Senior Data Scientist IV – Gen AI Development & Evaluation

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments called Directorates, each focused on a specific area of scientific research or function. The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-based, mission-focused solutions to address complex, real-world threats. The AI and Data Analytics Division within NSD combines domain expertise with advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions for 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

• 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 (T&E, robustness) for key modalities such as:
  • Transform hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and geospatial applications by harnessing advanced AI techniques to extract actionable intelligence from complex, multi-layered data.
  • Drive breakthroughs in multi-int fusion—integrating diverse intelligence sources to deliver robust, mission-ready solutions that elevate operational capabilities and decision-making.
  • Advance knowledge discovery, support decision intelligence, and enable robust analytical processes using advanced AI techniques to extract, synthesize, and integrate 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 model, 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 within the team, 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.

Requirements

• Demonstrated proficiency in leading proposals, writing technical reports, and communicating complex findings to diverse audiences (technical and executive).
• Knowledge of compute environments and their 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, xAI/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 (tokenization, attention mechanisms, routing, weight adaptation, loss optimization) or modalities including hyperspectral imagery.
• Hands-on experience with LLM/LVM/Foundation Model and Frontier AI evaluation, red teaming, uncertainty analysis, or safety control implementation.
• Experience designing and executing T&E 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, with publications, open-source contributions, or deployable prototypes.
  • Software engineering foundations: Python, ML frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow), experiment tracking, and data pipeline tooling.
  • Familiarity with agentic AI safety (tool-use governance, retrieval hygiene, autonomous decision workflows) 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.

Work Location & Requirements

• Based in Richland, WA or Seattle, WA with onsite presence required.
• Clearance required: U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance (DOE Q or TS/SCI).
• Background investigation includes review of employment, education, financial, and criminal history, as well as interviews with personal references, neighbors, and co-workers.
• Travel may be required for stakeholder engagement or project events.
• This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP); pre-employment and random drug testing for illegal drugs, including marijuana, is required. Applicants must demonstrate non-use of illegal drugs for the 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP).

About PNNL

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a world-class research institution powered by a highly educated, diverse workforce committed to the values of Integrity, Creativity, Collaboration, Impact, and Courage. PNNL offers excellent benefits including health insurance and flexible work schedules. The Lab is located in eastern Washington State, known for its outdoor recreation and affordable cost of living, and is a 45-minute flight or ~3-hour drive from Seattle or Portland.