Facility Operations Manager - NIF Facility and Infrastructure

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.

• 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.

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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.

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