Principal Scientist Details

Principal Scientist

Mission Support and Test Services, LLC - Andrews AFB, MD

Employment Type : Full-Time

Overview: Mission Support and Test Services, LLC (MSTS) manages and operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Our MISSION is to help ensure the security of the United States and its allies by providing high-hazard experimentation and incident response capabilities through operations, engineering, education, field, and integration services and by acting as environmental stewards to the Site’s Cold War legacy. Our VISION is to be the user site of choice for large-scale, high-hazard, national security experimentation, with premier facilities and capabilities below ground, on the ground, and in the air. (See NNSS.gov for our unique capabilities.) Our 2,750+ professional, craft, and support employees are called upon to innovate, collaborate, and deliver on some of the more difficult nuclear security challenges facing the world today. In this environment, the best ideas need to be voiced and every opinion matters. As such, MSTS places great value on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and is committed to a diverse and equitable workforce, with an inclusive culture that values and celebrates the diversity of our people, talents, ideas, and perspectives.

• MSTS offers our full-time employees highly competitive salaries and benefits packages including medical, dental, and vision; both a pension and a 401k; paid time off and 96 hours of paid holidays; relocation (if located more than 75 miles from work location); tuition assistance and reimbursement; and more.
• MSTS is a limited liability company consisting of Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell), Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (Jacobs), and HII Nuclear Inc.

NNSS COVID-19 attestation requirements: https://www.nnss.gov/pages/nfo/WorkingForMSTS.html Responsibilities: MSTS is looking for a dynamic Principal Scientist for the Nuclear Search Program (NSP). NSP is a program within the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) that executes several national level missions that provide anywhere, anytime technical search expertise, the development, deployment and analysis of anomaly detection methods for dynamic and unpredictable environments. The Principal Scientist will provide scientific advisory support to NSP in support of the national level radiological emergency response capability for locating and identifying radiological material in a wide variety of real-world settings.
Key Responsibilities

• Be the subject matter expert on radiation detection, new/emerging radiation detection technologies and techniques.
• Mentor and guide scientific and technical staff.
• Conduct or lead research and develop proposals to attempt to receive funding to create new or enhance existing technologies related to emergency response.
• May be responsible for managing aspects of a budget and/or portions of project deliverables.
• Serve as an emergency response team member and participate in exercises and real-world deployments.
• Collect and analyze radiation data in field operations from a variety of platforms, including radionuclide identification and activity estimates. Provide input to development of improved radiation detection systems and analysis algorithms.
• Present data and data products to advise on the consequences of a radiological incident/accident to technical and/or non-technical audiences.
• Conduct and document field experiments utilizing commercial and government radiation detection equipment. Contribute to the development and testing of software applications specific to radiological emergency response activities.
• Provide scientific guidance on projects involving an interdisciplinary team of engineers, physicists, and technicians.
• Must be willing and able to travel worldwide as a member of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) emergency response teams.
• Perform related work as assigned by supervisor.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a calculus-based (STEM) field, plus at least 9 years’ relevant experience. Skill building experience must demonstrate either deeper technical specialization or additional cross-disciplinary knowledge. Graduate research experience may be recognized.
• Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Health Physics, Nuclear Engineering or a similar calculus-based Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) field, plus at least 9 years relevant experience.
• Ph.D. is desired.
• Experience with one or more of the following is highly desired: mobile and hand-held radiation detectors, gamma-ray spectroscopy, numerical analysis, stochastic or deterministic radiation modeling, operational health physics, radiation sensor development, sensor networking, object-oriented programming, and/or Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
• Experience with software applications such as MCNP/MCNPX, GEANT, MATLAB, Maple, Microshield, GammaVision, and/or Genie 2000 is strongly desired.
• Must have strong written and oral communications skills and must show a demonstrated ability to work on complex applied projects in a group atmosphere.
• Ability to interface effectively with technical personnel from other MSTS organizations, outside organizations, and government agencies.
• Ability to serve as a crew member on board rotary or fixed wing aircraft operating equipment while in flight.
• Must be able to perform critical job functions while under high stress environments such as those presented in real-world deployments.
• Must be capable of performing moderate lifting and be able to meet Company requirements and submit to immunizations for worldwide travel.
• The primary work location will be based at the Remote Sensing Laboratories at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland (RSL-A).
• Must be willing and able to perform work during non-standard hours, take on-call duty, and deploy worldwide on short notice.
• Pre-placement physical examination, which includes a drug screen, is required. MSTS maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing.
• Must possess a valid driver's license.

MSTS is required by DOE directive 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 offered employment with MSTS are also 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 DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment. In addition, Applicants for employment must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship, at least 18 years of age. Reference DOE Order 472.2, “Personnel Security”. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.
Department of Energy Q Clearance (position will be cleared to this level). Reviews and tests for the absence of any illegal drug as defined in 10 CFR Part 707.4, “Workplace Substance Abuse Programs at DOE Sites,” will be conducted. Applicant selected will be subject to a Federal background investigation, required to participate in subsequent reinvestigations, and must meet the eligibility requirements for access to classified matter. Successful completion of a counterintelligence evaluation, which may include a counterintelligence-scope polygraph examination, may also be required. Reference 10 CFR Part 709, “Counterintelligence Evaluation Program.”
MSTS is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. MSTS is a background screening, drug-free workplace.