ALS-U Project Director

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is seeking a Project Director for the Advanced Light Source Upgrade (ALS-U), a large-scale Department of Energy (DOE) project to upgrade the laboratory’s flagship x-ray light source.

Serving as the top leadership appointment for the ALS‑U project and reporting to Laboratory Director, this critical Director-level position provides overall strategic direction, governance, executive oversight, and performance assurance from execution through transition to operations. The Project Director is ultimately accountable for the successful delivery of ALS‑U, including achievement of all technical Key Performance Parameters (KPPs), adherence to approved cost and schedule baselines, and effective stakeholder engagement.

The Project Director has broad decision‑making authority on high‑impact issues such as major scope changes, significant resource allocations, and critical risk mitigation strategies, and serves as the final arbiter for project critical decisions. The role includes direct line management of the ALS‑U project organization, oversight and mentoring of the Project Manager and senior project leadership, and extensive interaction and collaboration with DOE, Laboratory senior management, partner institutions, and other external stakeholders. The Project Director is explicitly responsible for establishing and sustaining mature systems engineering and project management practices, realistic baselines, disciplined risk management, and strengthened oversight and assurance mechanisms. 

The Advanced Light Source is a U.S. DOE Office of Science national scientific user facility that produces exceptionally bright soft and hard x-ray, ultraviolet, and infrared light. With a strong scientific reputation, expert staff, and advanced capabilities, the ALS attracts thousands of academic and industrial users each year in condensed matter and quantum materials, energy sciences, biosciences, earth and planetary sciences and more. The ALS aims to maintain its global leadership in soft x-ray science with ALS-U to upgrade the facility to a fourth-generation light source. This upgrade will position the facility among the brightest soft x-ray light sources in the world, offering capabilities that no other facility can provide.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic leadership and governance

• Champion and communicate the ALS‑U vision, mission, and strategic objectives, ensuring alignment with DOE and Berkeley Lab scientific priorities and institutional strategy, and project integration across supporting Lab organizations. 
• Provide governance and executive oversight of the ALS‑U project organization, holding senior staff accountable for delivery of all WBS Level 3 scope to approved technical, cost, and schedule baselines. 
• Establish and chair top‑level project governance forums (e.g., ALS‑U Management Team, monthly Project Delivery Meeting, executive committees, and Change Control Board) to support disciplined decision‑making and timely resolution of issues.

Baseline, change control, and performance management

• Own overall delivery of ALS‑U scope, cost, schedule, and performance baselines in compliance with DOE Order 413.3B and Laboratory policies, including development and stewardship of any re‑baseline. 
• Lead development and maintenance of a realistic performance baseline that reflects complete scope definitions, realistic schedule durations and staffing, adequate contingency, and transparent Estimate at Completion and risk‑informed forecasting. 
• Anticipate and respond to emerging project execution challenges affecting established project schedules and cost projections by intervening early to mitigate these risks.
• Enforce disciplined baseline change control, including robust challenge of Baseline Change Proposals, to maintain the integrity of the baseline, avoid optimism bias, and prevent masking of underlying performance issues. 
• Ensure effective implementation and use of project management systems (including Earned Value Management, configuration management, change control, cost and schedule reporting) and their integration into executive decision‑making. 

Systems engineering, risk management, and technical integrations

• Ensure that sufficient systems engineering rigor, interface definition, and design maturity are achieved before committing to cost and schedule baselines, with particular attention to complex facility, beamline, and operations interfaces. 
• Oversee consistent implementation of Laboratory systems engineering and conduct‑of‑engineering practices across ALS‑U, including requirements management, design reviews, configuration control, and verification and validation. 
• Provide leadership for project‑wide risk management, ensuring identification, evaluation, and mitigation of major technical, cost, schedule, integration, and institutional risks, and intervening directly in critical situations that require executive resolution. 
• Ensure institutional‑level assessment and mitigation of the complex risk environment associated with construction and installation within an operating light source facility, coordinating with ALS operations, Facilities, EHS, Engineering and other Laboratory stakeholders. 

Interfaces, operations, and institutional integration

• In collaboration with the ALS Director, the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Sciences, and other senior Laboratory leaders and stakeholders, define and manage interfaces with ALS operations and plan transitions between installation, commissioning, and handover of the upgraded facility to steady‑state user operations. 
• Coordinate with ALS, Engineering, Facilities, EHS, the Project Management Office (PMO), and other Laboratory divisions to ensure organizational integration, coordinated resourcing, and effective management of matrixed staff and interfaces. 
• Work with Laboratory leadership, the PMO, and assurance and QA organizations to strengthen independent oversight, performance monitoring, and early‑warning mechanisms for emerging cost, schedule, or technical issues, consistent with Root Cause Analysis recommendations.

