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Facility Operations Manager - NIF Facility and Infrastructure

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Posted today
DoE Q or L
$262,410 - $332,772
Unspecified
Livermore, CA (On-Site/Office)

Company Description

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Are you interested in joining some of the brightest talent in the world to strengthen the United States' security? Come join Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) where our employees apply their expertise to create solutions for BIG ideas that make our world a better place.

We are dedicated to fostering a culture that values individuals, talents, partnerships, ideas, experiences, and different perspectives, recognizing their importance to the continued success of the Laboratory's mission.

Pay Range

$262,410 - $332,772 Annually

This is the lowest to highest salary in good faith we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. Pay will not be below any applicable local minimum wage. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Job Description

Do you want to lead a team that shapes one of the most advanced facilities in the world while enabling groundbreaking national security science? The National Ignition Facility (NIF)-the world's largest and most energetic laser-seeks a dynamic Facility Operations Manager to guide the NIF Facilities & Infrastructure team through operations, critical upgrades, reliability engineering, and lifecycle sustainment planning. This role offers a unique opportunity to apply your expertise and vision to strengthen the backbone of a world-class facility.

As the Facility Operations Manager, you will provide strategic direction and technical leadership to a multi-disciplinary team responsible for operating, maintaining, and modernizing the infrastructure that supports around-the-clock laser operations. You will champion the long-range sustainment and modernization of critical systems, drive facility upgrades to support future mission requirements, including the Sustainment Project and the Enhanced Yield Capability initiative, and provide direct leadership in budget planning, resource allocation, and provide direct leadership in budget planning, resource allocation, and technical direction to maintain and improve NIF's operational excellence. This position is in the Laser Systems Engineering & Operations (LSEO) Division, within the Engineering Directorate.

In this role you will
  • Lead teams, programs, or functions with a technical focus, operate under broad consultative direction with significant autonomy, use expert knowledge and extensive team leadership experience, and exercise judgment within established policies to monitor workflow, allocate resources, ensure timely completion of projects, and influence and direct high-level strategic plans to achieve objectives while managing organizational and operational impact and attaining long-range goals.
  • Provide strategic technical and operational leadership to a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team of approximately 60 engineers, technicians, designers, and operators working across multiple shifts and subsystems, while establishing, pursuing, and achieving a vision and strategy for reliability, quality, and mission delivery.
  • Champion reliability and lifecycle sustainment by developing and applying highly advanced methods in systems engineering, reliability engineering, condition-based maintenance, and asset management for specialized infrastructure, often influencing, advancing, and setting the standard for best practices beyond the Laboratory.
  • Support and play a key role in critical operations: Ensure the continuous availability and performance of highly complex utility and laser beamline infrastructure to support NIF's demanding shot schedule, making high-impact decisions that determine the success and direction of major projects and programs. Resolve highly complex and sensitive technical issues, often requiring novel approaches.
  • Oversee and drive modernization and project execution: Lead the implementation of the Sustainment Project and support the development and deployment of highly complex systems for the Enhanced Yield Capability initiative.
  • Plan and operate strategically: Develop, apply, and execute long-range strategies to meet current and future facility needs, collaborating with engineering, project management, and scientific teams.
  • Improve operational efficiency: Identify, develop, implement, lead, and continuously drive innovative improvements in process, system design, and maintenance approaches that enhance performance, uptime, and total cost of ownership.
  • Communicate and coordinate: Routinely prepare, present, explain, and advise senior management, sponsors, and the project teams on system readiness, project progress, and long-term infrastructure planning. Influence strategic technical decisions and represent operational objectives at the highest levels, serving as a prime consultant and spokesperson for facility operations.
  • Lead and administer financial planning and resource allocation for operations and sustainment activities, including a $10M annual budget, meeting key performance, cost, and schedule objectives, and managing and ensuring projects are completed on schedule and within budget.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.


