Intern, R&D Graduate Year-Round - Fire Science & Technology, Onsite

What Your Job Will Be Like

We are seeking an R&D Graduate Student Intern to support thermal analysis and testing efforts in the Fire Science & Technology Department. Are you passionate about research? Are you dreaming of an opportunity to thrive in a multidisciplinary team environment that offers access to state‑of‑the‑art testing facilities? If so, you will want to apply for this dynamic opportunity!

• Work with a dynamic team of fire scientists, engineers, technologists, and trades people to support the design, build, and performance of thermal (fire and radiant heating) experiments supporting a diverse set of missions, including nuclear weapons development and qualification missions.
• Collaborate on multiple research projects in the areas of heat transfer, combustion, fire, pyrolysis, and multiphase flows with experiments conducted at lab‑scale and in Sandia's world‑class large‑scale testing facilities.
• Conduct independent research and perform analysis using computer programming and engineering tools.
• Develop and field engineering models and computer tools under mentorship of Sandia technical experts.
• Provide insight into physical phenomena of fires and the fate of objects exposed to abnormal thermal environments, generating data for building and validating heat transfer and thermal response models, and qualifying the safety and performance of nuclear weapons and other systems of relevance to national security.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

At Sandia, we value the important work done by our interns and its contribution to National Security. Because of this, our interns earn competitive pay rates. Our pay structure is based on earned credit hours, classification, and degree level. Your pay rate will be determined during the hire process and included in your offer package. You can view the Intern Pay Rate chart here (https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).).

• 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. citizens, legal permanent residents, asylees or refugees in the U.S.

• A graduate student currently pursuing an advanced degree in engineering, physics, chemistry, or a related discipline with high academic achievement
• Experience performing experimental research
• Experience with computer programming skills/experience in Phyton, MATLAB, C++, LabVIEW, or similar language
• Experience in numerical methods for computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer
• Familiarity with simulation of fires, combustion, soot generation, and/or multi‑phase reacting flows
• Experience in digital signal processing and/or image processing and producing data processing algorithms
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the development and delivery of presentations, reports, and proposals

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.

The Fire Science and Technology Department performs experimental and phenomenological fire research to support Sandia's national security mission. The main focus of the department is to ensure the safety and security needs of nuclear weapons in abnormal thermal environments. The department offers a spectrum of computational and experimental capabilities for addressing fire related challenges throughout the government, civilian, and industrial sectors.

Efforts in the computational arena include development of physics‑based subgrid models for phenomena important to fire dynamics, detection and suppression. The department maintains and operates unique facilities for radiant heating, open and enclosed large fires. These facilities are used in conjunction with new diagnostics and experimental capabilities developed and…