Lead Full-Stack Product Engineer IV

Lead Full-Stack Product Engineer

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.

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.

We are seeking a talented Lead Full-Stack Product Engineer to help design and build the human-facing layer for next-generation AI systems  will develop intuitive, trustworthy, and effective interfaces that help people work with complex data, dynamic content, and user-facing AI agents.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with substantial independence in ambiguous, high-impact areas. You will help set product direction, translate open mission needs into executable plans, establish reusable UI and platform foundations, and partner with researchers, engineers, designers, mission experts, sponsors, and end users to turn emerging ideas into products that are technically sound and genuinely valuable.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of production web applications and reusable interface architectures using React, Type Script and/or JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
• Define product direction and technical approaches for adaptive, data-intensive experiences that support collaboration between people and AI agents.
• Translate ambiguous mission needs, competing priorities, and unclear constraints into credible technical plans, including an MVP, sequencing, dependencies, risks, and explicit tradeoffs.
• Work across the stack to ensure interfaces are supported by reliable APIs, data services, authentication, observability, deployment practices, and maintainable technical foundations.
• Design AI-assisted and human-in-the-loop workflows with appropriate transparency, user control, feedback, approval, and recovery when an AI agent is uncertain or wrong.
• Contribute production-quality code while setting a high bar for usability, accessibility, performance, security, observability, maintainability, and visual craft.
• Lead and mentor engineers across experience levels through code and design review, pairing, technical direction, and career guidance; raise engineering standards across the team.
• Lead technical content for proposals, scope and shape new efforts, identify sponsor opportunities, and represent the group's capabilities to sponsors, collaborators, and the broader community.
• Guide products from early concept through operational use and continuously improve how the team discovers, designs, builds, evaluates, and learns from what it delivers.

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

Minimum Qualifications:

• PhD and 3 years of Software Engineering experience
  -OR-
• MS/MA and 5 years of Software Engineering experience
  -OR-
• BS/BA and 7 years of Software Engineering experience
  -OR-
• AA and 16 years of Software Engineering experience in designing, architecting, programming, deploying, and automating software solutions in support of scientific research or consumer digital product development
  -OR-
• HS/GED and 18 years of Software Engineering experience in designing, architecting, programming, deploying, and automating software solutions in support of scientific research or consumer digital product development

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated technical influence or thought leadership through open-source maintainership, technical publications or talks, recognized domain expertise, community building, or initiatives that elevate others in the technical community.
• Experience translating ambiguous mission needs into actionable roadmaps, guiding teams through MVP scoping, dependency sequencing, and evolving requirements while managing risks.
• Experience mentoring engineers at various levels through code and design reviews, pairing, career guidance, and preparing them for larger technical scopes.
• Experience building production web applications, reusable component libraries, and complex, data-rich, responsive user interfaces using React, Type Script, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.
• Experience applying user-centered product development practices such as interaction design, information architecture, usability testing, prototyping, and requirements gathering with modern frontend and backend technologies.
• Experience designing and developing interfaces and…