Uranium Laboratory Manager - Technical Professional Consultant

Requisition Id 13645 

Overview:  

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is seeking a Technical Professional with extensive uranium processing experience, including uranium laboratory management, uranium laboratory safety, and uranium laboratory nuclear material control and accounting responsibilities such as material balance area representative. Experience in the U.S. Department of Energy complex is highly desirable. In this role, the successful applicant will interact, support, and collaborate with other senior research and technical professionals, and be responsible for the commissioning and operation of a set of new uranium laboratories focused on the characterization of material mechanical responses of ceramic powders including but not limited to uranium oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides, and hydrides.  This work will be performed as part of a multi-disciplinary team passionate about the development and characterization of materials for national nuclear security purposes. This position resides in our Mechanical Properties and Mechanics Group, Materials in Extremes Section of the Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD), Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The individual will also interact and coordinate with other team members in other ORNL Research Divisions as well as outside organizations and government contacts.

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Plan, manage, and lead major technical projects and priorities that span multiple divisions and involve the other participating DOE national laboratories, serving as the principal investigator for one or more projects within the overall programmatic portfolio with broad responsibility guided by overall programmatic requirements and sponsor inputs.
• Lead collaboration on the identification of techniques/equipment and interpretation of results from nuclear material processing and characterization of the resulting ceramic powders and products.
• Serve as the spokesperson for the uranium processing operations within the division and the program office, frequently interacting with other senior technical staff and the overall program director(s).
• Independently write technical reports summarizing technical material descriptions and experimentation while collaboratively interpreting results and providing recommendations for future work.
• Develop /write and coordinate the approval of research safety summaries.
• Coordinate the commissioning of uranium processing laboratory spaces.
• Work with the programmatic security team on operational security (OPSEC) aspects of the work.
• Lead a team of senior staff, technical professionals, and technicians in characterization work on uranium and uranium compounds, including mechanical evaluations of a wide range of materials including ceramics.
• Establish a new material balance area and serve as the material balance area representative (MBAR).
• Train and mentor new and current staff on the safe handling of radiological material handling.
• Serve as the laboratory space manager for uranium characterization laboratories.
• Manage the cleanout, refurbishment, and commissioning of additional spaces for expanded uranium operations.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 12 years of experience in materials science, ceramic engineering, or related engineering field
• Direct experience in the operations and management of a uranium laboratory within the DOE complex.
• Specialized knowledge of nuclear chemical processing and uranium laboratory operations with experience managing technical projects and uranium laboratory operations.
• Advanced knowledge of a wide range of nuclear chemical engineering and nuclear ceramics characterization principles, theories, and their practical applications.
• Experience in technical writing and applicable nuclear material production and characterization.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated excellent technical writing skills.
• Extensive experience with conducting classified research and writing up the results of such research in classified technical reports.
• Have ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory.
• Extensive demonstrated familiarity with laboratory space management, uranium laboratory operations, and material balance area requirements

 Special Requirements:

• Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
• Work involves various physical requirements and working conditions. As such, a pre-hire physical will be required after offer.
• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Workplace Substance Abuse (WSAP) testing designated position. WSAP positions require passing a pre-placement drug test and participation in an ongoing random drug testing program.

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to psdrecruit@ornl.gov with the position title and number referenced in the subject line.

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:

• Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
• View Profile
• Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document

Benefits at ORNL: 

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain talented people. The laboratory offers many employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to help you and your family live happy and healthy. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also provided for convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.