Jobs › Argonne National Laboratory

Senior Director, Infrastructure Services

Argonne National Laboratory · Lemont, IL · $282,818–$441,196 a year · Full time

Posted Aug 11, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you had to deliver an infrastructure project with minimal interruption to a critical mission.

What they are checking: Whether they protect the science mission while still getting necessary work done on schedule.

As the COO's principal infrastructure advisor, how would you push back if you believed a lab priority was putting operational readiness at risk?

What they are checking: Whether they can give candid advice to a senior executive and still support the final decision.

Describe how you have handled a serious safety event in an organization you led.

What they are checking: Whether they own safety at the executive level and drive learning rather than blame.

Tell me about a time you developed leaders under you during a period of big change.

What they are checking: Whether they build bench strength in a large organization instead of relying on themselves for every decision.

What would you do

You would lead more than 400 people across facilities, utilities, waste and project management. How would you spend your first 90 days?

What they are checking: Whether they have a disciplined plan to learn the organization and its risks before making large changes.

Nuclear and non-nuclear waste are in this portfolio. How do you lead areas where the consequences of an error are severe and highly regulated?

What they are checking: Whether they respect technical experts and compliance needs in high-hazard work while still holding leaders accountable.

Scientific divisions often see infrastructure as slow. How would you change that perception?

What they are checking: Whether they can build trust with customers across the lab while being honest about constraints.

About the work

How do you decide where to invest when a 5.1 million square foot campus has more aging assets than budget?

What they are checking: Whether they use asset risk management and mission impact to rank investments instead of reacting to whoever is loudest.

How have you set up governance and decision authorities in a large operations organization so decisions get made at the right level?

What they are checking: Whether they can build clear structures that speed up decisions without losing control of risk.

How would you measure whether Infrastructure Services is delivering safe, reliable, cost-effective operations?

What they are checking: Whether they can pick a small set of meaningful measures and use them to manage, not just report.

How have you planned for site resilience, such as utility failures or severe weather, at a large campus?

What they are checking: Whether they think ahead about continuity of operations for facilities that cannot easily be shut down.

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The full job description

As published by Argonne National Laboratory.