Qualifications

  • Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. DOE Q level security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship.
  • Bachelor's degree in Physics, Engineering, or related technical field, or the equivalent combination of education and related experience.
  • Extensive experience and demonstrated ability to champion, develop, implement, lead, and continuously drive innovative, cutting-edge principles and concepts in facility operations.
  • Extensive technical leadership and management experience directing large, multi-disciplinary technical and operations teams in a highly complex industrial, laboratory, or defense-related environment.
  • Extensive experience, expert level knowledge and skills, and demonstrated success in strategic planning, resource optimization, and driving innovation in technical settings.
  • Extensive experience in effectively managing multi-million-dollar budgets, allocating resources strategically, collaborating with leadership to align annual priorities with organizational goals, and applying expert-level knowledge of systems and reliability engineering principles, infrastructure sustainment strategies, and asset management.
  • Demonstrated extensive experience in facility operations involving cleanliness, stability, controls, and specialized optics processing systems.
  • Demonstrated expert level skills and extensive experience in successfully resolving highly complex technical issues, tackling unique challenges, and sustaining critical infrastructure.
  • Expert communication, facilitation, and collaboration skills necessary to effectively present, explain, influence, and advise professional colleagues, senior management, and external collaborators.

Qualifications We Desire
  • Master's degree in Physics, Engineering, or a related technical field, or the equivalent combination of education and related experience.
  • Experience applying reliability-centered maintenance, failure mode and effects analysis, or fault tree analysis.
  • Familiarity with safety and quality systems in high-consequence environments.
  • Experience supporting regulated operations in defense, energy, or national security contexts.
  • Prior military or civilian nuclear, or naval propulsion program experience.


Additional Information

#LI-Onsite

Position Information

This is a Career Indefinite position, open to Lab employees and external candidates.

Why Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory?
  • Included in 2025 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor!
  • Flexible Benefits Package
  • 401(k)
  • Relocation Assistance
  • Education Reimbursement Program
  • Flexible schedules (*depending on project needs)
  • Our values - visit https://www.llnl.gov/inclusion/our-values

Security Clearance

This position requires a Department of Energy (DOE) Q-level clearance. If you are selected, we will initiate a Federal background investigation to determine if you meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or matter. Also, all L or Q cleared employees are subject to random drug testing. Q-level clearance requires U.S. citizenship.

Pre-Employment Drug Test

External applicant(s) selected for this position must pass a post-offer, pre-employment drug test. This includes testing for use of marijuana as Federal Law applies to us as a Federal Contractor.

Wireless and Medical Devices

Per the Department of Energy (DOE), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory must meet certain restrictions with the use and/or possession of mobile devices in Limited Areas. Depending on your job duties, you may be required to work in a Limited Area where you are not permitted to have a personal and/or laboratory mobile device in your possession. This includes, but not limited to cell phones, tablets, fitness devices, wireless headphones, and other Bluetooth/wireless enabled devices.

If you use a medical device, which pairs with a mobile device, you must still follow the rules concerning the mobile device in individual sections within Limited Areas. Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities require separate approval. Hearing aids without wireless capabilities or wireless that has been disabled are allowed in Limited Areas, Secure Space and Transit/Buffer Space within buildings.

How to identify fake job advertisements

Please be aware of recruitment scams where people or entities are misusing the name of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to post fake job advertisements. LLNL never extends an offer without a personal interview and will never charge a fee for joining our company. All current job openings are displayed on the Career Page under "Find Your Job" of our website. If you have encountered a job posting or have been approached with a job offer that you suspect may be fraudulent, we strongly recommend you do not respond.

To learn more about recruitment scams: https://www.llnl.gov/sites/www/files/2023-05/LLNL-Job-Fraud-Statement-Updated-4.26.23.pdf

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer that is committed to providing all with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, protected veteran status, age, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

Reasonable Accommodation

Our goal is to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all candidates applying and interviewing at the Laboratory. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please use our online form to submit a request.

California Privacy Notice

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants privacy rights to all California residents. The law also entitles job applicants, employees, and non-employee workers to be notified of what personal information LLNL collects and for what purpose. The Employee Privacy Notice can be accessed here .
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About Us
Since its origins, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has pushed the limits of science, technology, and research in an effort to better understand the world and protect the people in it—but we do so much more than that. To this day, we continue to innovate, collaborate, and explore, backed by the minds of thousands of talented researchers, operations staff, and creative professionals. We are a globally-recognized leader in bioengineering, high-performance computing, environmental research, nuclear science, and more. And none of this research would be possible without our employees across different fields, from skilled labor to engineering. No matter what you do here, you can help change the world. The Lab is located in the heart of the Livermore Valley in the East Bay area of California, close to major metropolitan areas like San Francisco, Oakland, and San José.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Jobs


Clearance Level
DoE Q or L