Chief Data Scientist - AI Safety

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments referred to as Directorates. The Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. The National Security Directorate (NSD) drives science‑based, mission‑focused solutions to complex real‑world threats. The AI & Data Analytics Division, part of NSD, combines domain expertise and advanced hardware and software to deliver computational solutions for national security missions.

Working in multidisciplinary teams, we connect foundational research to engineering to operations, providing 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.

• 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, shaping 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. Partner with software engineering and operational teams to transition research outputs into secure, scalable real‑world systems.
• External Influence & National Representation: Represent PNNL as a senior AI Safety expert in technical exchanges, working groups, and high‑impact national and international forums. Publish influential research, contribute to emerging standards, and help shape national discourse on AI Safety. Communicate PNNL’s AI capabilities and mission relevance to external stakeholders, articulating use cases, technical solutions, and emerging challenges.
• Mentorship & Workforce Development: Support the technical and professional development of junior through senior researchers, offering guidance on research challenges, technical leadership skills, and effective collaboration practices. Contribute to an inclusive and learning‑oriented environment that encourages scientific rigor, safety‑first innovation, and high‑impact interdisciplinary work. Collaborate with other senior researchers to strengthen PNNL’s AI Safety workforce through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and community building.

• Minimum Qualifications: Graduate degree (BS/BA or MS/MA or PhD) with 9+, 7+, or 5+ years of relevant experience respectively.
• Preferred Qualifications: Advanced degree in computer science, engineering, data science, mathematics, or a related discipline. Active DOE Q or TS/SCI clearance and ability to maintain such clearance. Demonstrated impact in AI Safety through peer‑reviewed publications, recognized awards, or contributions to community standards. National reputation in AI Safety, frontier model evaluation, trustworthy AI, or secure machine learning operations. Familiarity with agentic AI safety and evaluation of multi‑step reasoning systems.
  
  Experience developing and applying cutting‑edge AI/ML in national security environments. Experience serving as PI or project manager…