Senior/Principal Computer Scientist, Space, Satellites and Remote Sensing Systems, Onsite

The Real Time Data Processing Department develops software, algorithms, and distributed computer systems for real-time extraction of events in a remote sensing domain. Skills within the department include software engineering; signal and image processing; statistical inference; neural networks; data fusion; image registration; pattern recognition; radiometric calibration; compressive sensing; human-computer interfaces; data visualization; and design, implementation, deployment, operational user support, and maintenance of collaborative large complex software systems.

Posting Duration:

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance and SCI access, both of which require US citizenship. SCI access may also require a polygraph examination. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain these levels of access may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of five (5) years of relevant experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance, The ideal R&D Computer Science candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:
• Graduate degree in Computer Science or a highly related field plus one (1) year of relevant experience
• Active DOE Q or DOD TS security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain an SCI.
• Proficiency in modern software development using C++ and/or Python in Linux-based environments, including experience with version control, debugging, testing, and performance-aware development practices.
• Experience designing, training, evaluating, and deploying AI/ML-enabled computer vision solutions, including image processing, segmentation, object detection, classification, feature extraction, and related applications using neural networks, deep learning, or transformer-based architectures.
• Familiarity with advanced data exploitation, sensor/data fusion, signal or image analytics, algorithm optimization, edge processing, or high-performance computing techniques across CPU, GPU, FPGA, or heterogeneous computing environments.
• Experience developing, containerizing, and deploying high performance and scalable applications in cloud-native or hybrid computing environments, including exposure to technologies such as AWS, Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift, CI/CD pipelines, or distributed computing frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to translate mission or customer needs into effective technical solutions through strong problem-solving, collaboration, and communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary and diverse teams, with a commitment to continuous learning, technical excellence, and expanding expertise in emerging AI, software, and computing technologies.

• Be part of software teams that deliver solutions for remote sensing systems, including the capture, processing, exploitation, visualization, and distribution of real-time space-based sensor data
• Propose and lead image processing and data-centric research and development projects with a focus on computer vision algorithms for the detection, tracking, and classification of observational targets
• Architect, develop, and optimize high performance software for real-time, distributed systems that include compute environments with CPUs, GPUs, and/or FPGAs
• Engage with diverse specialists in areas such as data fusion, signal and image processing, analytics, cloud computing, machine learning, modeling and simulation, service architectures, data management and visualization Due to the nature of this position onsite work is required.

Salary Range:

$117,500 - $235,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate’s experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov