Accelerator Physicist (Scientist 2/3)

About the role

Full‑time, on‑site Accelerator Physicist (Scientist 2/3) position at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, within the J‑6/Engineering, Operations, and Physics group supporting the Dual‑Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility.

Responsibilities

• Support DARHT beam operations and conduct independent research and development via analytical, experimental, and model‑based methods.
• Propose, conduct, analyze, and disseminate original research on DARHT accelerators, experimental platforms, and supporting facilities.
• Develop subject‑matter expertise of DARHT accelerators, experimental platforms, analysis and operations codes, and support systems.
• Serve as reviewer for proposals for research on DARHT accelerators, experimental platforms, and supporting facilities.
• Participate in the diagnosis of failures or malfunctions in the DARHT facility and assist system designers and engineers in developing solutions.
• Adhere to the principles of Formality of Operations (Conduct of Operations, Conduct of Maintenance, Conduct of Engineering, Conduct of Training).
• For Scientist 3 level additionally: interact with J‑Division and broader Laboratory groups to solve DARHT‑relevant challenges; participate in development of system requirements for existing and future accelerator systems; provide input and expertise for experiment conduct and operations; lead research, design, testing, and analysis of new accelerator systems and technology solutions; propose, conduct, analyze, and disseminate new facility capabilities or models of operation to improve DARHT efficiency; lead and coordinate research on DARHT‑relevant topics within the Laboratory.

Requirements

Scientist 2 minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field from an accredited institution and 4 years of relevant experience (typically post‑doctoral research at a university or national lab or equivalent).
• Publication history demonstrating proficiency and expertise in one or more of: accelerator physics, accelerator technologies, plasma physics, charged particle physics, accelerator or plasma diagnostic systems, x‑ray sources and source characterization, quantitative data analysis, materials characterization, materials modeling, or similar areas.
• Adherence to and advocacy for principles of scientific integrity.
• Technical research knowledge: formulating and testing hypotheses, investigating alternatives, recommending solutions.
• Significant knowledge and experience of appropriate safe practices for technical work.
• Presentation skills: formulating and presenting results to technical audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills; ability to interact with all levels of personnel.
• Experience collaborating across organizational boundaries and managing those relationships positively.

Additional requirements for Scientist 3 (in addition to the above):

• Leadership: contributes to large‑scale technical projects, sets direction and goals, determines courses of action.
• Scientific acumen: develops innovative advanced concepts, theories, methods; identifies and promotes new technical capabilities.
• Technical innovator: leads technical decision‑making, influences key programmatic objectives.
• Project management: develops and implements project management plans (scope, schedule, budget); defines deliverables.
• Development capability: uses assignments to further organizational goals, may acquire internal/external funding, fosters inclusive work environment.

Desired Qualifications

• Familiarity with scientific analysis tools in IDL, Python, and/or MATLAB.
• Experience with accelerator operations or similar large‑scale scientific facility operations.
• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting experimental systems.
• Sound knowledge of project planning and control methods.
• Experience working under formal conduct of operations in a large‑scale complex facility (charged‑particle accelerator, nuclear reactor