Sandia National Laboratories names McGill new deputy labs director

Laura McGill has been named Sandia National Laboratories deputy labs director and will lead its nuclear deterrence programs to support safety, security, and reliability excellence.

“I’m honored to join Sandia Labs and the tradition of serving the national security mission,” McGill said. “I look forward to leading such a diverse and extensive team of incredibly talented people, learning from them, providing guidance, and working together to deliver required capability and performance.”

McGill joins Sandia after more than 30 years in the defense industry. She recently retired from Raytheon Missiles and Defense as deputy vice president of engineering. Additionally, McGill is one of two deputy labs directors in a position second only to the labs director.

Authorities indicated she leads programs recently reorganized into two divisions to meet the nuclear weapons modernization schedule while assuring the existing stockpile’s reliability. The programs reinforce Sandia’s role as the design agency and system integrator for the nation’s nuclear weapons, per officials.

Steve Girrens continues his roles as associate labs director and chief engineer for nuclear weapons as head of the newly formed Stockpile Management, Components, and Production division.

Rita Gonzales joins the leadership team as the associate labs director of the new Modernization and Future Systems division.

“I’m tremendously excited about the new nuclear deterrence leadership team and what they can accomplish,” Labs Director James Peery said. “We are fortunate to have someone of Laura’s caliber and wealth of experience join an all-star team with Steve, whose contributions these last few years are nothing short of heroic, and Rita, who has repeatedly demonstrated her leadership ability over two decades.”