Postdoctoral Research Associate
Overview
The Data and AI Systems Research Section/Workflow systems Group within the Computer Science and Mathematics Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a postdoctoral researcher with expertise in data management, workflow management, High Performance Computing (HPC), machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to enhance our capabilities in making AI-ready scientific data. As a postdoctoral fellow at ORNL, you will collaborate with a dynamic team of scientists and engineers, leveraging cutting-edge resources; most notably the Frontier supercomputer, the world's first exascale computing system. This is a unique opportunity to engage in transformational research that advances the development of AI-ready scientific data, optimized workflows, and distributed intelligence across the computing continuum. In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead and contribute to cutting-edge research aimed at transforming scientific data management and workflows to enable AI-readiness at scale. You will work on designing system software for automating processes such as intelligent data ingestion, preservation of data/metadata relationships, and distributed optimization of machine learning workflows. Collaborating with world-class scientists, you will enhance your expertise in resource optimization, scalable computing techniques, fault resilience, and advanced AI applications. This role offers unparalleled access to ORNL's world-leading computational resources, including the Frontier supercomputer, and the chance to make meaningful contributions to DOE's mission-critical scientific domains.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement system software to enable AI-readiness for scientific data by developing adaptive techniques capable of maintaining relationships between data and metadata.
- Collaborate on innovative solutions to automate and optimize the interplay between large scientific simulations, data ingestion, and AI processes (e.g., model training, inference).
- Develop agentic AI systems and AI harnessing techniques to enhance model quality, resource optimization, and adaptive execution in diverse workflows.
- Investigate strategies to balance performance and resilience across heterogeneous computational resources while addressing workflow requirements for scientific applications.
- Validate distributed intelligence algorithms at scale on ORNL's computational resources, including the Frontier supercomputer, addressing critical challenges in science and engineering.
- Communicate and coordinate experimental results with other domain experts to facilitate collaboration.
- Present and report research results and publish scientific results in peer-reviewed journals or conferences.
Basic Qualifications
- A PhD in Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Computational Science, or related discipline completed within the last five years.
- An excellent record of productive and creative research as demonstrated by publications in top peer-reviewed journals and conferences.
- Demonstrated research experience with HPC, AI/ML and/or distributed systems techniques.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C++, or similar, as well as experience with HPC environments and parallel computing.
- Demonstrated hands-on experience and understanding of developing scientific data management, workflows and resource management problems.
- Strong problem-solving and communication skills, with the ability to work collaboratively in a team setting.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with AI-readiness pipelines, particularly in integrating scientific data with AI workflows.
- Familiarity with concepts like metadata management, parameter space coverage, or agentic AI.
- Prior exposure to DOE workflows or national laboratory environments.
- Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative and frequently interacting teams of researchers.
Special Requirements
- Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment.
- The appointment length will be up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and availability of funding.
- Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to Postdocrecruitment@ornl.gov with the position title and number referenced in the subject line.
Benefits
- 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