More ways to grow and advance
Sandia redesigned its promotion and advancement processes to provide year-round flexibility, increasing advancement opportunities for employees. The Labs’ career development event expanded from one to multiple events, connecting more employees than ever before with resources and support to explore career options at Sandia. A new internal talent marketplace capability was introduced, which will give employees greater access to career paths, jobs and projects across the Labs once fully implemented. This initiative will also enhance networking, mentoring, and training and development opportunities for all employees. 3000
W80-5 Warhead Weapon Development Cost Report
The W80-5 program piloted a streamlined, top-down Weapon Development Cost Report process with partners across the nuclear security enterprise, completing the report in less than six months, less than a third of the time of recent reports. The cost estimates were well-received, and the new process enabled rapid execution of nuclear weapon modernization programs. The U.S. Nuclear Weapons Council authorized the W80-5 program to enter Phase 6.3, development engineering, further validating the approach. 8000
Simplified purchasing policy cuts procurement time in half
Expansion of commercial purchasing practices delivered faster results by simplifying requirements and cutting acquisition cycle times by up to 50%. This expansion builds on a successful pilot and an Enhanced Mission Delivery Initiative proposal approved by NNSA, allowing for streamlined procedures for lower-risk purchases. Training and rollout showed no negative impact on delivery. By adopting best commercial practices, Sandia has reduced administrative costs, accelerated procurement and strengthened its ability to support mission-critical work. 3000
Preserving and leveraging knowledge
A dedicated team made significant progress standardizing and increasing adoption of knowledge management practices and tools across the Labs. Protecting and harnessing Sandia’s knowledge helps every employee learn faster and contribute sooner, accelerates innovation, reduces the risk of losing knowledge through attrition and furthering Sandia’s national security mission. The team will continue expanding this capability across the Labs, ensuring Sandia leads the way for the enterprise. 3000
Cultivating a thriving workplace
A new employee engagement system launched, providing leaders with quick insights to enhance engagement across the organization. The Culture Community of Practice met its membership goals, empowering people and teams to actively contribute to a thriving workplace. Adoption of recognition programs and tools continued to increase with over 6,300 employees receiving kudos, and more than 9,600 employees sending Sandia Greetings eCards through a new platform that allows multiple signatures. 3000
Streamlined reporting and smarter systems save time and money
The Safeguards and Security business team eliminated redundant reporting and enhanced management systems for ProForce and Physical Security Systems in New Mexico and California, saving $160,000 and 756 labor hours annually while improving accountability and decision-making. Additionally, an integrated team of business specialists across the mission-enabling portfolio enhanced management operating systems and tier boards across divisions. They introduced automated processes, standardized reviews and streamlined workflow, which sharpened communication, strengthened accountability and accelerated decisions. These improvements demonstrate Sandia’s commitment to efficiency, cost savings and mission success. 10000
Igniting innovation in our schools
Sandia’s foundational goal to accelerate innovation extends into the community through student programs and initiatives. Volunteers from across the Labs are inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM careers in support of national security. Sandia’s K-12 education programs reached over 14,000 students and 700 teachers and community members across New Mexico, a 40% increase in student participation and 99% increase in teachers. ESD
Positioning the labs for the future
Human Resources led a workforce restructuring effort to help Sandia address budget pressures, rising costs and changing program needs. This included developing a voluntary separation program and remobilization process to reduce workforce size while minimizing the need for involuntary separations. Human Resources provided leaders and employees with tools and resources, including custom dashboards, extended customer service hours, rapid response times, ongoing office hour sessions and career counseling services to support them through the transition. 3000
Simplified reporting for counterintelligence
Sandia’s Office of Counterintelligence is responsible for detecting and deterring threats and managing counterintelligence. The One Stop CI Activity Reporting Application, or OSCAR, is a new tool that gives Sandia’s workforce a single, cohesive and consistent application for completing required reporting such as foreign contacts, travel and activities. The reporting process and information requirements often overlap for counterintelligence, personnel security and other programs. OSCAR is a single reporting app that saved the workforce over 250 hours a month. ESD, 5000, 9000
Making well-being central to our mission
Sandia hosted numerous events to promote employee health and well-being in five key dimensions: mental, physical, social, occupational and financial. A new digital platform was introduced to help employees achieve their well-being goals while earning points for their health reimbursement or health savings accounts. Sandia’s on-site health clinic teams received recognition for delivering high-quality health care services, achieving the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care’s highest accreditation at both the New Mexico and California sites. 3000
AI and automation drive smarter supply chains at Sandia
