Sr Applied AI Engineer

Idaho National Laboratory is hiring a Senior Applied AI Engineer to work in our Autonomous Engineering department. Our team works a 9x80 schedule located out of our Idaho Falls facility with every other Friday off.

We are seeking an accomplished Senior Applied AI Engineer to join our team at the intersection of artificial intelligence and nuclear energy. In this role, you will serve as a technical leader responsible for the architecture, development, and integration of sophisticated digital and agentic AI systems that automate and accelerate engineering workflows across design, safety, and licensing domains. You will also drive project management activities, providing strategic direction to cross-functional teams and overseeing complex technical programs from concept through deployment.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities:

Project Management and Collaboration

• Lead cross-cutting technical projects, coordinating deliverables across multiple research teams and serving a diverse customer base.
• Engage with domain experts to define the boundaries of automation, identify and design human-in-the-loop checkpoints, and establish rigorous benchmarks to quantify workflow accuracy and system performance.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with government agencies, academic institutions, and private sector companies to advance research and program objectives.

AI Systems Architecture & Development

• Serve as a technical lead in architecting, developing, and integrating complex digital and agentic AI systems that automate and accelerate design engineering, safety, and licensing processes within the nuclear energy industry.
• Define and validate system requirements for digital and agentic systems, establishing robust traceability frameworks, ensuring functional integrity, and maintaining alignment with mission objectives and compliance with regulatory and organizational policies.
• Lead system-level trade studies to assess the feasibility, risks, and benefits of integrating ML/AI technologies into design engineering workflows, providing authoritative recommendations to technical and program leadership.
• Architect and document integrations with open-source, open-access, and commercial software platforms - including CAD and modeling/simulation tools - to automate complex, routine engineering tasks at scale.

Data Engineering & Pipeline Development

• Oversee the curation of datasets and the design of repeatable, scalable data retrieval procedures to underpin and augment agentic engineering workflows.
• Lead and guide data pipeline development to ensure rigorous data quality, integrity, and security standards are maintained across training, testing, and production deployment of agentic systems.

Software Development & Deployment

• Partner with IT staff and software developers to define technical architecture and oversee the build, test, and deployment of software across development, testing, and production environments.
• Champion software engineering best practices and enforce the use of industry-standard tooling, including GitHub for version control and Jira for program and project tracking.
• Own lifecycle management strategy by developing and implementing tools and processes to monitor, assess, and continuously improve the performance and reliability of deployed digital and agentic systems.

Research & Dissemination

• Drive the publication of research and development outcomes in peer-reviewed journals and represent the organization at relevant technical conferences and forums.

Required:

• Level 3: Master's degree or PhD in computer science, engineering, or related field and 2 years of relevant experience.
• Level 4: Master's degree in computer science, engineering, or related field and 6 years of relevant experience, or a PhD and 4 years of relevant experience.
• Relevant experience to include working in software, engineering and construction field, physical infrastructure project, integrating large language models with complex data sets produced in the engineering & construction field, and adapting machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to solve scientific problems and to extract new insights from scientific data.

Job Information:

• The pay range for this position is: Level 3 ($95,256 - $195,288) / Level 4 ($114,360 - $234,336). At Idaho National Laboratory compensation decisions are determined using factors such as education, relevant experience, and other credentials.
• Multi-Level: This is a multi-level posting and you will be placed at the appropriate level dependent on depth and breadth of proven experience and skills.

Physical Requirements:

While performing the duties of this classification, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, stoop, kneel, bend, use hands to handle materials, manipulate tools, keyboard and type, reach with hands and arms, and operate job related equipment. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Sufficient visual acuity and hearing capacity to perform the essential functions and interact with people is required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Benefits and Relocation

• Medical, Dental, Vision, and Flexible Spending Accounts
• 401(k) with a 4.2% employer contribution and up to 4.8% match (regular positions) or self-contribute access (postdoctoral positions)
• Paid time off (personal leave)
• Employee Education Program (tuition assistance for eligible positions)
• Comprehensive Relocation Package
• Benefit eligibility subject to multiple factors, including employment status and position classification.

At this time, BEA will not sponsor any H1-B visas obtained outside of the United States of America (U.S.A.), including consular visas.

INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's mission in nuclear energy research, science, and national defense. With more than 6,300 scientists, researchers, and support staff, the laboratory works with national and international governments, universities and industry partners to change the world's energy future and secure our nation's critical infrastructure.

INL Mission:

Our mission is to discover, demonstrate and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options and critical infrastructure.

INL Vision:

Our vision is to change the world's energy future and secure our nation's critical infrastructure.

Selective Service Requirements:

To be eligible for employment at INL males born after December 31, 1959 must have registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). For more information see www.sss.gov.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of INL to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

Reasonable Accommodation:

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

Other Information:

When applying to positions please provide a resume and answer all questions on the following screens. Applicants, who fail to provide a resume or answer the questions, may be deemed ineligible for consideration.