Senior Data Scientist - AI Assurance Researcher

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget. Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-based, mission-focused solutions to take on complex, real-world threats to our nation and the world. The AI and Data Analytics Division, part of NSD, combines profound domain expertise and creative integration of advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions that address complex data and analytic challenges. Working in multidisciplinary teams, we connect foundational research to engineering to operations, providing the tools to innovate quickly and field results faster.

Our strengths are integrated across the data analytics lifecycle, from data acquisition and management to analysis and decision support.

PNNL is seeking a Senior Data Scientist – AI Assurance Researcher who has experience in understanding, exploring, and manipulating the internal mechanics and behaviors of AI models to provide valuable insights into the decision boundaries and mathematical fingerprints of data properties. The selected candidate should have extensive experience training models, accessing and working with data embeddings, the ability to derive theoretical queries from empirical results, and demonstrate the capacity to translate research papers and findings into mission‑relevant insights and tools.

• Lead the design and execution of machine learning (ML) experiments that follow the current best practices within the community, including large‑scale experiments on HPC (e.g., experiments that take a week).
• Evaluate AI systems across multiple axes, including standard performance metrics but also generalization to out‑of‑distribution settings.
• Lead the development of high‑quality research code along with instituting best practices to enable research integration.
• Assess empirical results to determine and decide future research and experimental steps.
• Conduct work in secure environments and execute work from an operational security perspective.

This position is based in either Richland, WA or Seattle, WA and requires an onsite presence.

Minimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 5+ years of relevant work experience – OR –
• MS/MA and 3+ years of relevant work experience – OR –
• PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree in computer science, engineering, mathematics, or related fields.
• Familiarity with the current ML research landscape, especially xAI, adversarial machine learning, AI safety, and the science of deep learning.
• Interest in taking research prototypes to deployable tools for AI researchers.
• Familiarity with PyTorch and other associated deep learning libraries.
• Hands‑on experience analyzing the internal structures of deep learning models, particularly those associated with large language models and large vision models.
• SCI Clearance.
• U.S. Citizenship.
• Federal background investigation capability to meet 10 CFR 710, Appendix B requirements.
• Pre‑employment drug testing compliance for illegal drugs, including marijuana.

Not applicable.

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. Applicants will be subject to a federal background investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified matter in accordance with 10 CFR 710, Appendix B. Applicants must be able to demonstrate non‑use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the requisite questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP).

Testing Designated Position: pre‑employment and random drug testing for illegal drugs, including marijuana,…