Senior Data Scientist 3 - AI/ML for National Security

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Seattle, Richland (WA, WA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) seeks AI/ML experts to address national security challenges using innovative technologies. The role involves designing machine learning methods for security applications and collaborating with diverse teams to enhance existing solutions.

Ideal candidates will have a strong background in Python, significant experience with advanced AI/ML frameworks, and the ability to work with complex data sets.

U.S. citizenship and security clearance requirements apply.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant work experience in AI/ML.
• 4+ years of experience in Python development.
• Experience in machine learning or applied science/research.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement novel machine learning methods for National Security.
• Collaborate with teams to integrate AI technologies.
• Produce solutions driven by artificial intelligence.

Skills

Python development

Machine learning frameworks (PyTorch, Scikit‑Learn)

Data analysis using libraries (Pandas, Numpy, Scipy)

Statistical analysis

Advanced mathematics

Data modeling

AI technologies application

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field + 5+ years of experience

Master's degree in a relevant field + 3+ years of experience

PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience

Job description

Working in multidisciplinary teams, PNNL connects research to engineering to operations, providing the tools necessary to innovate quickly and field results faster. Our strengths are integrated across the data analytics lifecycle, from data acquisition and management to analysis and decision support. This position requires interactions with government, military, and industry officials nationwide for a variety of programs, projects, and tasks, including technical and programmatic concept development, planning, coordination, integration, and execution that can be supported by data science and deep learning techniques.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and iterate on novel machine learning and deep learning methods to directly address National Security problems.
• Conduct cutting‑edge research supporting national security missions.
• Collaborate with cross‑disciplinary teams to integrate AI technologies into existing and next‑generation AI/ML solutions.
• Produce solutions driven by artificial intelligence, machine/deep learning methods, or exploratory data analysis from complex and high‑dimensional datasets.
• Be able to recreate state‑of‑the‑art architectures, training techniques and analyses from journal publications with minimal examples and/or author code access.
• Define scope and lead project teams, mentor interns and early‑career staff.
• Leader in external professional communities, keeps up with advancements in AI, machine learning, and data science methods to identify opportunities for innovation and improvement in national security applications.
• Demonstrate ability to transfer skills across application domains, while demonstrating strong expertise in at least one domain.
• Apply knowledge of statistics, machine learning, advanced mathematics, software development, and data modeling to integrate and clean data, recognize patterns, address uncertainty, pose questions, and make discoveries from structured and/or unstructured data.
• Design, develop, and implement methods, processes, and systems to analyze diverse data to support National Security missions.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 5+ years of relevant work experience OR
• MS/MA and 3+ years of relevant work experience OR
• PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience in Python development and common associated libraries (e.g., Pandas, Numpy, Scipy).
• 4+ years of experience developing, training, and testing machine learning models in frameworks like PyTorch and Scikit‑Learn.
• 4+ years in machine learning or applied science/research.
• Experience applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to one or more modalities such as text, image, time‑series, sensors, radio‑frequency data, multimodal applications.
• 2+ years of experience in AI/ML/DL in applied science/research for national security challenges.
• Active DOE Q clearance and ability to maintain such clearance.
• Active TS/SCI clearance and ability to maintain such clearance.

Requirements

• U.S. Citizenship
• Background Investigation: Applicants selected will be subject to a Federal background investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified matter in accordance with 10 CFR 710, Appendix B.
• Drug Testing: All Security Clearance positions are Testing Designated Positions, which means that the candidate selected is subject to pre‑employment and random drug testing. Applicants must be able to demonstrate non‑use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for the 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the requisite Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP).

Additional Information

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. The position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Candidates will be subject to pre‑employment and random drug testing for illegal drugs, including marijuana, consistent with the Controlled Substances Act and the PNNL Workplace Substance Abuse Program.