Group Leader - Workflow and Ecosystems Services

Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and retirement plans

Flexible work hours

Relocation assistance

Education Assistance

Wellness Programs

Employee discounts

Job summary

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN, seeks a Group Leader for the Workflow and Ecosystem Services Research and Development group within NCCS to define a vision and implement a cohesive strategy for innovative workflow, data, and agentic AI ecosystem capabilities.

You will lead research in agentic workflows, coordinate with scientists across the lab, mentor staff, and help secure DOE and sponsor support while advancing HPC integrations and FAIR data practices.

Qualifications

• Requires PhD in computer science or related field and at least 10 years of research experience beyond the PhD.
• Track record in data and workflow tools development and machine orchestration methods.
• Experience with HPC and leadership of R&D initiatives is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop a vision and cohesive group strategy for innovative workflow, data, and agentic AI ecosystem capabilities.
• Lead the research agenda in agentic workflows, orchestration, provenance, and evaluation at leadership scale.
• Collaborate with scientists across the lab to advance the mission and secure sponsorship.
• Mentor staff, manage performance, and support staff development and workload planning.
• Write papers and proposals and present findings in large forums.

Skills

Lead cross-functional teams

Agentic workflows

HPC systems

Performance modeling

Interpersonal skills

Education

PhD in computer science or related

Tools

AI/ML integration with HPC

Workflow orchestration tools

Data stewardship capabilities

Job description

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Group Leader - Workflow and Ecosystems Services

Oak RidgeNational Laboratory (ORNL)is seeking aGroup Leader for the Workflow and Ecosystem Services(WES)Research and Development groupin the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS). The groupcreatesand deploysworkflow,data, and AI-agenttechnologiesthat connect leadership-class computing with experimental and observational science.Its primary goal is to improve the efficiency,dependability, andtrustworthinessof scientificworkflows, from traditional HPC and data pipelines to agentic workflows in which AI agents plan, execute,monitor, and adapt computational and experimental campaigns,running in distributed large-scale advanced computing environments.The group alsodeliversAI-readyand FAIRscientificdata, together with the orchestration, provenance, and benchmarkingmethodsthat make agentic and traditional workflows reliable at scale. Thegroup’smainobjectiveis toempower scientists and researchers by enabling them to effectively apply leadership-class and distributedcomputing resources offered byflagshipDOE computational and observational user facilities.

TheWES group is inNCCS’sAdvanced TechnologiesSectionwhichoffers scientific, technical, operational, and thought leadership by developing,hardening, and deploying solutions for compute and data intensive computing environments. The section's staffdevelops and deploys emerging large-scale data science,AI, and agenticmethods for scientific user programs and enablesinnovation through operational data analytics. Staff membersfacilitatedata stewardship and enriched scalabledata access capabilities and develop end-to-end scientific workflow technologies for user programs. Theyidentifytechnical gaps in the computing and data sciences ecosystems, so they can implement solutions to enablescientific discovery.NCCS hasa long-standing historyin High-Performance Computing (HPC) operating leadership-class systemsin its Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), deployingthe world’s first exascale supercomputer system (Frontier), anddeployingsome of thelargest parallel file systems in the world.

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an outstanding 80-yearhistory of solving the nation’s biggest problems.These elements are essential for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission toaccelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for thenation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Develop a vision and implement a cohesive group strategy for offering innovative workflow, data, and agentic AIecosystemcapabilities to position the group and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF) for futuresuccess in its mission.
• Lead the group's research agenda in agenticworkflows, including architectures and orchestration for AI agentsoperatingacross HPC, data, and experimental facilities, and the provenance, evaluation, and trustworthiness methods needed to run them at leadership scale.
• Develop new research directions relevant totheOLCF mission and the overall health of the division.
• Collaborate with scientistswithin andoutside of the laboratory to advance the scientific mission of our group, laboratory,the Department ofEnergyand other sponsors.
• Provide relevant input toassistthe Section Head with staff development while providing direct andimpactful mentorship to staff on a regular basis.
• Serve as immediate supervisor for staff members in the group, including performance management, career development, and workload planning.
• Writepeer-reviewed papers, technical reports, and proposals for internal and external release and representthe organization by giving technical presentations in large public forums.
• Mentor emerging research staff, postdocs, and students.
• Build strongcollaborationsacross ORNL.
• Attract a quality, diverse pool of top candidates and hire staff members who arecommitted to world-classR&D.
• Hold regular scientific/technical group meetings and be present in the labs and workplace.

Basic Qualifications:

• Requires a Ph.D. in computer science or a related subject area, and at least ten years of relevant researchexperience, beyond the PhD.
• A track recordofdata andworkflow tools and technologies development and machine orchestration methods(agentic and/orautomated workflows), and HPC.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Validated experience in leading R&D teams.
• Experience leading large-scale R&D projects, ideally spanning multiple institutions or DOE facilities.
• A well-establishedtrack recordin leading community efforts and events leading to significant communityresources.
• A strong awareness of DOE and non-DOE agencies research initiatives.
• Experience organizing workshops and conferences in an area relevant to one or more areas of expertise ofthe group.
• Strong knowledge of performance modeling, simulation, and benchmarking of parallel and distributed computing systems and of the workflow systems that run on them.
• Familiarity with the FAIR data and research software principles, and with producing AI-ready scientific data.
• Demonstrated experience designing, building, or deploying agentic workflows and multi-agent systems for science, including their orchestration, provenance, and evaluation.
• Experience integrating AI/ML models and services with HPC and workflow systems, such as inference serving on leadership systems, coupling of AI agents with simulation and data pipelines, or human-in-the-loop control of automated campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to rapidly adopt emerging technologies, including LLM-based and agentic tooling.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and strong personal motivation.

Special Requirements:

• Security, Credential, and Eligibility Requirements: For employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Real ID compliant form of identification will be required. Additionally, ORNL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation.

To obtain this credential, new employees must successfully complete and pass a Federal Tier 1 background check investigation. This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal under federal law, regardless of state laws.

For foreign national candidates:

If you have not resided in the U.S. for three consecutive years, you are not eligible for the PIV credential and instead will need to obtain a favorable Local Site Specific Only (LSSO) risk determination to maintain employment. Once you meet the three-year residency requirement, you will be required to obtain a PIV credential to maintain employment.

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors. The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well-being of you and your family. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

• Prescription Drug Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Contributory Pension Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Benefits
• Generous Vacation and Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Educational Assistance
• Relocation Assistance
• Employee Discounts

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.