Imagery Analyst
About the job
- A bachelor's degree in geography, political science, international relations, or a relevant scientific or engineering discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.
- Advanced experience conducting imagery analysis, including tasking and exploiting imagery and producing imagery-related infographics.
- Advanced experience working within or with the Intelligence Community on imagery analysis, or equivalent education and experience conducting analysis on national security issues related to scientific and technical intelligence, weapons of mass destruction, or advanced, emerging, and critical technologies.
- Advanced experience managing multiple assignments, adapting to changing priorities, and delivering high-quality work on deadlines.
- Advanced verbal and written communication skills to collaborate in a team environment, present and explain technical information, and provide advice to management.
- Ability to travel as needed.
- At the SES.4 level, expert-level experience contributing to or leading multidisciplinary teams and partnering effectively with external organizations.
- At the SES.4 level, expert-level experience leading highly complex imagery missions by directing multi-intelligence analytic efforts, developing collection strategies, advancing analytic tradecraft, and serving as the senior technical authority on imagery analysis.
- At the SES.4 level, subject matter expertise and experience conducting imagery analysis, working independently under consultative direction, performing independent analysis, and collaborating with technical experts across national security disciplines.
- At the SES.4 level, expert-level experience and proven ability to produce impactful and accessible analytical assessments as lead author, including detailed long-form papers and shorter high-level products for expert and senior-level audiences.
- At the SES.4 level, significant experience and proven ability to work effectively under deadline, coordinate workloads on multiple projects simultaneously, and balance conflicting priorities.
- At the SES.4 level, subject matter expertise in collection processes and management, with demonstrated capability to build a collection plan against a defined problem set.
- At the SES.4 level, expert communication, facilitation, and collaboration skills to present, explain, and advise senior management or external sponsors.
- Perform in-depth imagery analysis by exploiting multi-source imagery (electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar, full-motion video, and multispectral) and integrating geospatial data to produce timely, accurate intelligence products.
- Conduct independent research, under minimal direction, on sensitive and politically significant national security topics.
- Produce high-quality intelligence assessments, annotated imagery, maps, and briefings using geographic information systems and imagery exploitation tools while independently supporting operational and strategic intelligence missions.
- Provide solutions to complex analytic problems; conduct appropriate research and analytic approaches; collect and evaluate data; and produce written assessments and briefings that meet Intelligence Community analytic standards.
- Research, prioritize, and validate information related to assigned national security issues; maintain awareness of relevant technical, geopolitical, and policy developments.
- Guide the completion of and contribute to the development of a focused research agenda in assigned topic areas that addresses key science, technology, and policy questions.
- Influence technical and analytic contributions to organizational objectives by presenting substantive analysis to sponsors, customers, and other stakeholders.
- Collaborate with internal and external subject matter experts, sponsors, and partners.
- Travel as necessary to engage with sponsors, stakeholders, and partner organizations.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
- At the SES.4 level, develop innovative methods and contribute to advancing knowledge of geospatial and intelligence data management within various U.S. Government-compliant applications and databases.
- At the SES.4 level, develop ideas for identifying analytic priorities, defining highly complex problems, and proposing analytic research methodologies with consultative direction.
- At the SES.4 level, contribute to developing new program opportunities, including defining and developing research proposals and interacting with potential sponsors and customers.
- At the SES.4 level, may lead multidisciplinary teams assigned to highly complex analytic tasks on national security issues to inform strategies and plans and meet programmatic objectives.
- At the SES.4 level, coordinate across agencies, mentor analysts, and deliver executive-level intelligence assessments and briefings that inform national security policy, operational planning, and strategic decision-making.
- At the SES.4 level, serve as a primary technical point of contact for intelligence-related tasks and moderate-sized projects, balancing competing priorities effectively.
- Active Sensitive Compartmented Information access.
- A master's or Ph.D. degree in geography, political science, international relations, or a relevant scientific or engineering discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and related experience, with demonstrated ability to lead the application and development of principles, theories, and concepts.
- An extensive publication record in imagery and/or all-source analysis with demonstrated impact.
- A combination of academic and/or professional experience in complex technical subjects and national security and policy analysis.
- Significant experience and a proven track record of successfully managing and leading multidisciplinary project teams.
About the company
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) conducts scientific and engineering research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to tackle national-security, energy, and environmental challenges. Its work turns into concrete technologies and tools—advanced materials, computer simulations, software, vaccines, and other solutions—through multidisciplinary teams collaborating on government contracts and grants. Unlike private vendors, LLNL operates as a national laboratory with unique facilities and long-term, mission-driven funding, focusing on large-scale programs and public-interest outcomes. Its goal is to protect people, advance energy and environmental sustainability, and push scientific knowledge forward for national security and public good.
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$7.8M
Headquarters
Livermore, California
Founded
1952
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 2026 Ampera and Inertia deals deepen LLNL's commercialization pipeline.
- July 2026 Genesis Mission awards gave LLNL ten AI projects across strategic domains.
- LLNL won six R&D 100 Awards in August 2026, signaling sustained technical leadership.
What critics are saying
- DOE and NNSA appropriations fund LLNL; any 2027 cut freezes major programs.
- Fusion partnerships with Inertia and Ampera remain pre-commercial, with no revenue certainty.
- A federal mission reset away from fusion or HPC would gut LLNL's core identity.
What makes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) unique
- NIF ignition heritage makes LLNL the benchmark for inertial fusion science.
- LLNL combines national-security physics, HPC, and additive manufacturing under one roof.
- Its CRADA and SPP structures turn lab IP into partner-ready commercial programs.
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Benefits
Hybrid Work Options
Phone/Internet Stipend
Wellness Program
Flexible Work Hours
Health Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
401(k) Company Match
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Remote Work Options
Paid Sick Leave
Life Insurance
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
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↑ 10%3D-Printed, solid-state bioreactor converts methane waste to useful chemicals. Newswise - When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource, and it could be recycled as a fuel, chemical feedstock or bioproduct. Capturing and converting waste methane offers an opportunity to recover energy and create useful products from an otherwise wasted gas stream. To harness that resource, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a solid-state bioreactor that can convert methane into succinate, a valuable chemical used to make polymers, stabilize drugs, enhance food flavor and beyond. The small and efficient bioreactor performs over 10 times better than conventional liquid-state systems - and it consumes less power. "Bioproduction using poorly soluble gases has long been limited by slow mass transfer and low efficiency because conventional liquid-phase bioreactors are not well suited for gas fermentation," said LLNL scientist and corresponding author Fang Qian. "With growing interest in recovering energy and valuable products from waste gas streams, new bioreactor technologies designed specifically for gas fermentation are greatly needed." The new method, published in Scientific Reports, exploits the unique metabolisms of methanotrophs, bacteria that naturally consume and process methane. "These microbes are naturally designed to do the conversion. They work without added heat, without added pressure, without all these things that a chemical process normally requires," said LLNL scientist and author Samantha Ruelas. "That's the beautiful thing about this biology. Because it's natural, you don't need those things, and without them, it can be more cost effective." Usually, bioprocesses take place in a large vat. The gas is dissolved in water, the mixture is vigorously stirred, and the bacteria work their magic. But for poorly soluble gases like methane, it is a slow process that requires significant energy and operating costs. As a result, it has been an economic challenge to perform methane bioconversion at scale. "Rather than have this big tank of a 'broth' that you're putting gas into, we produced these thin structures that we call scaffolds," said LLNL scientist and author Nathan Ellebracht. "They're 3D printed. They have a lattice structure, and we put the microorganisms into a hydrogel that fills these really thin walls." The hydrogel walls are mechanically robust and resistant to degradation. The scaffolds supporting them can accommodate many times more bacteria than a vat, and because the walls are like a thin, porous sponge with high surface area and excellent permeability, the methane reaches the microorganisms quickly. The gas flows directly through and around the scaffold, eliminating the need to dissolve it in liquid and stir the tank and allowing efficient interactions with the bacteria. "LLNL's advanced additive manufacturing capabilities enabled us to integrate the selection of scaffold materials printing methods, geometric design and performance modeling into a single development workflow," said LLNL engineer and author Hawi Gemeda. "Once the optimal design parameters were identified, 3D printing allowed rapid fabrication of prototypes across different sizes and scales, accelerating the transition from reactor design to testing and scale-up." This multidisciplinary project brought together LLNL's broad expertise, and it integrated advances in biomaterials, additive manufacturing and bioreactor modeling. "One of the challenges was integrating the engineering design and the limitations of our bacteria," said LLNL scientist and author Natalie Hwee. "It was a combination of figuring out how we could engineer our scaffold to maximize our cell density and gas-cell interaction, but also how we keep the cells alive for more than a few days." The team started off with a two-milliliter reactor and increased it to one liter. While the device requires further scale-up for real-world deployment, its small size could eventually be an advantage. "Economically, chemical plants only work at large scales. At smaller landfill or wastewater treatment facilities, there aren't really good, existing solutions that scale down," said Ellebracht. "Our approach could be applied at a small plant and allow them to get value out." The novel scaffold structure could also be useful for other types of cells and biochemical conversions. "Beyond gas fermentation, most industrial bioproduction relies on aerobic sugar fermentation, where oxygen mass transfer remains a major bottleneck. In addition, the immobilization of the biocatalyst would eliminate the downstream process of separating it from the reaction products," said Qian. "We are now actively extending the solid-state bioreactor concept to other bioprocesses." This work was done with collaborators at the National Laboratory of the Rockies, the Quasar Energy Group and the University of North Texas. It was supported by a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project, LLNL's Innovation and Partnerships Office and a DOE Technology Commercialization Fund. Media contact. Article multimedia. Type of article. Section.
Ampera and Lawrence Livermore partner on advanced nuclear fuel for maritime use. Nuclear technology company Ampera has partnered with US national research laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to develop advanced nuclear fuel that could eventually be used in nuclear power systems, including maritime applications. Discover more Stock market news Track Business News Take Economics Courses The collaboration aims to develop a cost-effective and scalable way to manufacture advanced Tri-Structural Isotropic (TRISO) fuel, supporting Ampera's plans to build a secure domestic supply chain for advanced nuclear fuel. TRISO fuel is a nuclear fuel made of tiny fuel particles encased in multiple layers of protective ceramic material, designed to withstand very high temperatures. A key focus will be liquid-metal jetting technology, which uses molten-metal to produce highly uniform, spherical thorium-232 kernels for TRISO fuel. Ampera has already built a prototype particle-production system based on this technology. The project will now involve computer modelling and detailed testing of the fuel particles. It will also cover safe handling of radioactive materials and the development of production methods that can eventually be scaled up for commercial use in shipping and other sectors. The work supports Ampera's longer-term plan to develop advanced fuel for subcritical nuclear power platforms. The company claims its compact, factory-built systems could operate for up to 30 years without refuelling. In April, Monaco-based shipping firm Scorpio Tankers partnered with Ampera to develop floating nuclear-powered barges in the near term and nuclear-powered vessels over the longer term. Source: By Tuhin Roy, ENGINE, https://www.engine.online/news
Turning liquid metal jetting into a nuclear fuel manufacturing tool. The partnership will evaluate and optimize a manufacturing technique known as liquid-metal jetting. Rather than relying solely on conventional particle-production methods, the approach uses droplet-based technology to produce highly uniform, spherical thorium kernels, the central particles that could eventually form part of TRISO fuel. The project will combine computational modeling, materials testing, nozzle compatibility studies, high-temperature process development, and particle characterization. The teams will also work on establishing scalable manufacturing rules that could support future commercialization. The research builds on earlier work at LLNL, where researchers developed a particle-production prototype using droplet-based liquid-metal-jetting technology. "Public-private projects like this show the value of connecting LLNL's world-class research capabilities with industry partners who have a clear technology need and sharp commercial focus," said Dr. Viktor Sukhotskiy, research engineer and principal investigator at LLNL. The collaboration will also continue work on maturing liquid-metal jetting as an advanced manufacturing technology.
Ampera and LLNL partner on advanced nuclear fuel. by Ship & Bunker News Team Thursday August 27, 2026 The partnership will focus on scalable thorium-based TRISO fuel for compact and subcritical nuclear reactor platforms. File image / Pixabay Energy technology firm Ampera has partnered with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to develop scalable advanced nuclear fuel for compact and subcritical reactor platforms, with potential applications in maritime. The collaboration will evaluate liquid-metal-jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical thorium-232 kernels for tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel, the firms said in an emailed update on Wednesday. The work will include computational modelling, materials and nozzle testing, high-temperature process development and particle characterisation. The project builds on earlier LLNL research that developed a particle-production prototype using droplet-based liquid-metal jetting. The partners will also work on safe radiological handling and scalable process and design rules to support future commercialisation. Ampera said the partnership supports its strategy to establish a secure domestic thorium fuel supply chain. The company said developing in-house fuel production could help reduce costs and supply-chain risks. Ampera is developing a subcritical micronuclear reactor platform for data centres, defence, industrial and maritime applications. Its solid-state platform is designed to provide factory-built power systems capable of operating for up to 30 years without refuelling. Ship & Bunker News Team To contact the editor responsible for this story email Ship & Bunker at [email protected]
LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel. TRISO particle fuel is fully encapsulated by layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products. Each particle (roughly the size of a poppy seed) acts as its own containment system and is more resistant to neutron irradiation, corrosion, oxidation, and high temperatures than traditional reactor fuels. (Image: LLNL) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company's nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors. The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal-jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel. Together, LLNL and Ampera intend to enable the "resilient, cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing" of TRISO particle fuel for use in advanced nuclear reactors, the company said. LLNL weighs in on thorium: Thorium offers potential advantages over uranium in nuclear fuel applications. As explained by LLNL, thorium "is abundant, produces a less persistent waste stream, and is more difficult to weaponize, adding a layer of proliferation resistance." Th-232 itself cannot sustain a fission chain reaction, but it decays into fissile uranium-233 when it absorbs a neutron, breeding its own fuel during operation, LLNL said. More about THUNDER: The THUNDER project builds on LLNL's research in advanced materials and manufacturing being led by research engineer and principal investigator Viktor Sukhotskiy. In a 2023 project called PowderJet, Sukhotskiy and his team created a new particle production prototype using "droplet-on-demand" liquid metal-jetting technology. Through this technology, highly spherical, size-controlled metallic particles can be produced. According to Sukhotskiy, "Working with Ampera gives us the opportunity to apply joint expertise to a challenging nuclear fuel problem while also continuing to mature liquid metal jetting as an advanced manufacturing technology. That combination, balanced with scientific progress, technology transition, and national security relevance, is what makes the collaboration so exciting." Ampera founder and CEO Brian Matthews noted that LLNL "has a long and distinguished record of translating advanced science into technologies of national importance. Developing a scalable domestic capability to manufacture advanced nuclear fuel is fundamental to Ampera's strategy. We believe this collaboration can accelerate the technical foundation required to vertically integrate our fuel supply, reduce cost and supply-chain risk, and support the deployment of our compact subcritical nuclear energy systems." Other news: The partnership with LLNL is the latest in a series of developments that Ampera has announced this summer. In June, the company announced that it had established a subsidiary in Australia to secure a thorium supply for its technology. In July, Ampera produced a full-scale, additively manufactured model of its nuclear core architecture - a spherical, monolithic gyroid structure that was 3D printed in silicon carbide. Ampera was founded in 2025 and is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.