Senior Data Scientist IV – Gen AI Development & Evaluation

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 166,800 - 275,200; Full time

Job summary

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory seeks an experienced Senior Data Scientist to lead projects in generative AI and foundation model development. This role involves engaging with stakeholders and driving proposal development while providing technical leadership.

The candidate must have advanced knowledge in machine learning, and cybersecurity, and experience with AI systems. A PhD in a related field is preferred.

This position requires onsite presence in Seattle, WA or Richland, WA, and the ability to obtain a federal security clearance.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of relevant experience or a PhD with 3+ years.
• Proven experience with agentic AI solutions.
• Strong knowledge of model architectures and evaluation methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead innovative projects in generative AI and foundation model development.
• Engage with stakeholders to align technical approaches with project goals.
• Direct the design and development of AI systems addressing complex problems.

Skills

Proposal Development

Generative AI

Technical Communication

Machine Learning

Data Analysis

Education

PhD in a related field

Tools

Python

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments called directorates, each focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget. The science & technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. The AI and Data Analytics Division, part of the National Security Directorate, integrates advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions that address complex data and analytic challenges. Working in multidisciplinary teams, we connect foundational research to engineering and operations, providing tools to innovate quickly and field results faster.

Responsibilities

The AI & Data Analytics division is seeking a Senior Data Scientist to blend foundational research with real‑world implementation on mission‑focused projects. Successful candidates will grow professionally while working on diverse, mission‑focused projects and will serve as a senior technical leader, driving proposal development and engaging directly with stakeholders. This role requires hands‑on experience with or leading research that leverages model internals, such as direct engagement with model architectures, training pipelines, and weight‑level optimization, or developing and deploying agentic AI solutions that use tool‑use, retrieval‑augmented generation, multi‑step reasoning, and autonomous decision‑making workflows.

• Lead innovative projects and programs developing and applying generative AI and foundation model development (pretraining, fine‑tuning, agentic systems, and innovative training strategies) and evaluation (testing & evaluation, robustness) for key modalities such as hyperspectral imaging and geospatial applications.
• Drive breakthroughs in multi‑int fusion—integrating diverse intelligence sources to deliver robust, mission‑ready solutions that elevate operational capabilities.
• Advance knowledge discovery and decision intelligence, supporting robust analytical processes by extracting and integrating insights from unstructured, semi‑structured, or large‑scale text and documents.
• Engage with stakeholders to understand project requirements and translate them into actionable technical approaches aligned with sponsor goals.
• Direct the design, development, and iteration on foundation models, frontier AI research, and agentic AI systems that address complex, real‑world problems, especially those involving diverse data modalities such as remote sensing imagery, sensor fusion, and text.
• Apply deep expertise in model internals (e.g., tokenization, attention mechanisms, weight adaptation, and loss optimization) to customize and improve model performance for domain‑specific applications.
• Lead evaluation and verification of AI and agentic systems across multiple axes, including standard performance metrics, uncertainty quantification, generalization to out‑of‑distribution settings, and mission‑specific assurance criteria.
• Lead proposal development and business development through proposals and/or briefing sponsors.
• Serve as a technical resource and mentor to junior to senior staff, fostering a collaborative research environment and mission awareness.
• Maintain awareness of emerging trends in AI, AI security, and national security to shape future research directions and identify new opportunities for impact.

Work Location & Requirements

• Based in Richland, WA or Seattle, WA with onsite presence required.
• Clearance required (see security clearance details below).
• Travel may be required for stakeholder engagement or project events.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated proficiency in leading proposals, writing technical reports, and communicating complex findings to diverse audiences.
• Knowledge of compute environments and cybersecurity concerns; familiarity with secure ML ops, access control, and model/data governance.
• Demonstrated impact in generative AI, frontier AI, or foundation model research (e.g., peer‑reviewed publications, recognized awards, contributions to community standards).
• Deep knowledge of the current ML research landscape, especially AI safety, adversarial machine learning, interpretability, uncertainty quantification, and the science of deep learning.
• Hands‑on experience analyzing internal structures of deep learning models, particularly LLMs and large vision/multimodal models.
• Hands‑on experience with LLM/LVM/Foundation Model and frontier AI evaluation, red teaming, uncertainty analysis, or safety control implementation.
• Experience designing and executing testing & evaluation campaigns for AI systems, including test planning, dataset curation, metrics, statistical analysis, and reproducibility.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• BS/BA and 7+ years of relevant work experience – or
• MS/MA and 5+ years of relevant work experience – or
• PhD with 3+ years of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Degree in computer science, statistics, mathematics, or related fields.
• Experience serving as PI, technical lead, or project manager for federally funded R&D projects.
• Knowledge of compute environments and cybersecurity concerns; familiarity with secure ML ops, access control, and model/data governance.
• Experience designing and executing testing & evaluation campaigns for AI systems.
• Software engineering foundations: Python, ML frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow), experiment tracking, and data pipeline tooling.
• Familiarity with agentic AI safety and evaluation of multi‑step reasoning systems.
• Prior work in national security environments, with an understanding of mission needs and operational constraints.
• Active DOE Q or TS/SCI clearance.

Hazardous Working Conditions/Environment

Not applicable.

Additional Information

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. The background investigation examines employment, education, financial, and criminal history, as well as interviews and foreign connections, drug and alcohol use, foreign influence, and overall conduct. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and meet eligibility requirements for access to classified matter.

Testing Designated Position

The candidate selected 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.

Commitment to Excellence and Equal Employment Opportunity

PNNL is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We consider all applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local laws. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures and employment. If you need assistance or an accommodation, contact [e-mail].

Minimum Salary

USD $166,800.00 per year.

Maximum Salary

USD $275,200.00 per year.