Senior/Principal Artificial Intelligence Models, NM/CA - Hybrid

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

*These benefits vary by job classification.

Sandia's artificial intelligence (AI) team is building the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) next-generation AI Platform, an integrated scientific AI capability that delivers rapid, high-impact solutions for national security, science, and applied energy missions. The Platform is based on three pillars: Models, Infrastructure, and Data. You will join the Models Pillar team to architect, develop, and deploy fine-tuned reasoning models, domain foundation models, high-fidelity surrogate models, and autonomous agents. Your work will compress mission timelines by enabling scientists and engineers to explore design spaces, evaluate outcomes, and steer experiments and simulations with transparent, high-assurance AI workflows.

We anticipate multiple hires for the Models Pillar that collectively span the set of responsibilities and skills described below. Likewise, new hires will be expected to work in conjunction with existing Sandia staff and teams from other DOE laboratories to deliver on this ambitious, fast-paced project. Importantly, we anticipate that while AI Platform development will leverage existing AI and data science tools extensively, success will also require considerable innovation and problem solving to address the unique needs of DOE applications. If this sounds like an exciting challenge to you, we look forward to reading your application!

Key Responsibilities:

* Research, fine-tune, and certify large reasoning models (LLMs, graph neural nets, vision transformers, etc.) for domain tasks in materials science, chemistry, physics, grid controls, and nuclear security

* Develop and integrate domain foundation models trained or adapted on DOE simulation, experimental, and production data

* Build AI surrogates to accelerate exascale multiphysics simulations, enabling millisecond-scale predictions

* Design and implement multi agent frameworks (hypothesizers, planners, executors, retrievers, assessors) with transparent decision graphs, uncertainty quantification, and audit logs

* Embed continuous learning pipelines: connect model training/evaluation to live telemetry from HPC clusters, experiments, and autonomous labs

* Establish a model repository with metadata, SBOMs, versioning, drift/poisoning surveillance, and periodic recertification

* Implement high-assurance controls: least-privilege execution, runtime shields/tripwires, deterministic fallbacks, cryptographic provenance, and enclave attestation for sensitive workloads

* Collaborate with Data and Infrastructure teams to align model requirements with data lakehouses, compute fabric, and edge inference systems

* Contribute to open-source and internal AI frameworks, toolkits, and best practices for agentic workflows

On any given day, you may be called upon to:

* Prototype a custom transformer for multisensor fusion in an agile-deterrence scenario

* Optimize a surrogate neural network to replace a costly physics submodule in a reactor design simulation

* Design a Planner agent that orchestrates HPC jobs, digital-twin simulations, and robotic chemistry runs

* Run red-team evaluations to stress-test a foundation model for adversarial robustness and fairness

* Package a model into a container with Kubernetes operators for deployment in a classified enclave

* Advise domain scientists on prompt engineering and model-based hypothesis generation

* Present prototype demos and research results to stakeholders across DOE, DoD, IC, and industry

*The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite work. The selected applicant must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the assigned work location when necessary.

$114,000 - $227,500

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, or a related STEM field plus five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q clearance

The ideal R&D S&E Artificial Intelligence candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in a relevant computationally-intensive discipline where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in developing software and AI systems for enterprise and national security applications.
• Demonstrated software development skills and familiarity with modern software development practices.
• Proven ability to work and communicate effectively in a collaborative and interdisciplinary team environment.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience

• Demonstrated expertise with deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and proficiency in Python.
• Experience with distributed computing frameworks (MPI, Horovod, Ray) and orchestration tools (Kubernetes).
• Proficiency with C++, CUDA, or other performance-oriented languages/environments.
• Familiarity with distributed training frameworks (MPI, Horovod, Ray), hyperparameter tuning, and HPC systems.
• Hands-on experience with model optimization techniques (quantization, pruning, distillation) and hardware acceleration.
• Proficiency with MLOps toolchains for CI/CD, experiment tracking, and monitoring (MLflow, Kubeflow, TFX).
• Knowledge of human-centered AI principles and UX design for model-driven applications.
• Knowledge of high-assurance AI: formal methods, red-teaming, interpretability, and runtime safety.
• Strong collaboration skills in dynamic, interdisciplinary teams and experience mentoring junior engineers.
• Developing and deploying large language models, multimodal AI systems, or advanced reinforcement-learning agents.
• Integrating AI workflows with robotics, experimental facilities, or digital twins.
• Contributing to open-source AI frameworks or publishing peer-reviewed research.
• Implementing secure AI workflows in classified or regulated environments.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a SCI clearance, which may require a polygraph test.

The Center for Computing Research (CCR) at Sandia creates technology and solutions for many of our nation's most demanding national security challenges. The Center's portfolio spans the spectrum from fundamental research to state-of-the-art applications. Our work includes computer system architecture (both hardware and software); enabling technology for modeling physical and engineering systems; and research in discrete mathematics, data analytics, cognitive modeling, and decision support materials.

You will be part of a multi-disciplinary, mission-focused team delivering the compute and data backbone for transformative AI systems. Occasional travel may be required. If you're passionate about building the software infrastructure that powers cutting edge AI systems, we want to hear from you.

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.