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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior Data Scientist IV - AI Safety - **Company:** Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - **Location:** Richland, WA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $166,800.0 - **Contract:** Temporary contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Data Files, Data Governance, Data Security, Data Intelligence, Python (Programming Language), Logical Volume Manager, Machine Learning, Tensorflow, Software Safety, Software Engineering, System Testing, User-Centered Design, Pytorch, Large Language Models, Deep Learning, Model Validation, Data Analytics, Free and Open-Source Software, Machine Learning Operations, Data Pipelines - **Published:** June 5, 2026 - **Apply:** https://dejobs.org/x/x/63A6EBA5652F440DA2DF15995444D63F/job/ ## About the Role * Ability to collaborate in multi-disciplinary, mission-driven teams and operate effectively in high-stakes * Demonstrated proficiency in leading proposals, writing technical reports, and communicating complex findings to diverse audiences (technical and executive). * Knowledge of compute environments and their cybersecurity concerns; familiarity with secure ML ops, access control, and model/data governance. * Deep knowledge of the current ML research landscape, especially AI safety, adversarial machine learning, xAI/interpretability, uncertainty quantification, and the science of deep learning. * Hands-on experience analyzing internal structures of deep learning models, particularly LLMs and large vision/multimodal models (tokenization, attention mechanisms, routing, weight adaptation, loss optimization) or modalities including hyperspectral imagery. * Experience designing and executing T&E campaigns for AI systems, including test planning, dataset curation, metrics, statistical analysis, and reproducibility. * Software engineering foundations: Python, ML frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow), experiment tracking, and data pipeline tooling. * Strong stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to connect technical safety work to operational mission outcomes. * Proven track record delivering AI safety/evaluation work products in complex domains, including National Security. * Hands-on experience with LLM/LVM/Foundation Model and Frontier AI evaluation, red-teaming, uncertainty analysis, or safety control implementation. * Experience leading federally funded R&D projects, with publications, open-source contributions, or deployable prototypes., * BS/BA and 7+ years of relevant work experience -OR- * MS/MA and 5+ years of relevant work experience -OR- * PhD with 3+ years of relevant experience, * Experience serving as PI, technical lead, or project manager on multi-institution R&D efforts. * Demonstrated impact in safe and trustworthy AI (e.g., peer-reviewed publications, recognized awards, contributions to community standards). * Familiarity with agentic AI safety (tool-use governance, retrieval hygiene, autonomous decision workflows) and evaluation of multi-step reasoning systems. * Experience with privacy-preserving ML (e.g., differential privacy, federated learning), robust training methods, and secure data lifecycle practices. * Background working with or mapping to relevant frameworks/standards (e.g., AI safety/testing best practices, risk management frameworks) and translating them into test and evaluation plans. * Prior work in national security environments, with an understanding of mission needs and operational constraints. * Active DOE Q or TS/SCI clearance. Hazardous Working Conditions/Environment Not applicable. Additional Information This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a federal security clearance. A security clearance background investigation includes review of your employment, education, financial, and criminal history, as well as interviews with you and your personal references, neighbors, and co-workers to determine trustworthiness, reliability, and loyalty to the United States. The investigation also examines your foreign connections, drug and alcohol use, foreign influence, and overall conduct. Requirements: * U.S. Citizenship * Background Investigation: Applicants selected will be subject to a Federal background investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified matter in accordance with 10 CFR 710, Appendix B. * Drug Testing: All Security Clearance positions are Testing Designated Positions, which means that the applicant selected for hire is subject to pre-employment drug testing, and post-employment random drug testing. In addition, applicants must be able to demonstrate non-use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for the 12 consecutive months preceding completion of the requisite Questionnaire for National Security Positions (QNSP). Note: Applicants will be considered ineligible for security clearance processing by the U.S. Department of Energy if non-use of illegal drugs, including marijuana, for 12 months cannot be demonstrated. ## Description The AI & Data Analytics division is seeking to hire a Senior Data Scientist for AI Safety applied research. This role blends foundational research with real-world implementation to address some of the most complex and consequential challenges at the intersection of artificial intelligence and national security. We support PNNL's mission by contributing to impactful, mission-focused applied R&D projects that help tackle national challenges., As a Senior Data Scientist (Data Scientist 4), you will serve as a senior technical expert and leader setting technical direction and vision for AI Safety research, drive proposal development, mentor early through senior researchers, and engage directly with stakeholders. Key responsibilities include: * Set technical direction for projects developing and applying safety methods and pipelines that analyze model internals (e.g., attention, routing, memory, tokenization, tool-use) and/or surface failure modes, capabilities, and risk profiles. * Engage with stakeholders to translate mission needs and operational constraints into actionable safety requirements, test plans, and success criteria aligned with mission-driven goals. * Lead projects and programs to design, implement, and validate model evaluation for cutting edge AI including frontier AI systems (e.g. LLMs, LVMs, multimodal, agentic) or development/verification of safety controls and guardrails. * Translate cutting-edge research into mission-relevant tools and prototypes; rapidly evaluate new techniques and standards in AI safety, algorithm or system evaluation, and trustworthy AI. * Lead development of AI safety methods across multiple axes: robustness, uncertainty quantification, manipulation, autonomy and tool-use risks, stress testing, generalization, or reliability under distribution shift. * Build effective relationships across teams and divisions; mentor junior and senior staff; cultivate an inclusive, collaborative research culture. * Maintain awareness of emerging trends in AI safety, AI security, alignment, national security operations, and relevant standards to shape future research directions., We foster a collaborative and innovative environment centered on continued learning, creative problem-solving, and responsible, data-driven innovation. You will work as part of interdisciplinary teams to deliver AI safety solutions for high-stakes, real-world applications. Our teams combine expertise in AI and machine learning, software engineering, human-centered design, and national security missions. ## Related Videos - [Introduction to TXT](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/30-introduction-to-txt) - [Machine learning in the browser with TensorFlowjs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/155-machine-learning-in-the-browser-with-tensorflowjs) - [Photonic Computing: Programming a New Class of AI Accelerators (incl. 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