Overview:
Protecting U.S. residents and visitors is among our nation’s highest priorities. As adversaries gain access to sophisticated technologies and materials, the threats grow more dynamic and complex—from cyber and nuclear to chemical and biological weapons of mass effect and other forms of terrorism. The PNNL national security mission employs our researchers, tools, and technologies to play a key role in advancing the ability to identify and secure nuclear materials, detect weapons of mass effect, manage nonproliferation treaties, secure our nation's borders, and protect critical infrastructures. PNNL’s scientific discovery and capabilities—rooted in innovative theory, methods, algorithms, and tools—are enabling stronger, more resilient technologies and systems to safeguard national security. Coupled with decades of radiological and nuclear materials expertise, advanced computing and threat analysis capabilities, and a broad fundamental science base, we are identifying and countering emerging threats that have significant impact at home and around the globe.
Do you want a career that you can look back on and say to yourself ‘I did something that mattered’? Are you tired of supporting efforts that drive corporate profits? If you answered yes, come to PNNL. As a member of PNNL’s Software Engineering and Architectures (SEA) team you will play a crucial role in developing cutting-edge software, scalable data architecture & pipelines, and AI/ML solutions in support of some of the nation’s biggest and most complex challenges.
National Interest Project Examples:
- Detect and prevent smuggling of drugs and contraband at ports of entry
- Develop large data pipelines to thwart funding for terrorists, nuclear proliferators, drug cartels, and rogue leaders
- Applying big data solutions to national security problems
- Applying image classification for nuclear forensics analysis
- Detect and respond to advanced cyber threats with at-edge computing
- Develop capabilities for scalable geospatial analytics
- Use remotely sensed imagery to identify and monitor the progression of wildfires
- Analyze the resiliency of the electric power grid to prevent large-scale outages
- Optimize building efficiency using IOT and ICS data with automated demand-response markets
- Model climate change and impacts to civilization
- Hunt for the existence of dark matter to understand the nature of the universe
Technologies We Use:
- Programming & Scripting – Python, C#/.Net, Bash, Powershell, JavaScript, TypeScript
- Platforms – AWS, Azure, On-Prem
- Development/Lifecycle – Agile/Scrum/Kanban, GitLab/Atlassian, CI/CD & DevSecOps
- Data & Storage – S3, Athena, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, Dynamo, Redshift, MongoDB
How We Work:
- Mission-Critical Development:
- Design, develop, test, and deploy software applications that directly contribute to the nation’s mission objectives.
- Collaborate with Government and Industry partners to understand mission needs, requirements, and translate them into robust and scalable software solutions.
- Innovative Problem Solving:
- Tackle complex technical challenges with creativity and innovation.
- Propose and implement solutions that go beyond conventional approaches, ensuring the software we deliver is both efficient and impactful.
- End-to-End Ownership:
- Take ownership of the entire software development lifecycle, from initial concept to deployment.
- Ensure the reliability, security, and performance of mission-critical software systems.
- Collaborative Teamwork:
- Work in an agile environment with multidisciplinary teams, including software engineers, cloud engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, UX/UI, front-end developers, scrum masters, product owners, and users.
- Participate in code reviews and knowledge-sharing sessions to enhance the overall team skill set.
- Continuous Learning:
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging technologies to bring innovative ideas to the table.
- Actively participate in training and development opportunities to enhance your skills and contribute to the team's growth.
- Have opportunities to attend conferences and engage in industry events.
If this sounds like you, come and join a team of 90+ mission-driven software and data engineers who come to work every day to do something that makes a difference.
Responsibilities:
- Identify mission challenges and formulate engineering solutions methodically.
- Embrace software engineering excellence and deliver quality results at scale.
- Employ expertise with a high-level programming language such as Python.
- Apply good design and innovative problem-solving skills to solve challenging technical problems.
- Stay current about data management and database technology developments.
- Initiate personal direction and goals.
- Possess interest and/or experience mentoring junior scientists and engineers.
- Demonstrate outstanding verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work in a collaborative environment.
- Be passionate and self-motivated with good time management skills.
Qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications:
- BS/BA and 5+ years of relevant work experience -OR-
- MS/MA and 3+ years of relevant work experience -OR-
- PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Degree in computer science, software engineering, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in designing or deploying large-scale and high-performance ETL pipelines and analytics.
- 5+ years Python or other software development experience.
- Strong understanding of software engineering and data management best practices.
- Strong cloud architecture and implementation experience.
- Cloud and database certifications are a plus.
- Familiar with machine learning algorithms with hands-on experience in machine learning pipeline development is a plus.
- Active Federal Q Clearance and ability to maintain such clearance.
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.
- Drug Testing: All Security Clearance positions are Testing Designated Positions, which means that the candidate selected is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing.