Senior Data Scientist for Scientific AI - Ames National Laboratory

Iowa State University•Ames, IA

About The Position

Would you like to work for a National Laboratory that conducts world-renowned research? Would you enjoy working on a beautiful university campus? Can you imagine yourself in a mid-sized location that regularly ranks as one of the U.S. Best Places to Live? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider a career with Ames National Laboratory! Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy federally contracted National Laboratory located in Ames, Iowa, on the campus of Iowa State University. We are dedicated to translating foundational science through applied research to create technological innovations. We create materials, inspire minds to solve problems, and address some of the most challenging issues facing our world today. We promote and believe in a culture of civility and shared ownership in support of the Laboratory's collective success. Ames National Laboratory seeks applications for a senior technical leader who will architect, deliver, and sustain advanced computational and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that accelerate scientific discovery. The successful candidate will provide technical leadership at the intersection of high-performance computing, probabilistic modeling, and agentic generative AI, enabling predictive analysis and machine learning for scientific advances, particularly in physical sciences. This role is intended for a candidate with deep experience in scientific software engineering, high performance computing (HPC), cloud integration, and probabilistic inference, paired with demonstrated leadership in building and operationalizing complex systems for scientific stakeholders. The position will play a central technical role in developing and advancing the Laboratory’s DOE-funded projects, where software engineering and probabilistic programming can leverage scientific data to accelerate research delivery, enabling new research workflows. Successful candidates will establish and continually build on leadership in AI for science within Ames Laboratory. They must be able to form effective collaborations with existing research teams in physical sciences, and to identify, prioritize, and help lead team projects that take advantage of state-of-the-art and emerging capabilities to demonstrate acceleration of DOE-relevant science. Success in the role will require the ability to utilize AI, HPC, and other algorithmic advances to advance Ames Laboratory capabilities, scientific prominence, and collaborations across the DOE complex. Candidates must be able to help create strategies that can lead to funded efforts related to problems of national interest.

Requirements

PhD and 8 years of related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience

Nice To Haves

MS or PhD in a related field (including Computer Science, Statistics, Applied Math, Physics, Chemistry, or Engineering).
Demonstrated experience conceiving and executing collaborative, multi-disciplinary research projects.
Leadership experience managing, mentoring, and collaborating with engineers/scientists.
Strategic development experience of data management and data integration approaches in an R&D environment.
Demonstrated experience with software engineering fundamentals: version control, code review, testing strategies, reproducibility, and maintainable design.
Demonstrated experience with one or more programming ecosystems, and their application to real-world data and decision contexts.
Proven experience with HPC and/or large-scale distributed computing and performance-aware engineering.
Demonstrated expertise in cloud architecture for scientific systems.
Experience with DOE lab context and scientific priorities.

Responsibilities

Architect, deliver, and sustain advanced computational and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that accelerate scientific discovery.
Provide technical leadership at the intersection of high-performance computing, probabilistic modeling, and agentic generative AI, enabling predictive analysis and machine learning for scientific advances, particularly in physical sciences.
Play a central technical role in developing and advancing the Laboratory’s DOE-funded projects, where software engineering and probabilistic programming can leverage scientific data to accelerate research delivery, enabling new research workflows.
Establish and continually build on leadership in AI for science within Ames Laboratory.
Form effective collaborations with existing research teams in physical sciences, and to identify, prioritize, and help lead team projects that take advantage of state-of-the-art and emerging capabilities to demonstrate acceleration of DOE-relevant science.
Utilize AI, HPC, and other algorithmic advances to advance Ames Laboratory capabilities, scientific prominence, and collaborations across the DOE complex.
Help create strategies that can lead to funded efforts related to problems of national interest.