Truman Fellowship

Sandia established the President Harry S. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Engineering to attract the best nationally recognized new Ph.D. scientists and engineers. This three-year fellowship is named for President Truman who charged Sandia in 1949 with providing "an exceptional service in the national interest" – a motto that leads Sandia to excel to this day.

Truman Fellows conduct independent ground-breaking research that supports Sandia’s national-security mission. Fellows choose their own research topics and benefit by having access to Sandia’s state-of-the-art facilities and collaborating with some of the nation’s best scientists and engineers. Fellows may work at either of Sandia’s principal locations in New Mexico or California.

A member of Sandia’s technical staff mentors each Truman Fellow. This emphasis on research mentoring enables Fellows to become integral members of Sandia R&D teams.

Benefits

Sandia’s competitive wage and benefits package includes an annual salary of $116,800 (128,500 CA) ; flexible work arrangements; 11 paid holidays; three weeks of vacation; health, vision, and dental insurance; and a 401(k) savings plan with company match.

The fellowship includes full salary and benefits for three years plus a yearly allowance of $100K which can be used for research equipment, additional personnel, and travel.

Requirements

  • Ph.D. conferred within the past three years or completion of PhD requirements by commencement of appointment (10/1/2023)
  • Development and submission of a compelling research proposal in areas meaningful to national security
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE security clearance, which requires US citizenship

Application procedure

The Truman Fellowship is a three-year appointment that typically begins on October 1. The application deadline for October 2023 is November 1, 2022. Applicants for the Truman Fellowship are encouraged to apply for other positions at Sandia.

  • Read the Truman Fellowship application guidelines (PDF, 210 kB), and submit the required documentation, as described in the guidelines.
  • Search "Truman Fellowship" on Sandia’s Careers portal.
  • Click "Apply Now," and follow the instructions to upload your application, including resume and required documentation as described in the guidelines.

Fellowship Experiences

Alicia Magann

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2022 Truman Fellow

To help speed the emergence of quantum computers as important research tools, Alicia Magann is working to create a “quantum information science toolkit.” These modeling and simulation algorithms should enable quantum researchers to “hit the ground running with meaningful science” as quantum computing hardware improves, she says. Her focus will extend aspects of her doctoral research at Princeton University to help explore the possibilities of quantum control in the era of quantum computing. At Sandia, she will be working with Sandia’s quantum computer science department to develop algorithms for quantum computers that can be used to study the control of molecular systems.

Gabriel Shipley

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2022 Truman Fellow

Gabriel Shipley, who broadened the use of a small pulsed power machine called Mykonos in a past internship, plans to investigate the origins and evolution of 3D instabilities in pulsed-power-driven implosions at Sandia National Laboratories’ powerful Z machine during his Truman fellowship. Instabilities have been recognized since at least the 1950s as weakening pinch effectiveness. They currently limit the extent of compression and confinement achievable in the fusion fuel. Mitigating their effect would be a major achievement for everyone at Z and a major improvement for every researcher using those facilities.

Learn more about the 2022 Truman Fellows.

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.

Sandia invites you to review the Equal Employment Opportunity posters which include EEO is the Law, EEO is the Law Poster Supplement, and Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.

Sandia is a drug-free workplace. As a national laboratory funded by a U.S. government agency, we are subject to federal laws regarding illegal drug use. Illegal use of a controlled substance, including marijuana even in places where it does not violate state law, may impact your ability to obtain and/or maintain a Department of Energy security clearance, and may result in the withdrawal of an employment offer or termination of employment.