The Supply Chain team rolled out new comprehensive AI strategy, the ThinkAutomation campaign and tools to boost efficiency. The team deployed robotic process automation tools to streamline supplier reviews, capitalized assets and just-in-time processes. Custom AI solutions improved procurement taxonomy and enhanced just-in-time tools, while a proof-of-concept project enabled querying supply chain vulnerabilities. By aligning with broader Labs goals, Sandia is building a more efficient, resilient and responsive supply chain for the future. 10000
Financial reporting transformation powers mission success
Sandia advanced mission success by standardizing financial reporting and expanding workforce development. Through collaborations with the Cost Management Improvement team, Integrated Business Management Office how-to guides, and the DevelopU mentoring series, Sandia introduced consistent practices and adopted PowerBI for streamlined reporting. These efforts improved quality, accuracy and usability of financial data, enabling program partners to focus on data-driven decisions. By investing in training, Sandia’s business and financial community continues to strengthen capabilities that support national security and operational excellence. 10000
A new standard for ND assurance
NNSA Acting Deputy Administratorfor Defense Programs David Hoagland and Sandia leadership highlighted the W80-4 program as the exemplar for how management assurance and program reporting status should be done for major nuclear deterrence programs. The reports for cost, schedule and critical hardware have been set as the standard for all Sandia nuclear deterrence programs, along with the monthly Program Leadership Review assurance process. 8000
Improved estimating tools boost accuracy by 50%
A team of statisticians, communications experts and solutions architects improved the Cost Estimating Tool and Project Estimating Tool, increasing accuracy for monthly hours, total labor effort distributions and costs by 50%. The team collaborated to enhance source data and streamlined training requirements, improvements that reduce adjustments, simplify explanations and provide more reliable forecasts. By strengthening the estimating tools, Sandia enables program leaders to make better-informed decisions, ensuring resources are aligned with mission priorities and improving overall financial management. 10000
Project controls meet targets, launch phase-two modernization
More efficient project controls helped three nuclear modernization programs meet labor and cost targets, paving the way for phase two in fiscal year 2026. Building on the Project Management Value Optimization initiative launched in fiscal year 2023, the team focused on rethinking requirements, eliminating waste and incorporating technology and AI. With all targets achieved, Sandia entered phase two, setting new goals for four modernization programs in fiscal year 2026. This milestone underscores Sandia’s commitment to accountability, streamlined processes and delivering excellence to mission partners in nuclear deterrence. 10000
Innovation stories bring strategy to life
Sandia enhanced its communications and employee-engagement efforts to better highlight stories behind Labswide strategic goals, showcasing people who used intelligent risk-taking and bold innovation to spur progress across the Labs. Presenting these examples to the workforce helped accelerate a culture where new ideas flourish. In Sandia’s 2025 employee survey, the percentage of employees who feel encouraged to suggest better ways of doing things rose from 73% to 84%. Favorable responses about managers rewarding appropriate risk-taking also increased, from 50% to 58%. (ESD, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 8000, 9000, 10000, 11000)
Sandia surpasses small-business milestone with $975M in awards
For the eighth year in a row, Sandia exceeded its small-business subcontracting goals, awarding nearly $975 million — or 54.5% of all procurement dollars — to small-business suppliers. The Labs also surpassed targets for disadvantaged, veteran-owned, women-owned and HUBZone businesses. Despite large construction contracts going to major firms, Sandia still beat its goal of 53%. These partnerships fuel innovation, strengthen local economies and support national security, highlighting Sandia’s commitment to community-focused procurement and the agility of small enterprises. 10000
Bots save time and money as Sandia expands automation
Robotic process automation reached new heights in fiscal year 2025, with 10 bots saving $215,000 annually and more in development to streamline finance and payroll tasks. New bots improved payroll reconciliation, cutting processing time by 87.5% and reduced manual work in purchase-order reclassification and payroll reconciliations, saving thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars each year. These innovations highlight Sandia’s commitment to efficiency, cost savings and smarter operations across the enterprise. 10000
AI trained on retiring counsel’s knowledge
To preserve the expertise of a retiring Legal deputy general counsel, Sandia developed the mArIanne AI tool — a proof-of-concept that uses large language models to capture and make decades of institutional knowledge searchable. Trained on over 20 years of the deputy general counsel’s legal documents and correspondence, the tool enables natural-language queries and outperforms traditional search. mArIanne AI demonstrates how AI can extend the value of human expertise, supporting smarter onboarding, continuity and Sandia’s future knowledge retention efforts. ESD, 3000, 5000, 11000
Laboratory Policy System upgraded
Supporting safe and efficient execution of its mission and strengthening compliance, Sandia improved its Laboratory Policy System. The upgrade included a modern interface aligned with industry standards, better search capabilities, standardized formatting for greater readability, real-time visibility into most-viewed policies and a centralized space for timely communication from the Laboratory Policy Management team. Responsive to staff feedback, these improvements were designed to help staff access the right policy information faster and with greater clarity, reducing ambiguity and increasing efficiency. 9000, 11000