Postdoctoral Research Associate - AI Science

Position: Postdoctoral Research Associate - AI for Science
Requisition

Overview:

Do you have a passion for applying AI methods for accelerating scientific discoveries and an ability to think outside of the box in a collaborative and open environment? If so, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Learning Systems Group within the Data and Artificial Intelligence Systems section invites you to apply to our new postdoctoral research associate position in AI for Science.

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to conduct cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence for scientific discovery within a national laboratory environment. The successful candidate will develop and apply advanced machine learning techniques-including multimodal AI, computer vision, and large language models-to complex scientific and engineering challenges. This role emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, scalable data systems, and impactful research aligned with mission-driven science.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will help solve some of the most challenging problems faced by the nation. You will perform groundbreaking research on a wide range of significant problems, and you will apply your work to exciting research in multi-disciplinary domains alongside globally recognized experts. You will bring creative thinking, teamwork, and machine learning skills to bear as you develop new methods to address scientific and engineering problems, collaborate with leaders in your field and across the laboratory, while working with the world's fastest computers, and disseminate innovative results through publications and presentations.

The Learning Systems Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory focuses on artificial intelligence and computational research and applies this knowledge to support the nation's leading initiatives. We hire top researchers who are ready to tackle the hardest problems faced by both the US and the world. Researchers of the Learning Systems group are changing the world with their research, and we are committed to hiring and retaining highly motivated, energetic, and creative individuals that will help us continue our breakthrough scientific endeavors.

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation's most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment.

These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

* Conduct independent and collaborative research in AI/ML, with a focus on multimodal learning, computer vision, and scientific machine learning

* Develop novel algorithms and architectures for tasks such as multimodal retrieval, reasoning over complex data (e.g., engineering diagrams), and predictive modeling

* Design and implement benchmarking and evaluation frameworks for emerging AI systems, ensuring reproducibility and scientific rigor

* Build scalable data pipelines and workflows for large, heterogeneous datasets in scientific and engineering domains

* Contribute to research in areas such as synthetic data generation, simulation environments, and virtual/augmented reality applications

* Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across computing, engineering, and scientific domains

* Publish research results in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and conferences; present findings to internal and external stakeholders

* Support proposal development and contribute to new research initiatives

* Co-mentor graduate students and contribute to a collaborative research environment

Basic Qualifications:

* A Ph.D. in computer science, computational science, data science, artificial intelligence, or related field completed within the last 5 years or to be expected in 2025.

* Strong foundation in machine learning, deep learning, or computer vision

* Proficiency in Python and experience with…