Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contractor Attracting Best and Brightest Talent

Paul Alcazar, right, an intern with Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC, poses with his winning poster, along with mentor and supervisor Sean Sandborgh, during the 2026 Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix, Arizona.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Companies are constantly searching for ways to attract the best and brightest people. It is no different for Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos LLC (N3B), as the legacy cleanup contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office recruits top talent and implements strategies to retain its current employees.

N3B conducts the cleanup of legacy contamination and waste resulting from nuclear weapons production and research during the Manhattan Project and Cold War at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“We are constantly competing for talent,” said Jessica Pascual, N3B chief human resources officer. “Recruiting and hiring the best candidates is a challenge. Equally important is developing our current employees, ensuring they are valued and have challenging and fulfilling work.”

Paul Alcazar is an example of how this strategy benefits N3B and its employees. In March 2025, N3B awarded Alcazar the Danny Nichols and Dennis Huddleston Memorial Scholarship, which helped him attend the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos, where he studies chemistry.

In June 2025, N3B hired Alcazar as an intern. Soon thereafter, his supervisor, Sean Sandborgh, sample and data management director, and colleagues recognized his talent and ambition.

During his internship, Alcazar submitted a technical research paper to the 2026 Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on his research, Alcazar’s poster presentation, “Considerations When Using Critical Level for Determination of Detection Status in Radioanalytical Samples,” was selected by the conference organizers as the winner of the Undergraduate Student Technical Poster Competition.

Since 2020, N3B has awarded 21 scholarships worth an estimated $200,000. Many recipients have joined N3B as interns and employees.

“Investing in talent development programs can be a highly effective strategy for addressing recruitment challenges,” Pascual said. “By offering professional development to existing employees, N3B supports the advancement of people in their careers. This approach fosters employee loyalty, reduces turnover and allows for the organic growth of talent at N3B.”

-Contributor: Donavan Mager