Jill Hruby had no intention of leaving her job as director of the Sandia National Laboratories, but those plans were interrupted by an imminent change in management. Now, for the first time in more than three decades, she is pondering a future that doesn’t include the multi-state Department of Energy research complex.
Just days before her departure, Hruby said she had more to offer but also great pride in what she has accomplished at Sandia.
“At any moment in time, I have many ideas that I believe would make Sandia stronger,” she told NS&D Monitor. “I feel I had a lot left to give and changes I wanted to make. That being said, I feel terrific about what I was able to accomplish with my fantastic leadership team.”
Hruby joined Sandia’s Livermore, Calif., facility in 1983 with a background in mechanical engineering, moving into management in 1989 and rising through the ranks to in July 2015 become lab director and president of its management and operations contractor, Sandia Corp.
In that role, she led an operation encompassing more than 10,000 employees in several locations (primarily New Mexico) and a nearly $3 billion annual budget. While Sandia’s core mission remains nuclear weapons research and development, it engages its expertise in everything from cybersecurity to climate research.
Hruby was the first woman to lead a national lab for DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration. That carried both unanticipated attention – Business Insider ranked her as the most powerful U.S. female engineer in 2017 – and responsibility, she said: “If I can help in any way to change the perception of women in engineering and science, or inspire young people to pursue engineering and science careers, I’m all in.”
Sandia Corp. has been the lab’s M&O provider since 1949 under a number of parent companies, most recently defense giant Lockheed Martin. The contractor, though, in 2015 had to pay $4.7 million to settle a federal claim that it illegally used federal funds to lobby Congress for a contract extension. Lockheed competed for the follow-on contract, but lost out last year to Honeywell subsidiary National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia (NTESS).
Hruby’s official last day will be Sunday, April 30. After a months-long transition, NTESS will take over at Sandia the next day.
In written responses to questions from NS&D Monitor, Hruby discussed her role in the management transition at Sandia, what she will do next, what she has achieved, and how the laboratory can remain relevant as new technologies advance.
You’ve been at Sandia since 1983. Will you stay on in any capacity after the management change? If not, have you planned your next step?
I do not plan to stay at Sandia after the contract change. I will, of course, be available for consultation to the new team if needed. My plan right now is to take a few months off to evaluate future options.
It’s been prominently noted that you were the first woman to become director of a multi-mission Department of Energy national lab. How important is that, both personally and for the industry?
This attention, in fact, surprised me. I did not expect that being appointed to the director position would be met with so much interest and enthusiasm from the women and men at Sandia, the NNSA labs, the DOE labs, and beyond. In no way did I take the position to be the first woman, nor do I think that was a part of the decision in appointing me. However, as a result of the response, I feel a deep responsibility to be a spokesperson for women and minorities in STEM. I have made it a priority to accept invitations to describe my experiences at least every few months. The reception at Sandia of my appointment was overwhelmingly positive, and continues to be so. If I can help in any way to change the perception of women in engineering and science, or inspire young people to pursue engineering and science careers, I’m all in. I hope it has opened doors for others.
From the outside, Sandia is still known primarily as a nuclear weapons lab. How does that perception match the reality in 2017?
Sandia’s core mission has always been nuclear weapons. However, Sandia uses its engineering and science expertise for other missions including energy, cyber, space, non-proliferation, counter-WMD, advanced conventional weapons, and more. Sandia’s work on these other missions has been about half of the labs’ work for several decades. As a result, Sandia has developed and matured a multi-mission business model and has enhanced and sustained people and capabilities. We believe the work outside of nuclear weapons helps us sustain and enhance capabilities valuable to our core nuclear weapons mission.
Which of Sandia’s missions will become more crucial in coming years, and how will the lab have to change to meet those requirements?
Perhaps the mission of greatest demand at Sandia right now is cybersecurity. I expect cybersecurity to be important for some time to come, and I believe Sandia can make important contributions based on its microelectronics capability, its threat assessment programs and its DOE and DOD mission knowledge.
Sandia is also very engaged in establishing an exascale computing capability and restarting a nuclear waste repository program in the United States.
To meet these challenges, and any others that emerge, Sandia must attract and retain the best engineering and science talent and work with the U.S. government to invest in infrastructure and capabilities. The labs’ ability to attract talent depends on offering competitive pay and benefits, a unique and high quality infrastructure and capability base, and working on challenging technical problems. This requires strong support and an understanding of the Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) model. I hope this model will continue to be understood and supported by the U.S. government. I am pleased with the positive comments that Secretary Perry has made in public, with DOE, and in private about the national labs.
Are there particular changes you have led at Sandia that you hope will be sustained under the new management?
In the nuclear weapons program, I initiated an effort to change our surveillance approach to be more consistent with the changing stockpile – one that consists of weapons past their expected lifetimes and weapons that have been refurbished. I think maturing this new approach is critical to an effective surveillance approach in the future.
The Sandia management team also matured, over the past five years or so, a mission area construct that allowed us to mature the multi-mission laboratory model even further and to be completely prepared for the world’s greatest future threats and opportunities. I hope the integrated, multi-mission laboratory model will be advanced by the new team.
I also hope the new management will continue to embrace the significant diversity and inclusion activities at the Labs. This is not something I started; we’ve been working on it for decades. However, today I am immensely proud of the culture at Sandia. Finally, I think we made great progress in encouraging critical thinking, especially as applied to safety and security, and in integrating business and technology. I hope the people at Sandia and the new leadership team will continue these programs.
Would you have stayed on had the Lockheed team had won the follow-on contract? Is there anything left undone that you hoped to carry out had that happened?
Yes, I would have stayed if the Lockheed team had won.
At any moment in time, I have many ideas that I believe would make Sandia stronger. I feel I had a lot left to give and changes I wanted to make. That being said, I feel terrific about what I was able to accomplish with my fantastic leadership team.
Has NTESS indicated whether it will maintain the lab’s FY 16-FY 20 Strategic Plan? Should it, or should the new management chart its own path?
I can’t speak for the NTESS team.
Were you surprised that the Lockheed team did not win the new contract award? Was it hurt by the federal fine from 2015, or were there other factors that were more important?
I think it’s best if the NNSA speaks for its decision.
What has been your role in the transition? What have you sought to convey to the incoming leadership?
My role, and that of the entire existing leadership team, has been to help NTESS understand the Labs today and supply the information they needed for a smooth transition, while simultaneously making sure the people at the Labs were well-informed. Of course, we did this while continuing to focus on delivering on all our programs, and staying connected to changes that resulted from the change in presidential administrations.
I have tried to convey important program information, important strategic information, and important information about the culture at the Labs.
Any parting thoughts on the lab, your work over the years, or where you go from here?
Sandia is a wondrous institution. I am proud to have worked at Sandia for 34 years, and grateful to all Sandians for what they do and how they do it. I don’t know what the future holds for me, but I will continue to do things I feel are important.
