Atmospheric and Earth Sciences Division Director

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 Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate (EBSD) leads critical research in four areas:
Atmospheric, Climate & Earth Sciences, Biological Sciences, Environmental Molecular Sciences, and Global Change. Our vision is to develop a predictive understanding of biological and Earth systems in transition. We aim to understand energy and material flows within the integrated Earth system; to understand, predict, and control the response of biosystems to environmental and/or genomic changes; and to Model the Earth system from the subsurface to the atmosphere.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is seeking an accomplished scientific, technical, and organizational leader to serve as Division Director for the newly created Atmospheric and Earth Sciences Division and Sector Manager for the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program within the newly formed Integrated Discovery Sciences Directorate (IDSD).

This senior leadership role will shape, steward, and grow PNNL’s atmospheric, terrestrial/coastal, and subsurface research capability in service to DOE Office of Science missions and broader national priorities. The Division Director will develop and maintain a highly productive technical resource base across atmospheric sciences, aerosols and cloud microphysics, subsurface‑terrestrial‑atmospheric interfaces, coastal and watershed systems, ecosystem sciences including soil and environmental microbiome systems, subsurface flow and transport phenomenon, water/nutrient/mineral cycles, managed and natural land mass systems, and integrated biology‑Earth‑energy intersections deeply integrated and driven by Model‑guided Experimentation and field based research.

The role will align division capabilities with Laboratory strategy, directorate priorities, sponsor needs, and project delivery requirements.

As Sector Manager for BER, the successful candidate will provide strategic leadership for PNNL’s BER portfolio, serving as a senior interface among PNNL researchers, directorate leadership, directorate program development office, BER division directors and program managers, other national laboratories, universities, industry, and external stakeholders. The role requires both scientific stature and operating discipline: the ability to define a compelling research strategy, build effective teams, manage risk, deliver mission outcomes, and represent PNNL’s atmospheric and Earth sciences capabilities with credibility at the national and international levels.

The selected leader will reinforce PNNL values, uphold the highest standards of research integrity and operational conduct, and foster a division culture where staff can do high‑impact science in a safe, inclusive, and secure environment.

The Division Director and BER Sector Manager will be responsible for the following:

• Set and execute a mission‑aligned strategy advancing PNNL’s atmospheric, Earth systems, and environmental microbiome sciences.
• Define a clear division vision, goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with directorate and Laboratory strategies.
• Integrate atmospheric and Earths sciences with domain sciences across BER, BES, ASCR, and other sponsor portfolios synergistically.
• Represent division capabilities nationally and internationally; elevate PNNL’s reputation in atmospheric and aerosol‑cloud microphysics, subsurface hydro biogeochemistry, coastal and watershed systems, ecosystem and coupled terrestrial‑atmospheric processes, environmental microbiomes, Mod Ex driven field‑based research, and autonomous field based…