Research Scientist, Agentic Workflows

Research Scientist, Agentic Workflows

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a Research Scientist to agentic workflow orchestration and cross-facility integration in support of the Genesis Mission, the American Science Cloud, and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). Working within the Workflows and Ecosystem Services (WES) Group at the National Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS), you will design and deploy agentic workflows and frameworks that bridge leadership computing resources, instruments, and cloud platforms.

You will collaborate with scientists, facility operators, and DOE laboratory partners to lower barriers to scalable, automated scientific computing.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Provenance and Runtime Data Capture Systems:
  Lead the research and development of runtime data integration and provenance capture systems that instrument distributed scientific workflows, ML training pipelines, and agentic systems.
• Multi-Institutional Project and Technical Leadership:
  Serve as ORNL's technical lead for cross-facility initiatives that build interoperable provenance and workflow-data capabilities spanning leadership computing, experimental facilities, and cloud platforms.
• Solutions Architecture for Facility Platforms:
  Serve as solutions architect for OLCF platform efforts, translating scientific and programmatic requirements into deployable system designs.
• Agentic Workflow Design and Autonomous Control Systems:
  Design and implement agentic workflow architectures that enable autonomous, closed-loop scientific experimentation across HPC and instrument facilities.
• Open-Source Software Leadership:
  Own the technical direction and health of open-source research software: code review, CI/CD, testing, packaging, documentation, and release management.
• Research Collaboration and Mentorship:
  Establish and sustain research collaborations with universities, national laboratories, and international partners.
• Scientific Domain Support:
  Collaborate with domain scientists in areas such as materials science, climate science, and autonomous experimentation to translate research objectives into scalable, automated workflow and data-capture solutions.
• Research and Publication:
  Conduct original research on provenance, workflow systems, orchestration, and data management for AI-driven science. Publish in high-impact peer-reviewed venues and present at major conferences.

Basic Qualifications:

• PhD. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a closely related field.
• At least 3 years of experience designing or operating distributed systems, provenance frameworks, or workflow orchestration frameworks.
• At least 2 years of experience designing agentic workflows.
• At least 2 years of programming experience in Python, with working familiarity in Bash and/or a compiled language (C/C++ or similar).
• Experience with Linux-based HPC environments and familiarity with job scheduling systems (e.g., SLURM or PBS).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to collaborate across technical and scientific teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience with provenance models such as W3C PROV.
• Demonstrated experience publishing research in high-impact venues such as SC, IPDPS, HPDC, or IEEE eScience.
• Experience working in or coordinating across DOE national laboratory environments, particularly in the context of integrated or cross-facility research infrastructure.
• Background in scientific data management, provenance tracking, or metadata systems.
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects, manage milestones, and coordinate multidisciplinary teams.
• Familiarity with basic cyber-security principles (e.g., SSH key hygiene, least privilege, network segmentation) as applied to workflow and API design.

Remote/Hybrid Eligibility:
This position is eligible for hybrid (onsite + remote) within approved U.S. States, subject to business needs, access/security requirements, and approvals. We offer a flexible work environment that supports both the organization and the employee. A hybrid/onsite working arrangement may also be available with this position, which provides flexibility to work periodically from your home, while reporting onsite to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee location on a weekly and regular basis.

Special Requirements:
For employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Real  form of identification will be required. Additionally, ORNL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Department of Energy (DOE) Order 473.1A, which requires a favorable post-employment background investigation.

This investigation includes a declaration of illegal drug activities, including use, supply, possession, or manufacture within the last year. This includes marijuana and cannabis derivatives, which are still considered illegal…