Deterrence, Science & Energy Associate Laboratories Director
As Associate Labs Director (ALD) for the Deterrence, Science & Energy Division, Toby Townsend provides leadership and management direction for Sandia’s California Laboratory, including California Nuclear Deterrence stockpile, systems and component engineering. He also has primary responsibility for the Labs’ Deterrence, Science & Energy (DSE) Portfolio, encompassing activities in California, New Mexico, Texas, Alaska and beyond.
In his prior role as Director of Sandia’s Nuclear Deterrence (ND) Systems Center, Toby provided leadership and management direction for W80-4 and SLCM-N Systems Engineering, California Stockpile Systems, and ND Engineering Services and Capabilities. He previously served as Director of Monitoring Systems and Technology, leading Sandia’s science and engineering role in the U.S. Nuclear Detonation Detection System (USNDS) and the Labs’ remote-sensing capabilities in technology and systems engineering; and as Director of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) Program Management, leading strategy development, program management, customer engagement, and business operations for Sandia’s DNN portfolio.
Toby has extensive experience in advanced development programs for national technical monitoring systems. He began his career at Sandia as an electrical engineer with the International Monitoring System in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and later served as a technical adviser in the NNSA Office of Nonproliferation and Research and Development in Washington, D.C.
He has led several critical programs for Sandia, including the USNDS Global Burst Detector payload, National Nuclear Proliferation Detection Program, and Persistent Global Awareness Research and Development Program. His senior management roles include the USNDS program and the New Mexico Stockpile Systems Engineering group, with responsibility for the B61, W76-0, W76-1, W78, and W88 nuclear weapon systems.
Toby earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton University and bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico.
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