Chief Data Scientist - AI Safety

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments referred to as directorates within the Lab. These directorates focus on specific scientific research areas or other functions and have dedicated leadership teams and budgets. Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security;
Earth and Biological Sciences;
Physical and Computational Sciences; and Energy and Environment. In addition, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory is a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science-driven, mission-focused solutions to address complex, real‑world threats to our nation and the world. Our AI and Data Analytics Division, part of 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 the tools to innovate quickly and field results faster.

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

Our AI & Data Analytics division seeks a Chief Data Scientist with deep expertise in data science and experience in AI Safety for national security missions. The selected candidate will lead large, multi‑year R&D programs and work with over 400 staff specializing in data science, applied mathematics, advanced analytic architectures, software engineering, and human‑centered computing. This role requires deep technical expertise and the ability to translate emerging research into mission‑ready capabilities.

The Chief Data Scientist will shape national technical direction, engage directly with sponsors and senior leadership, and serve as a strategic partner in aligning PNNL’s AI safety portfolio with evolving mission and policy requirements. The role includes leading research efforts, mentoring interdisciplinary teams, and collaborating closely with software engineers to transition cutting‑edge research into field‑ready capabilities. The individual will also serve as a key interface with sponsors and stakeholders, leveraging domain expertise to align PNNL’s research agenda with evolving mission requirements.

• Based in Richland, WA or Seattle, WA with onsite presence required
• Clearance required
• Travel may be required for stakeholder engagement, project events, and sponsor reviews

• Strategic Leadership and Vision:
  • Shape and execute forward‑looking strategies for advancing AI Safety research, evaluation methodologies, and trustworthy deployment practices within PNNL’s national security mission space.
  • Partner with government sponsors as a senior technical leader, translating evolving mission priorities and operational risk considerations into actionable research direction and investment opportunities.
  • Lead high‑visibility proposal development to shape national investment in frontier‑model safety, agentic AI governance, secure machine learning operations, and evaluation infrastructure.
• Scientific and Technical Leadership:
  • Lead nationally visible AI Safety programs, ensuring technical excellence, sponsor alignment, risk‑informed execution, and timely delivery of impactful results.
  • Serve as a senior technical leader in AI Safety, guiding approaches for evaluating, testing, and characterizing the behavior, risks, and emergent properties of AI models including large language models, multimodal models, and agentic AI systems.
  • Provide technical leadership that supports interdisciplinary teams, helping shape research methodologies, data science and engineering best practices, and evaluation strategies while overseeing end‑to‑end analytic workflows.
  • Build and sustain collaborations across DOE laboratories, federal agencies, academia, and industry to accelerate innovation and deliver integrated, mission‑aligned AI Safety capabilities.
  • Partner with software engineering and operational teams to transition research outputs into secure, scalable real‑world systems that support national security…