Stakeholder engagement, culture, and talent

• Serve as the principal liaison with DOE program and site offices, Laboratory leadership, other national laboratories, universities, and external stakeholders, establishing and maintaining strong partnerships internally and externally and providing high‑level project reports and briefings and representing ALS‑U in independent reviews and advisory committees. 
• Develop and maintain a stakeholder management, relationship, and communications approach that provides timely, transparent, and accurate information on project status, risks, and issues to internal and external stakeholders. 
• Foster a project culture of accountability, safety, quality, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement, ensuring clear Roles, Responsibilities, Authorities, and Accountabilities (R2A2) across the organization. Listen to understand, and navigate interpersonal dynamics with a focus on productive collaboration, clarity, and discretion.
• Demonstrate strong people stewardship by actively supporting development of project management and technical talent and by contributing to Laboratory efforts to build a sustainable pipeline of project management skills. 
• Lead with a mission-driven perspective that balances the needs of the project team with those of the wider organization ensuring that team decisions and initiatives align with the broader goals and values of Berkeley Lab. 

Required qualifications:

• Advanced degree in Physics, Engineering, or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience. 
• At least 10 years of experience leading large‑scale, complex scientific or engineering projects, preferably DOE Order 413.3B capital asset projects or equivalent. 
• Demonstrated success delivering or recovering major accelerator, light source, or comparable facility projects to approved technical, cost, and schedule baselines, including experience with re‑baselining and implementation of corrective actions. 
• Broad understanding of machine and beamline engineering at light sources or related accelerator‑based facilities, including areas such as magnetic lattice design, vacuum systems, front ends, survey and alignment, and beamline installation. 
• Extensive experience with project management systems and practices (including Earned Value Management, risk management, configuration and change control) and formal project reporting to DOE or comparable sponsors. 
• Demonstrated ability to apply rigorous systems engineering and conduct‑of‑engineering practices. 
• Proven track record of leading large, multi‑disciplinary, matrixed teams and supervising senior project management and technical leaders in a complex institutional environment. Demonstrated commitment to fair and collaborative leadership and people stewardship.
• Experience with complex procurements and construction activities involving multiple interfaces and stakeholders, including work in or adjacent to operating research facilities. 
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement and relationship building skills, with demonstrated effectiveness in representing major projects to funding agencies, review committees, user communities, and diverse technical and non‑technical audiences. 
• Track record of delivering complex technical programs with exemplary safety performance and regulatory compliance. Demonstrated commitment to safety, quality, inclusion, accountability, and high ethical standards, and the ability to model Laboratory core values in impact, safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork. 

Desired qualifications:

• Experience as a project director, project manager, or comparable executive leader for a large DOE light source, accelerator, or similar research facility construction or upgrade project. 
• Knowledge of synchrotron radiation and accelerator systems, including storage ring physics, insertion devices, and advanced beamline concepts. 
• Experience working directly with DOE site and program offices, the Office of Project Assessment, and independent project review committees on major capital projects.

Application information:

• Application date: Priority consideration will be given to candidates who apply by April 6, 2026. Applications will be accepted until the job posting is removed.
• Appointment type: This is a full-time career appointment, exempt (monthly paid) from overtime pay. The ALS-U Project Director is a career position that is appointed by and serves at the discretion of the Laboratory Director, and this appointment is at will and may be terminated at any time or without cause.
• Salary range: This position is expected to pay $400,000 to $450,000 per year. Salary for this position will be commensurate with the final candidate’s qualification and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications, and aligned with the internal leadership peer group.
• Background check: This position is subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.
• Designated Official: This position is subject to the financial disclosure requirements of the California Political Reform Act of 1974. The successful candidate for this position will be required to file financial interest statements upon assuming this position, annually while holding this position, and when leaving this position.
• Work modality: Work will be primarily performed at: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA. A REAL ID or other acceptable form of identification is required to access Berkeley Lab sites (for more information click here).

Want to learn more about working at Berkeley Lab? Please visit: careers.lbl.gov

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Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the finalist will be required to disclose if they are subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct, are currently being investigated for misconduct, left a position during an investigation for alleged misconduct, or have filed an appeal with a previous employer.