APS Engineering Support (AES) - Division Director

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, Argonne is committed to delivering substantive impacts to U.S. prosperity, competitiveness, and security through transformative science and technology from discovery to technology development to application.  Argonne operates the Advanced Photon Source as a DOE sponsored national user facility which utilizes x-rays to provide world leading scientific and engineering tools to study materials in a wide variety of disciplines. Argonne National Laboratory seeks a Director for the APS Engineering Support Division (AES) at the Advanced Photon Source (APS). The APS is a world-leading hard X-ray synchrotron light source within Argonne's Photon Sciences Directorate and is funded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences. With over 70 experimental facilities, the APS attracts more than 5,000 researchers annually across diverse scientific disciplines, contributing to over 40,000 publications and numerous societal advancements. The APS recently completed an $815M transformative upgrade to a fourth-generation storage ring, enhancing its X-ray capabilities with unmatched brightness, including new beamlines, and upgrades to existing beamlines. This upgrade further strengthens its role in driving scientific discovery and supporting U.S. economic competitiveness. The new storage ring has been installed and was commissioned in 2024.  It is now operational for user science and is the most advanced synchrotron in the world with a record electron emittance of 42pm.rad. These upgrades will be completed at the end of the fiscal year when 7 feature x-ray beamlines designed to fully exploit the characteristics of the upgraded storage ring are brought into operations. These beamlines will add to the existing suite of beamlines that brings the total number of beamlines to over 70. APS is also preparing several significant projects to expand X-ray capabilities in the next 5 years.  

Argonne is currently inviting applications for the position of Director of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) Engineering Support Division (AES). The core mission of AES is to provide state-of-the-art engineering, computing and facility infrastructure to enable world-leading performance of the APS in a safe environment. The AES division is instrumental in providing engineering to develop and execute the APS-U upgrade, and new projects currently being initiated. AES plays a central role in supporting accelerator and x-ray beamline operations of the new APS. In addition, AES leverages the engineering expertise to collaborate with other U.S. light sources in the development of new technologies. The AES Division is comprised of ~110 full-time employees and has an annual budget of around $36M.

Argonne is seeking an innovative, strategic, and energetic individual who can provide leadership to AES. The AES Division Director will: (1) act as a member of the APS’s senior management team in developing, executing and communicating strategic goals for AES and for Argonne’s Photon Sciences directorate; (2) lead AES, ensuring safe, efficient, and effective operations; (3) promote strong ties with the APS Accelerator Systems Division, APS X-ray Science Division, the Argonne Accelerator Institute, and other Argonne divisions as appropriate to enable a world-class user program at the APS; (4) establish collaborations among internal and external stakeholders and make decisions to achieve strategic goals; and (5) manage AES resources to support both APS operations and the APS Upgrade project. (6) Lead and develop a division of 110 employees, including nine direct reports, by fostering a high-performing leadership team, driving engagement, and setting clear direction for excellence. (7) Act as the direct liaison with the APS Site Operations Group from Facilities division in Infrastructure Services for management of facility support functions, operations, and upgrades.

The AES Division Director will be accountable for developing, managing and motivating a high-performing population of multi-disciplinary technical and professional teams and creating an environment consistent with the laboratory’s core values. In addition, the Division Director is expected to enable and foster a proactive and integrated safety culture that promotes collaboration, openness and transparency.

Position Requirements

• A master’s or PhD in a technical field is preferred. However, candidates with equivalent experience and at least a bachelor’s degree will also be considered.
• A minimum of 15+ years’ experience managing operations or engineering support efforts in complex, state-of-the-art scientific research facilities. Knowledge of accelerator and/or other light source technologies is preferred.
• Experience in managing and maintaining effective interpersonal relationships in a large matrix environment of internal contacts as well as external contacts made up of government, academic, scientific, or industrial institutions is required. Additional experience with managing relationships with the Department of Energy, user communities or other light source environments is preferred.
• Experience in making critical decisions and exploiting opportunities for efficient operations in managing large multi-million dollar budgetary resources is required.
• Experience managing, motivating and developing multi-disciplinary technical and professional services teams of at least 25+ staff is preferred with a focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement.
• Experience in presenting formal technical write-ups and assessments to senior leadership and government agency officials is preferred.

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Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package.

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