience with RF, high-voltage DC, and pulsed-power systems.
- Experience with CAD software
- Experience with computer-based circuit layout simulation (PSpice, Multisim, LTSPice, etc.)
- Experience with NI LabView and LabView/FPGA programming.
- Experience with matrix algebra and block diagram simulation software (Matlab/Simulink, Scilab/Xcos, etc.).
- Operations experience at an accelerator facility.
Essential Job Functions (can perform with or without reasonable accommodation): Ability to speak, ability to hear in a normal range, standing, walking, reaching overhead, reaching horizontally, reaching down, gripping with hands, typing or keyboarding.
Note to Applicants: Consideration for the position will be strictly limited to applicants that submit a comprehensive cover letter addressing, bullet by bullet, each of the required and desired skills.
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 their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 1 year.
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. 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.
No Clearance: Position does not require a security clearance. Selected candidates will be subject to drug testing and other pre-employment background checks.
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 for applicant eligibility requirements.
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 or preference, 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.
