Senior/Principal R&D S&E, Computer Science - National Solar Thermal Test Facility, Onsite

About the role

We are seeking an R&D Computer Scientist to lead research and development efforts supporting the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) optical program. This role focuses on advancing metrology tools and systems to support the concentrating solar industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and deployment of high-performance optical metrology tools including SOFAST 2.0, LOOKFAST, ground truth, and others.
• Maintain and advance Sandia's OpenCSP framework for collaborative development of tools for the Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) community.
• Develop and refine methods for evaluating and measuring heliostats and solar concentrators, including significant experimental field work.
• Manage DOE funded projects, including technical planning, budgeting, scheduling, and stakeholder communications.
• Collaborate closely with experimental teams to integrate optical diagnostics and control systems at the NSTTF.
• Effectively communicate results, both in writing and presented verbally in front of large audiences.
• Engage with National Lab partners and industry to develop standard methodologies.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance.

Qualifications

• Graduate degree in Computer Science or a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement.
• Demonstrated software development skills and familiarity with modern software development practices and tools.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams, and a passion to improve and expand technical skills.
• Experience with concentrating solar optical metrology and concentrating solar thermal technologies.
• Experience with computational geometry, image processing, and computer vision.
• Experience or interest in optics, especially geometric and the optics of light interacting with surfaces.
• Experience or interest in experimental work in both indoor and outdoor environments.
• Experience with advanced image processing techniques with consideration for applied deflectometry knowledge.
• Experience or interest in optics, especially geometric and the optics of light interacting with surfaces.
• Experience with writing sophisticated code in Python (preferred) or C++, including object-oriented programming, and experience with collaborative code development tools such as git.
• Experience with mechanical design and SolidWorks.
• Proven ability to lead complex, multidisciplinary projects and teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including technical report writing, publications, and presentations at conferences and to stakeholders.
• Familiarity with U.S. Department of Energy project management and reporting requirements.