What You Will Do
The First-Line Manager (Manufacturing Manager 3) at Los Alamos National Laboratory supports day-to-day operational management for the TA-55-OPS3 Criticality Safety Officer (CSO) organization, supporting 24/7 nuclear operations in a high-hazard production environment. This position reports to the TA55-OPS3 Program Project Director and the TA55 Facility Operations Director (FOD).
The First Line Manager is responsible for managing and maintaining safe, secure, and compliant work environments, enabling efficient and effective mission execution. The selected candidate will be responsible for providing day-to-day oversite of operations and management, supervising CSO staff, ensuring continuous criticality safety coverage, maintaining program execution discipline, and integrating criticality safety into round-the-clock facility operations.
Key responsibilities include:
Supervise, mentor, and develop CSO staff, including performance management, qualification progression, and succession planning.
Manage CSO staffing models for 24/7 operations, including shift coverage, on-call rotations, workload balancing, and fatigue management.
Provide day-to-day leadership and prioritization of CSO support to operations, maintenance, engineering, and startup activities.
Serve as the primary interface between CSOs and facility operations leadership during off-shift, weekend, and emergent conditions.
Ensure consistent implementation of the TA-55 Nuclear Criticality Safety Management Program, including monitoring compliance with approved CSEDs and criticality controls.
Oversee CSO participation in abnormal events, fact-finding, extent of conditions, an causal analyses, and ensuring lessons learned are translated into program improvements.
Coordinate CSO support to readiness activities, including management self-assessments, internal audits, external assessments, and startup preparations.
Drive programmatic improvements, including tools, metrics, dashboards, and workflow enhancements to support data-driven decision making.
Act as a member of the facility incident response organization, supporting emergency response and operational recovery as required.
Support and reinforce conduct of operations, formality of operations, and safety culture expectations across all shifts.
ShiftWork
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Nuclear & Criticality Safety Operations
Advanced working knowledge of nuclear facility operations, nuclear safety, and nuclear criticality safety programs supporting ALDWP operations.
Demonstrated experience implementing and overseeing nuclear criticality safety controls in an operational environment.
Strong understanding of ANSI/ANS-8 standards, DOE Order 420.1, Conduct of Operations (DOE O 422.1), and Integrated Safety Management.
Leadership & People Management
Demonstrated experience as a first-line manager or team lead in a nuclear or high-hazard operational environment.
Proven ability to supervise technical professionals, including performance management, mentoring, conflict resolution, and accountability.
Experience supporting teams in shift-based or 24/7 operational environments.
Operations & Facility Integration
Experience coordinating safety, engineering, maintenance, and operations organizations deployed to a Facility Operations Director (FOD) structure.
Ability to support plan-of-the-day, emergent work prioritization, and operational decision-making.
Assessments & Event Response
Experience supporting or leading assessments, audits, readiness activities, and corrective action management.
Experience participating in event response, fact-finding, extent of conditions, and causal analysis.
Communication
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including preparation of reports, briefings, and management presentations for technical and non-technical audiences.
Education/Experience
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and 5 years of related experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience directly related to the occupation.
DOE 426.2 Requirement
Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related science, or technology, and 4 years of nuclear experience. Job-related education or experience may be substituted on a case-by-case basis. The degree may be used to substitute up to 50 percent of the experience requirement per section I 4.e of the Contractor Requirements Document.
Training/Certifications
Ability to qualify as a Criticality Safety Officer and meet site-specific training requirements.
Desired Qualifications:
Prior experience as a Criticality Safety Officer, nuclear safety engineer, or facility nuclear safety professional.
Experience supervising or leading CSO, nuclear safety, or criticality safety personnel.
Background in DOE, Commercial, or Navy Nuclear Operations.
Experience supporting 24/7 facility operations, including shift management and on-call response.
Familiarity with programmatic tools (e.g., SharePoint, databases, dashboards) used to track evaluations, findings, metrics, and corrective actions.
Active DOE Q clearance.
Ability to obtain and maintain HRP
Work Schedule: This position supports 24/7 nuclear operations and requires flexibility to support rotating shifts, weekend coverage, and on-call response, as assigned by management. Shift differential pay may apply when assigned.
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.
Note to Applicants:
For full consideration, please provide a comprehensive resume, which outlines how you meet the minimum and desired skills noted above.
Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.
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-A/@Aimages/file) 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.
426.2A: This position is subject to DOE Order 426.2A, Personnel Selection, Training, and Qualification Requirements for DOE Nuclear Facilities, which establishes entry-level requirements to ensure candidates selected for specific positions can successfully perform the requirements of the job.
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. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as 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, state, and local 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 (505)-664-6947.