5/22/19 Sandia National Laboratories hiring over 1,000 - Albuquerque Business First

Sandia National Laboratories is on track to bring on over 1,000 new workers this year.

Sandia National Laboratories is on track to add over 1,000 new workers this year as part of a hiring goal set to top the last three years combined.

Mission Services Associate Labs Director Scott Aeilts said Sandia aims to hire 1,900 total workers, 1,100 of which will be new positions, during the year. Meeting that "unprecedented" goal will be tough, he said during an Economic Forum meeting Wednesday."Full disclosure, we're struggling to get those employees."

Others in the aerospace and defense industries have told Business First finding the right employees is a challenge, and others have said snagging new graduates from New Mexico universities is key to building a talented workforce locally.

The hiring uptick comes after 643 new jobs were added last year, 170 added in 2017 and 110 in 2016. Sandia is upping its worker count due to nationwide efforts to upgrade the country's nuclear arsenal, as well as other missions, Aeilts said.

Sandia has 200 open positions based in Albuquerque listed on its website, mostly in research and development. It is also seeking professionals in the IT, project management, engineering and operations, business development and environment, safety and health fields.

Sandia's mission includes working on national security issues and developing advanced technologies. It also has long been known as an economic driver for New Mexico, reportedly employing 10,941 in 2017 in New Mexico. The lab paid $1.16 billion in New Mexico payroll and had $3.3 billion in total expenditures from September 2017 and to October 2018.

National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, took over the $2.6 billion management contract for Sandia Labs in May 2017.