Sean McDonald is the program director of the Strategy & Planning office for the associate Laboratory directorate of Weapons Production at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In this role, he is responsible for long-term strategic planning and risk management for the $1.5B portfolio, which includes plutonium pits and non-nuclear components.

McDonald began his LANL career in 1991 as a graduate research associate, becoming a technical staff member in 1994. He has supported the nation’s weapons program in a variety of ways since then, including as a quality engineer and quality manager for primary detonators and plutonium pits and working with gas transfer systems and neutron generators. He was the program manager for Directed Stockpile Work Production and Readiness, where he managed a $50 million portfolio consisting of detonator production at LANL and neutron tube target loading for neutron generator production at Sandia National Laboratories, Weapons Quality, and the Readiness Campaign.

In 2006, McDonald began LANL assignments based in Washington D.C., where he remained until 2022. Over these years, he supported nuclear weapons stockpile management and nuclear policy in the following roles:

• On-assignment to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) of Nuclear Matters, Navy Strategic Systems Programs Office, and the House Armed Services Committee.

• Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Security Affairs and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy in the OSD. In this role, he served as the United States chairman of the NATO Ad Hoc Working Group, a standing international body supporting the NATO High Level Group, which played a vital role in the 2012 Deterrence and Defense Posture Review that charted NATO's nuclear deterrence strategy and force posture for the foreseeable future.

• Special Scientific Advisor to the DASD of Nuclear Matters, where he advised the DASD on stockpile issues, including the development of a pit production capability.

• Scientific Advisor to the Office of the Director for Defense Research and Engineering

• Primary advisor to the principal deputy administrator of NNSA on technical issues related to nuclear weapons policy.

• Special Scientific Advisor to the DASD for Strategic, Space and Intelligence Portfolio Management, contributing to the Reentry Vehicle Roadmap and the establishment of an Aeroshell Working Group to reestablish the nation’s capability to produce this essential component.

McDonald holds an M.A. in International Economics from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Virginia. He is also a certified Project Management Professional.