Michael A. Mikolanis is the Manager of NNSA’s Los Alamos Field Office (LAFO), a position he has held since October 2026. He is responsible for executive leadership and oversight of the multi-billion-dollar Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Management and Operating contract and all federal activities on the site. A member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), he leads a team that oversees the management, security, quality assurance, environment, and health and safety of the national and nonproliferation security missions at the Laboratory.
He previously led the Savannah River Field Office, overseeing NNSA's Savannah River Site.
Before that, Mr. Mikolanis served as the Manager of the Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) from August 2021 to March 2024. His primary responsibility was to oversee the safe, efficient legacy waste cleanup from the Manhattan Project and Cold War-era operations at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This included the shipment of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, and soil and groundwater remediation programs. Additionally, he led the planning and preparation for future below-ground waste remediation at LANL with the EM-LA team and legacy waste cleanup contractor. Stakeholder, community, and pueblo engagement was a top priority for Mr. Mikolanis, and under his leadership, EM-LA has enhanced and increased outreach and public participation opportunities.
Previously Mr. Mikolanis served as Assistant Manager for Nuclear Material Stabilization at the Savannah River Site (SRS) for four years. In this capacity, he was responsible for providing overall leadership and direction of activities related to the receipt, storage, stabilization, and disposition of nuclear materials, spent nuclear fuel, byproducts, and activities associated with the Savannah River National Laboratory and multiple SRS analytical laboratories.
Mr. Mikolanis held other leadership positions at SRS, including Assistant Manager for Infrastructure and Environmental Stewardship, Site Chief Engineer, and Waste Disposition Engineering Division Director. Prior to SRS, he served as a Departmental Representative Issue Lead in the Office of the Undersecretary of Energy, where he was responsible for overseeing engineering and nuclear safety activities at facilities that treat and dispose of legacy transuranic waste and liquid high-level radioactive waste.
He has held leadership positions with Bechtel Power Corporation and the U.S. Navy. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Maryland.