Deputy Labs Director and Chief Operating Officer
As Deputy Laboratories Director and Chief Operations Officer for Sandia National Laboratories, David Gibson provides leadership, oversight, management direction, and execution to implement the Labs Director’s strategic vision for safe and secure operations at Sandia.
David previously was Senior Director of Environmental Safety Health and Quality at Argonne National Laboratory, where he ensured lab operations were conducted safely and in compliance with all environmental regulations. He oversaw occupational safety, radiation protection, analytical services, environmental protection, health and employee wellness, and quality programs.
David has broad operational management experience with functional oversight in facilities, logistics, occupational safety and health, safeguards and security, enterprise IT, project management, human resources, procurement, quality programs and business operations.
He started his career at Sandia Labs in 1998 as an intern in the Facilities Corporate Projects organization. He was promoted through the staff ranks and served in two team lead roles before being selected in 2007 as a detailee to NNSA’s Office of Infrastructure and Environmental Management in Washington, D.C. He helped develop NNSA policy for corporate facilities management, supported the Facilities and Infrastructure Recapitalization Program, and participated in project reviews across the complex.
Upon returning to Sandia in 2009, David became manager of the FMOC Nuclear Weapons Customer Partnership Department, responsible for sustaining the mission-critical nuclear weapons infrastructure. He became manager of Nuclear Weapons Planning Integration and later served in two senior manager roles within Sandia’s Infrastructure Operations division. In 2015, he moved to the Labs’ California laboratory as senior manager of Collaborative Development and Operations. In 2017, he became the Center Director of Sandia’s California Site Operations.
David holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of New Mexico.
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