Scientific Data Services Engineer – AI & HPC

Argonne National Laboratory; Lemont (IL); On-site; USD 94,486 - 147,398; Full time

Job summary

Argonne National Laboratory is seeking a data services engineer to enable AI for science through large‑scale data management. You will build and expose terabytes to petabytes of data via web apps and high‑performance APIs, collaborating with science teams and industry partners.

The role emphasizes data ingestion, indexing, and search across diverse data sources, with deployment in Kubernetes/HPC and a strong software engineering focus. A hybrid remote work arrangement is available.

Qualifications

• BS with 5+ years, MS with 3+ years, or PhD with 0+ years in CS, computational science, or related field.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++.
• Experience with data management frameworks and diverse deployment environments (Kubernetes, HPC).
• Ability to create and support high‑quality software and to work in a collaborative, fast‑paced team.
• Strong written and oral communication skills and alignment with Argonne values.

Responsibilities

• Engineer data ingestion, indexing, and search for terabytes to petabytes of scientific data.
• Expose data to users through web applications and to AI models via high‑performance APIs.
• Collaborate with science application teams and other labs to solve large-scale problems.
• Develop and maintain data services, ensure security and multi‑user access control.

Skills

Python

C/C++

OpenMetadata

Kubernetes

HPC

Git

Collaboration

Communication

Teamwork

Core values (impact, safety, respect,

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

MS or PhD in computer science, computational science, or related field

Tools

OpenMetadata

Git

API design

Job description

The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility’s (ALCF) mission is to accelerate major scientific discoveries and engineering breakthroughs for humanity by designing and providing world‑leading computing facilities in partnership with the computational science community. We help researchers solve some of the world’s largest and most complex problems with our unique combination of supercomputing resources and computational science expertise.

The ALCF has an opening for a data services engineer working in the space of enabling AI for science, specifically targeting large‑scale scientific data management. The successful candidate will join the Data Services and Workflows group, which focuses on scientific workflows that combine large‑scale data, simulations, analysis, and AI. In this position, the candidate can expect to engineer solutions that expose terabytes to petabytes of scientific data to users and to AI models, emphasizing data ingestion, indexing, and search of diverse data. Working together with scientists, you will work to understand data from target science domains, how to structure it efficiently for search according to project requirements, and expose it to users through highly‑usable web applications, and to AI applications through high‑performance APIs.

The Data Services and Workflows group—in this position—involves work in a highly collaborative environment involving science application teams, academia and industry, as well as other national labs and agencies, to solve some of the world’s largest and most complex problems in science and engineering. The candidate will engage with science application teams and contribute to broader scientific initiatives.

This position qualifies as "Hybrid Remote Work - Occasionally Onsite": which applies to employees typically working more than 60% of their time remotely.

Position Requirements

Required skills and qualifications

• RD2: Bachelors and 5+ years of experience, Masters and 3+ years, or PhD and 0+ years, or equivalent
• Degree in computer science, computational science, a physical science, engineering, or related field
• Comprehensive experience programming in one or more programming languages such as Python, C/C++
• Experience with at least one data management framework (e.g. OpenMetadata)
• Experience with deployment in diverse environments (e.g. Kubernetes, HPC)
• Ability to create, maintain, and support high‑quality software is essential
• Experience with version control software such as git
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast‑paced environment
• Effective written and oral communications skills
• Ability to model Argonne’s core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork

Preferred skills and qualifications

• A recent MS or PhD in computer science, computational science, a physical science, engineering, or related field
• Experience working with scientific data in one or more domains
• Experience working with parallel filesystems
• Experience designing or operating data services, including deployment, analysis, and integration with AI language models
• Experience profiling and optimizing data services for performance
• Familiarity with secure, multi‑user services, including authentication/authorization, and API security

Job Family: Research Development (RD)

Job Profile: Software Engineering 2

Worker Type: Regular

Time Type: Full time

Full time. The expected hiring range for this position is $94,486.00 - $147,398.94.

Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package.

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As an equal employment opportunity employer, and in accordance with our core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity and teamwork, Argonne National Laboratory is committed to a safe and welcoming workplace that fosters collaborative scientific discovery and innovation. Argonne encourages everyone to apply for employment. Argonne is committed to nondiscrimination and considers all qualified applicants for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by law.

Argonne employees, and certain guest researchers and contractors, are subject to particular restrictions related to participation in Foreign Government Sponsored or Affiliated Activities, as defined and detailed in United States Department of Energy Order 486.1A. You will be asked to disclose any such participation in the application phase for review by Argonne’s Legal Department.

All Argonne offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes an assessment of criminal conviction history conducted on an individualized and case‑by‑case basis. Please be advised that Argonne positions require upon hire (or may require in the future) for the individual to obtain a government access authorization that involves additional background check requirements. Failure to obtain or maintain such government access authorization could result in the withdrawal of a job offer or future termination of employment.