Senior Nonproliferation Data Scientist

Requisition Id 12745 

Overview:  

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

 

The Nonproliferation Engineering Science and Technologies Section within the Nuclear Nonproliferation Division seeks applications for a Senior R&D Staff Member to be a key member of the Data Science and Engineering for Nonproliferation research group. Our group leverages a wide range of fields that include expertise in data science, statistics, nuclear engineering, and scientific computing to deliver high impact nonproliferation research, release relevant open source software, contribute to the broader community through professional organizations, and support sponsor committees and working groups. Our section sits within the National Security Sciences Directorate (NSSD) at ORNL. NSSD conducts research and development to confront some of the nation’s most difficult security challenges and adversaries. Our directorate houses S&T leadership in cybersecurity and cyber-physical resiliency, data analytics, geospatial science and technology, nuclear nonproliferation, and high-performance computing for sensitive national security missions. We draw on the Laboratory’s exceptional facilities and work closely with leading researchers in other areas at the lab such as nuclear and chemical sciences and engineering, applied materials, advanced manufacturing, biosecurity, transportation, and computing. Our multi-disciplinary research teams are passionate about discovery and innovation as we create science-based solutions to complex security threats that put public safety, national defense, energy infrastructure, and the economy at risk.

 

Purpose:

The Senior Nonproliferation Data Scientist will provide Research and Development (R&D) guidance and experience to the group that strategically advances science and technology consistent with ORNL’s aspiration to be the world’s premier R&D institution and ORNL’s science culture. The Senior Nonproliferation Data Scientist works within a group of peers with the primary goal of pursuing global scientific leadership in their field, nurtures ORNL’s culture among group members, and continues to build and scale up individual excellence and impact in R&D. The Senior Nonproliferation Data Scientist reports to and works closely with the R&D Group Leader to implement the group’s scientific vision; helps develop group members to enable their career advancement; establishes capabilities that enable programs to excel at the forefront of science and technology; manages a team of 5-7 data analysts to provide regular data analysis reports; performs R&D to advance the field of knowledge and/or technology in one’s respective specialty; sets, implements, and models standards for performance of work consistent with Environment, Safety, Security, Health, and Quality (ESH&Q) requirements and business rules; and ensures a diverse and inclusive work environment where every employee feels safe, heard, and appreciated—a workplace that sets an example for the broader community.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Manage a team of 5-7 data analysts to provide regular, periodic reports on the performance of fielded radiation detectors.
• Serve as the point of contact between federal managers and the analysts to resolve questions, promote the benefits of data analysis, and improve the quality of reports.
• Assist in the development of automated algorithms to detect and predict conditions in the data streams.
• In coordination with other Functional Area Managers, develop annual budgets each fiscal year based on anticipated activities.
• Improve the quality of data generated by the program and ensure that a data management plan is in place that is consistent with laboratory and sponsor requirements.
• Initiate, lead, and perform independent and impactful R&D on an ongoing basis as evidenced by, for example, innovative S&T delivered to sponsors, successful proposals, S&T presentations, professional community engagement, inventions/patents/copyrights, publications as appropriate, etc.
• Assist in program development activities through sponsor engagements, preparation of proposals and white papers, participation in wor