What Your Job Will Be Like We are seeking a dedicated Year Round R&D graduate intern to conduct materials synthesis and experimental characterization following safety guidelines. Candidates will have the opportunity to collaborate with an accomplished team, develop new and unique methods, and gain valuable experience in cutting-edge materials development, characterization, and applications. During the project, you may be called on to: * Follow Laboratory safety guidelines * Perform organic, inorganic, and hybrid material synthesis, purification, and characterization * Willingness to learn different analytical techniques relevant to material characterization * Perform DFT and molecular dynamics simulation on small organic molecules and polymers * Document R&D work in the form of word reports or excel * Work side-by-side with expert scientists and engineers who will be both mentors and colleagues, teaming to address this wide range of science and technology challenges * Coordinate and collaborate with others on team * Contribute to preparation, publication, and presentation of scientific findings A successful candidate will also have opportunities and support, if desired, to collaborate on other projects in the group or pursue additional funding for side projects and career development. Posting Duration This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time. NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs. If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date. Qualifications We Require You bring the confidence and skills to be eligible for the job by meeting these minimum requirements: * Earned bachelor's degree * Currently attending and enrolled full time in an accredited science, engineering, or math graduate program * Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 * Ability to work up to 30 hours per week during the academic year, and up to 40 hours per week during the summer * U.S. citizenship Qualifications We Desire * Currently pursuing a PhD degree in a chemistry, materials science, physics or engineering-related field OR comparable experiences * Proven experience in laboratory hands-on activities and computational chemistry * Critical thinking skills * Good time-management skills * Proficient in laboratory hands-on experimentation and housekeeping * Excellent written and verbal communication skills * Demonstrated initiative and a willingness to take on considerable individual responsibility * Demonstrated curiosity about experimental research About Our Team The Organic Materials Science Department researches and develops new and advanced materials and processing strategies to meet a wide range of specialized applications in nuclear weapons, national security and industrial applications. Our department is dedicated to scientific discovery, creativity, innovation and practical solutions for our diverse customers. The department specializes in aging science and predictive performance of polymers, synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, thermal, mechanical, chemical, and physical characterization of organic materials, and advanced manufacturing of polymers. We perform reliability studies for polymers with an emphasis on understanding degradation mechanisms, structure-property relationships, and performance margins. Current areas of R&D in the department include: developing novel encapsulant materials, creating new thermoset chemistries for additive manufacturing, developing innovative NMR techniques to understand transport phenomena in polymers, measuring and optimizing electrical performance of polymer dielectrics, elucidating the interdependency of chemical change and polymer physics over long timeframes, creating reversible and degradable chemistries, understanding polymer interfacial properties and adhesion, measuring and predicting radiation effects on polymers, monitoring of reactive thermoset cure kinetics, and quantifying permeation behavior and spatially dependent degradation processes. We perform a complete spectrum of chemical, structural, thermal, rheological, and mechanical characterization of polymeric materials that must perform over 30 - 40 year lifetimes. About Sandia 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 vacations, 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
*These benefits vary by job classification. 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 L-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. 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. 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. EEO All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.