AI Research Engineer, Building Energy Systems; Hybrid

Overview

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is a world‑class research institution focused on national security and energy resiliency. The Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division, part of the Energy and Environment Directorate, conducts research on building energy systems, policy analysis, and tool development.

Positions are located in Portland, OR;
Richland, WA; or Seattle, WA. The role requires an onsite presence. Hybrid work arrangements may be available in accordance with laboratory policy.

• Serve as technical lead for AI‑enabled building energy systems research under DOE mission areas.
• Integrate AI into building research and engineering workflows to improve speed, consistency, scalability, and productivity.
• Translate advances in generative AI, large language models, and agentic systems into mission‑relevant tools, workflows, and technical products.
• Conduct independent research in AI‑enabled building energy systems.
• Develop, fine‑tune, test, evaluate, and apply generative AI and related methods for building research applications.
• Lead development of analysis methods, modeling workflows, tools, and prototypes for building research applications.
• Generate research ideas, shape technical approaches, and contribute to proposal writing.
• Lead technical reports, publications, and conference presentations.
• Support existing building research and engineering projects in AI‑enabled approaches.
• Maintain awareness of emerging trends to help shape future research directions within the mission area.
• Build working relationships across interdisciplinary teams and mentor junior staff.
• Engage sponsors and stakeholders and translate needs into technical approaches.

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:

• PhD in architectural engineering, building science, mechanical engineering, or a related field with at least 4 years of relevant experience beyond the PhD.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing building energy systems, including modeling, controls, and system performance analysis.
• Experience developing, testing, and integrating AI or machine learning workflows into building energy modeling or engineering analysis systems.
• Strong programming and software development skills.
• Experience leading projects or major technical tasks with responsibility for scope, schedule, budget, and coordination of team members.
• Demonstrated experience generating research ideas and shaping technical approaches for proposals.
• Established technical reputation with consistent records of leading technical publications.
• Ability to represent technical work to sponsors, collaborators, and the broader research community.

Our laboratory is committed to fostering a work environment where all individuals are treated with fairness and respect while solving critical challenges in fundamental sciences, national security, and energy resiliency. We are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.

Minimum Salary: USD $ per year

Maximum Salary: USD $ per year