Research and Innovation 

Image

Engineering with Purpose

LLNL Engineering’s cutting-edge work contributes to both fundamental science and new technological discovery. Driving all our efforts is a commitment to supporting and sustaining the Laboratory’s national security mission. We partner with colleagues throughout the Lab to provide critical technology and services that make revolutionary science and technology possible.

 
 
 
Graduate student intern Daniel Martin works on instrumentation upgrades in Lawrence Livermore’s Nuclear Counting Facility A researcher manipulates strands of biotubing created by flowing fibroblast cells and alginate through a coaxial needle A researcher holds an additively manufactured metal cube up to the camera LLNL optical engineers look through the “r” filter designed for a telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory A technician makes an adjustment to MJOLNIR, LLNL’s dense plasma focus A technician sprays water on the 5-axis machine in LLNL Engineering’s Main Bay Two people look at a stack of ASD Scorpius LRUs

LLNL Engineering

Where mission and innovation meet

The Engineering Principal Directorate develops, builds, and applies engineering and technology to meet our nation’s security needs, reduce global threats, and tackle fundamental scientific and engineering challenges. Our research areas span the breadth of the discipline, supporting core programs in stockpile stewardship, laser systems, global security, and more.

Bioengineering

Improving human health and safety

Bioengineering at LLNL involves analysis of and intervention in complex, biological systems with the aim of supporting the Lab’s mission. From modeling antibodies’ potential to anticipating bioterrorism, Bioengineering enables transformational solutions to counter biological threats and increase national resilience. 

Learn more

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Engineering

Defining the future of fabrication

Scientists and engineers in Materials Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, and Materials Science at LLNL take a multidisciplinary approach to the rapid development of advanced materials and production processes—and they’re revolutionizing manufacturing along the way.

Learn more

Optics and Photonics

Building next-generation optics and photonics

Optics and Photonics is a world leader in developing advanced high-energy, high-average-power, pulsed and ultrafast laser systems, such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s most energetic laser.

Learn more

Systems Engineering

At the forefront of the final frontier

Our Systems Engineering teams cover many areas, from sensor development to space science engineering. Using advanced modeling tools plus optimization capabilities and uncertainty quantification, systems engineering strives to quantify and elucidate decision-making and to hone new technologies within the context of the systems they will impact.

Learn more

Computational Engineering and Data Science

Modeling and simulation for national security

Computational Engineering and Data Science advances modeling & simulation, data-analytic tools, and entire fields of study, such as collaborative autonomy—all with the aid of LLNL’s massive computing facilities. Our work underpins and informs national security efforts throughout the Lab.

Learn more

Electromagnetics

Providing power for the mission

Electromagnetics research enables every experiment and research involving high energies, particle accelerators, and plasmas, which underpins some of the most mission-critical national security and stockpile stewardship work at LLNL.

Learn more

Electromagnetics

Providing power for the mission

Electromagnetics research enables every experiment and research involving high energies, particle accelerators, and plasmas, which underpins some of the most mission-critical national security and stockpile stewardship work at LLNL.

Learn more

Research and Innovation Highlights

From implants measuring neuronal activity to predictive models based on machine learning, LLNL Engineering designs, tests, and builds the technology of tomorrow, today. Learn more about our latest achievements.

Accelerating Drug Discovery with Computational Engineering

In a groundbreaking development for protecting Department of War personnel, GUIDE researchers have successfully combined an artificial intelligence (AI)-backed platform with supercomputing to redesign and restore the effectiveness of antibodies whose ability to fight viruses has been compromised by viral evolution. Learn more

schematic showing ignition

LLNL’s Ignition Breakthrough Highlighted in Physical Review Letters

The details of LLNL’s historic December 5, 2022, experiment that achieved fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time are presented in the cover article in the February 5 issue of Physical Review Letters (PRL). Read LLNL's coverage

A man machines a material sample in a glovebox using a lathe.

Engineers help complete eight year effort to produce plutonium pit 

The First Production Unit (FPU) of a plutonium pit for the W87-1 Modification Program was verified as complete on October 1, 2024. A plutonium pit is a necessary component in America’s nuclear warheads which initiates the nuclear reactions when compressed by high explosives.

Read Full Article

an engineer assembles a small part at a table

Discover Your Next
Career Opportunity

Top-notch administrative staff, technicians, and scientists make Engineering a powerhouse. Find a role that fits your skills.

Careers with Engineering