NNSA Internship Sites

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Interns may be placed at The Los Alamos Site Office (LASO). Employees at this site work within the Los Alamos National Weapons Design Laboratory where they educate federal and contract employees on minimizing safety risks and implement continuous improvement in the lab's operations. The NNSA Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a design laboratory responsible for the safety and reliability of the nuclear explosives package in nuclear weapons. Interns may have hands on training in: neutron scattering, enhanced surveillance, radiography, and plutonium science and engineering. LANL is contractor-run by Los Alamos National Security, LLC and is located in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Sandia, New Mexico

Student interns may also be placed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Sandia Site Office (SSO) where the NNSA Sandia National Laboratories are housed. Professionals who work at these laboratories develop, test, and produce specialized nonnuclear components. Students may have direct experience in adhering to and executing quality assurance and systems engineering for all of the United States' nuclear weapons at SSO. SNL is contractor-run by Lockheed Martin Corporation.

California

Interns may be placed at the Livermore Site Office in Livermore, California. Professionals here are tasked with overseeing the NNSA Lawrence Livermore National Weapons Design Laboratory. The site office promotes national nuclear safety and executes assigned NNSA and Department of Energy programs. Employees make certain that work performed by industrial contractors and grantees meets the standards and priorities of NNSA requirements. Interns may have hands on experience in surveillance, assessment, and refurbishment of the nuclear weapons stockpile. LLNL also possesses unique high-energy-density physics capabilities and scientific computing assets. The lab is managed by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC.

South Carolina

The Savannah River Site Office (SRSO) is south of Aiken, SC. Here, professionals are responsible for the NNSA Defense Program missions at the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS). Student interns may gain experience in several types of programs. These may include: reclamation of previously used tritium reservoirs; receipt, packaging and shipping of reservoirs; recycling, extraction, and enrichment of tritium gas in support of the maintenance of the nuclear weapons stockpile, including the U.S. stockpile of tritium; Limited-Life Component Exchange Reservoir Surveillance and Tritium Extraction in support of the maintenance of the nuclear weapons stockpile. The SRS is also the location where three new facilities are either in the process of being built and operated, or already exist. Their purpose is to provide a site where the United States can implement its nonproliferation commitment to dispose of its surplus weapon-grade plutonium. These facilities are the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (under construction), the Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility (PDCF), and the Waste Solidification Building (WSB). SRS is currently managed and operated by Washington Savannah River Company.

Nevada

Interns may be assigned to the Nevada Site Office (NSO) located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, technicians and specialists oversee operations for the NNSA Nevada Test Site. There is currently a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. Therefore the focus of this site has shifted to one of supporting stockpile stewardship, environmental management, emergency response, and technology diversification. At the NNSA Nevada Test Site (NTS) inters will gain valuable experience in safely conducting high-hazard operations, testing, and training in support of NNSA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and other federal agencies. If the President should decide it is critical and needed, this site will be well prepared to provide the government with the capability to return to underground nuclear testing. NTS is contractor-run by National Security Technologies, LLC.

Texas

Student interns may be assigned to the Pantex Site Office (PXSO) which oversees the NNSA Pantex Plant, northeast of Amarillo, Texas. The PXSO is the only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility in the United States. Professionals at the Pantex Plant provide on-site management as well as daily oversight and surveillance.

Professionals ensure a safe, secure and reliable environment for the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. Student interns may gain experience in working in nuclear weapons life extension programs; nuclear weapons dismantlement; the development, testing and fabrication of high explosive components; and interim storage and surveillance of plutonium pits. The facility is managed and operated by B&W Pantex for NNSA.