Technologist finds success in work-life balance
Keri McArthur loves trying to figure things out — and doesn’t mind a challenge along the way. She’s put this passion into sports throughout her life, and in the last several years, particularly with pickleball.
For Keri, it’s more than just a game. She played in last year’s USA Pickleball National Championships and, off the court, even used pickleball to help land her current job.
“I have a whole new group of people who I’ve met through playing pickleball and are just great friends of mine now,” she said.
Keri started at Sandia in July 2018 as an office management assistant. She had an interest in learning more about her team’s work, and when the Hydrogen and Materials Science Department had an opening for a laboratory support technologist in 2022, Keri applied.
While she didn’t have a technologist background, she used pickleball as an example of her eagerness to tackle new things.
“When I started playing, I wanted to get better,” Keri said. “I was getting lessons right away. That’s just me. If I have something in front of me, I just want to figure it out and learn it.”
Her fellow Sandians have seen that passion for learning emerge not only in sports but also in the lab.
“It’s clear she cares a lot about the quality of what she does and supporting her team,” said Kris Hearrean, who used to be in the same department as Keri. “She’s a great teammate. She pulls really hard, and she’s very driven.”
She’s also found encouragement from her team, who have helped train Keri in the lab.
“It’s been awesome,” she said. “I love hands-on stuff. I’m in the labs helping run tests and learning all types of different machines that I never knew existed — and now I’m running them. They supported me in finding this career opportunity.”
Picking up pickleball
Despite Keri being an avid pickleball enthusiast now, she had never played the sport or been into other paddle or racket sports like tennis until a few years ago. And she has Sandia and a fellow Sandian to thank for what has become full fandom.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when many were working from home, Keri’s department maintained a presence on-site in California. Then-teammate Kris had played before and suggested she join for a game on Sandia’s courts, which were renovated for tennis or pickleball use in 2019.
“She was pretty good at it right off the get-go,” Kris said.
That led to them checking out drop-in pickleball at a park in Livermore, and the rest became quick history.
“The people were very inviting,” Keri said. “From that moment on, back in November 2021, I have been obsessed.”
She mostly plays doubles pickleball, enjoying interaction with partners on the court. Adding to the social aspect, pickleball games are often followed by dinner or brunch with other players or include a potluck as part of the gathering.
“All that has been awesome,” Keri said. “You’re hanging out with people who are fun.”
Formerly a devoted runner who has done marathons and triathlons, Keri used to be part of a women’s running group in Livermore until she experienced some physical wear and tear and decided to take a break. Pickleball has been kinder to her body, and Keri is glad to be part of another fitness-minded group.
“It was so nice to find pickleball because I felt like I had lost that,” she said.
A competitive edge
While the social life that pickleball provides is a draw, the challenge of getting better at a game is equally appealing to Keri.
Having played multiple sports including soccer, softball and volleyball from age 5 through college and beyond, she’s always enjoyed working to get better at something.
“I’ll play any sport,” Keri said. “I really like the competitive play in tournaments. With running, you’d do a race, and that was fun, but not quite the same.”
Her drive took Keri all the way to the 2025 USA Pickleball National Championships in San Diego, where she and her women’s doubles partner, who works at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, qualified for the amateur portion of the major tournament.
Seeing her name on the main game board with players from all over the country was a novelty, in addition to playing with new competitors. A group from the Tri-Valley area participated, so they watched a lot of pickleball when they weren’t on the court themselves.
“The whole experience was cool,” Keri said. “We were running court to court, cheering everyone on.”
And the challenge of getting there was half the enjoyment.
“It makes it fun when you’re trying to qualify for something,” she said. “I’m a little competitive, so I don’t want to just play pickleball — I want to play pickleball and try to make it into something where I’m working on technique and getting better at different shots.”
Most recently, Keri and her mixed doubles partner took silver in April at the NVZ NorCal Madness tournament in Fairfield, California, and in their division at the PPA Tour 2026 Sacramento Open.
For Keri, having that excitement for work and for play makes a great balance.
“It makes for a good work day and a good play day,” she said. “My work team is awesome, and I go to bed excited to get back out on the pickleball courts the next day. Life is good.”