Postdoctoral Researcher - Human-Agent Collaboration in Scientific Discovery

Posting Title

Postdoctoral Researcher - Human-Agent Collaboration in Scientific Discovery

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Location

CO - Golden

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Position Type

Postdoc (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week

40

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Working at NLR

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions.

Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

The Computational Sciences Center (CSC) has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher in Human-Agent Collaboration for Scientific Discovery. This emerging research area takes on a multidisciplinary approach (across Human-AI (HAI) teaming, natural language processing, and AI for Science) to explore frameworks that integrate agentic AI systems into the day-to-day work of human scientists.

We are specifically looking for a candidate interested in: (1) developing new algorithms for: orchestrating multi-turn dialogue works for HAI collaboration in long-running scientific discovery projects, optimizing asynchronous communication and coordination between humans and agents, or enhancing the explainability of agentic decision making. The candidate will also (2) lead an effort to design and conduct human evaluations measuring real-world efficacy with scientists.

The postdoc will be paired with an AI research mentor in CSC and will contribute to a platform developed by a multi-institution collaborative project led by NLR. The ideal candidate is a curious, self-driven researcher with both a strong technical background in applied mathematics and statistics pertinent to design of experiments for interactive evaluations, as well as a strong software engineering skill set.

Job Responsibilities:

* Independently lead an AI research project, under supervision of your research mentor and in collaboration with other project members, with the goal of submitting a manuscript at a top-tier venue at the end of the first year

* Lead an effort to conduct interactive evaluations of the proposed research with human scientists through real-world studies

* Develop, test, and push high-quality code from project work to the platform

* Communicate research progress verbally and in writing through regular project updates

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Basic Qualifications

Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional

Required Qualifications

* Experience using software frameworks and standards for designing and evaluating agentic AI systems (e.g., Docker, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Skills, Open Hands)

* Familiarity with the fundamentals of large language models: architectures, training pipelines including post-training, data curation, and downstream deployment as agents

* Experience applying machine learning to scientific discovery problems (e.g., materials discovery, bio, chemistry, physics, theorem proving, etc.)

* Strong communication skills and a proactive, question-driven approach to collaboration

Preferred Qualifications

* Research experience in human-computer interaction and/or human-AI teaming

* Track record of first-author publications in top-tier venues

* Demonstrated interest in using AI as a tool to solve scientific challenges

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)

Job Profile:
Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $76,600 - $126,400

NLR takes into consideration a candidate's education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee's salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits Summary

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-term disability insurance*; pension benefits*; 403(b)…