The Senior Director of Infrastructure Services (IS) reports to the Chief Operations Officer and serves as a member of the Laboratory Senior Leadership Team. The Senior Director is the COO’s principal infrastructure advisor and is responsible for the execution of the Laboratory’s infrastructure strategy, ensuring operational readiness, asset risk management, and aligning investment priorities in addition to contributing to an enterprise operational perspective to the Laboratory strategy, risk management and resource allocation. The Senior Director leads an organization of more than 400 employees responsible for stewardship and day-to-day management of Argonne’s 1,500-acre site and approximately 5.1 million square feet of facilities. The role provides executive direction and accountability for facilities, utilities, nuclear and non-nuclear waste, site services, and project and portfolio management. The Senior Director establishes the governance, priorities, and decision authorities needed to deliver safe, reliable, compliant, resilient, and cost-effective operations with minimal interruption to the science mission. Key Responsibilities • Lead strategic and operational planning across the infrastructure lifecycle, including campus and asset planning, design and construction, operations and maintenance, renovation, modernization, repair, and deactivation in accordance with the laboratory science strategy. • Demonstrate and nurture a strong disciplined approach to operations with an eye to timely, deliberate decisions that balance mission requirements, safety, security, quality, risk, compliance, cost, schedule, workforce capacity, and long-term stewardship. • Serve as a clear and independent advisor, constructively challenge assumptions, resolve competing priorities, and establish decision rights and accountability for execution. • Oversee operating, maintenance, and capital budgets and support the facilitation of the Laboratory Operations strategic project investment portfolio. Establish measurable goals and measures for financial stewardship, asset condition and reliability, maintenance execution, project delivery, staffing, customer service, and long-range campus planning. • Manage and execute waste operations across the site in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements. Establish measurable performance standards, measures, and processes to allow for the anticipation and early identification of negative operating trends supporting proactive actions with applicable partners. • Partner with scientific and mission leadership to translate current and future program requirements into executable infrastructure strategies, services, priorities, and projects. • Use asset-management systems, operational data, analytics, visualization tools, and emerging technologies to improve decision quality, reliability, productivity, transparency, and cost-effectiveness. • Ensure IS work complies with applicable laws, Department of Energy (DOE) requirements, contractual obligations, codes, standards, permits, and management expectations. Embed safety, security, quality, and environmental stewardship into work planning and execution. • Establish effective quality assurance, assessment, corrective-action, and lessons-learned processes to identify risks, close performance gaps, and sustain continuous improvement for IS. • Develop productive relationships with DOE, regulators, the University of Chicago, external institutions, and other national laboratories to advance mission outcomes, benchmarking, and effective business and technical practices. • Build an accountable, inclusive, and high-performing leadership team; delegate authority effectively; develop succession and organizational capability; and lead significant operational events, conflict, and organizational change with urgency, sound judgment, and calm confidence. Position Requirements Knowledge • Comprehensive knowledge of infrastructure lifecycle management, including campus and asset planning, engineering, construction, operations, maintenance, modernization, and deactivation. • Strong technical knowledge of facilities, utilities, maintenance, asset management, project and portfolio management, and site or campus planning practices. • Knowledge of enterprise risk management, performance management, disciplined operations, and continuous-improvement principles applicable to complex operations. • Knowledge of the DOE national laboratory environment and applicable federal, state, and local requirements, DOE directives, contractual obligations, environmental permits, codes, standards, and safety and health requirements. Skills • Ability to establish clear operational goals, delegate responsibility and authority, define measurable commitments, and hold leaders and organizations accountable for results. • Ability to lead a large, multidisciplinary, technically complex, and highly regulated organization through subordinate leaders and managers, ensuring coordinated execution across multiple disciplines and functions. • Ability to build consensus and sustain productive relationships among a diverse stakeholder base, including Laboratory leadership, scientific organizations and programs, DOE, regulators, represented and non-represented employees, and external partners. • Ability to translate scientific and mission requirements into executable infrastructure strategies, priorities, services, and capital/operating projects. • Ability to leverage asset-management systems, analytics, data visualization, and emerging technologies to strengthen operational insight, transparency, decision making and operational performance. • Ability to lead significant operational events, conflicts, competing priorities, and organizational change while serving as both a change agent and a stabilizing force. Experience • Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in infrastructure, facilities, engineering, construction, maintenance, project management, campus planning, or operations. • Demonstrated executive leadership of a large, multidisciplinary, technically complex, and highly regulated infrastructure or operations organization, including leadership through subordinate managers. • Demonstrated experience directing facilities operations, engineering, maintenance, construction, campus planning, waste management, asset management, or related services for a large research, industrial, university, or government campus, with measurable improvements in reliability, service, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. • Experience overseeing significant operating and capital budgets, infrastructure portfolios, major projects, long-range planning, and life-cycle asset investments. • Experience leading through significant operational events, institutional risks, organizational change, and competing mission priorities. • Demonstrated experience working effectively with DOE customers, government officials, regulatory agencies, external oversight organizations, scientific stakeholders, and represented and non-represented workforces. Education and Other Requirements • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, architecture, construction, planning, science, business, or a related field. A relevant master’s degree is preferred. • Ability to obtain and maintain a Q clearance. • Ability to model Argonne’s Core Values: Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork. • Professional Engineer or architect licensure, project management certification, or a comparable senior-level professional credential is preferred. Job Family Professional Technical (PT) Job Profile Infrastructure Services Leader 5 Worker Type Regular Time Type Full time The expected hiring range for this position is $282,818.00 - $441,196.47. Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package. Click here to view Argonne employee benefits! As an equal employment opportunity employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a safe and welcoming workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. Argonne encourages everyone to apply for employment. Argonne is committed to nondiscrimination and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by law. Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne's Legal Department. All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case-by-case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual be to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment.

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