Postdoctoral Researcher: Agentic AI and Parallel Discrete Event Simulations
- Req. Number: IRC141932
- Organization : Information Sciences (CAI-3)
- City, State: Los Alamos, New Mexico
What You Will Do
The Information Sciences Group (CAI-3) in the Computing and Artificial Intelligence Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking outstanding candidates for a postdoctoral research associate position at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, parallel discrete event simulation (PDES), and materials science.
Successful candidates will join a multidisciplinary team advancing materials discovery by combining theoretical methods, computational methods, machine learning and artificial intelligence. A central goal is to make use of modern generative and perturbative artificial intelligence techniques such as: large-language models (LLM), tiny recursive models (TRM), and various regression models collaborating in a human-expert guided manner, driven by an agentic AI framework implemented over parallel discrete event simulations for extreme scalability. The postdoctoral researcher will also explore the development of new artificial intelligence architectures, efficient training of materials models in data-scarce scenarios, and their fast inference.
The postdoc will be mentored by staff members in the Information Sciences Group (CAI-3), and optionally co-mentored by staff members of other groups in other divisions. We provide unique and ample opportunities for cross disciplinary collaborations, scientific workshop organization, and conference attendance.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
Education/Experience: A Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Materials Science, Physics, or related physical sciences, completed within the last 5 years or to be completed soon.
Desired Qualifications:
In addition to the minimum requirements, the following qualifications are desired, and preference will be given to candidates satisfying (at least one) of them:
Outstanding candidates may be considered for a Director's Fellowship and for the prestigious Darleane Hoffman, Richard P. Feynman, or J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellowships. For general information refer to the Postdoctoral Program webpage.
Work Location: The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.
Note to Applicants:
Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
§ PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
§ Dental and vision insurance
§ Free basic life and disability insurance
§ Paid childbirth and parental leave
§ Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
§ Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
§ Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
§ Onsite gyms and wellness programs
§ Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.
No Clearance: Position does not require a security clearance. Selected candidates will be subject to drug testing and other pre-employment background checks.
New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.
Internal Applicants: Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 for applicant eligibility requirements.
Incentive Compensation Program: Position is eligible to participate in the Triad Incentive Compensation Program. You must be in an eligible position for a minimum of 3 months, before July 1st and remain in an eligible position as of the end of the fiscal year, September 30th. The annual distribution is prorated based on the number of months in the eligible position.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call (505)-664-6947.
The Information Sciences Group (CAI-3) in the Computing and Artificial Intelligence Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking outstanding candidates for a postdoctoral research associate position at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, parallel discrete event simulation (PDES), and materials science.
Successful candidates will join a multidisciplinary team advancing materials discovery by combining theoretical methods, computational methods, machine learning and artificial intelligence. A central goal is to make use of modern generative and perturbative artificial intelligence techniques such as: large-language models (LLM), tiny recursive models (TRM), and various regression models collaborating in a human-expert guided manner, driven by an agentic AI framework implemented over parallel discrete event simulations for extreme scalability. The postdoctoral researcher will also explore the development of new artificial intelligence architectures, efficient training of materials models in data-scarce scenarios, and their fast inference.
The postdoc will be mentored by staff members in the Information Sciences Group (CAI-3), and optionally co-mentored by staff members of other groups in other divisions. We provide unique and ample opportunities for cross disciplinary collaborations, scientific workshop organization, and conference attendance.
What You Need
Minimum Job Requirements:
- A Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Materials Science, Physics, or related physical sciences, completed within the last 5 years or to be completed soon.
- Programming and simulation experience (Python, Julia, Lua, etc.)
- Demonstrated experience in conducting original scientific research through peer-reviewed publication records.
- Excellent communication and writing skills.
Education/Experience: A Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, Materials Science, Physics, or related physical sciences, completed within the last 5 years or to be completed soon.
Desired Qualifications:
In addition to the minimum requirements, the following qualifications are desired, and preference will be given to candidates satisfying (at least one) of them:
- Solid background in modern artificial intelligence architectures such as LLM, TRM, transformers, various machine learning frameworks, and regression methods.
- Demonstrated experience in parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) methods using Python/C/C++ frameworks such as Simian, Simulus, or similar[KKA1] PDES engines.
- Experience with agentic AI frameworks, Model Context Protocol (MCP) etc.
- Experience with training generative or perturbative AI models, their inference in HPC environment.
- Research experience in quantized AI models, training, and LoRA finetuning
- Research experience with using AI/ML methods for molecule discovery, drug discovery, and [KKA2] related materials science applications.
- Experience with High Performance Computing (HPC) and GPU programming, especially in the context of AI/ML. Hands-on experience running experiments on cloud-based HPC platforms especially for AI training and inference.
- The ability to work creatively and independently as well as learn and collaborate with experts as a part of a diverse multi-disciplinary team.
- Ability to adapt to new requirements for projects and be flexible enough to learn new [KKA3] skills.
Outstanding candidates may be considered for a Director's Fellowship and for the prestigious Darleane Hoffman, Richard P. Feynman, or J. Robert Oppenheimer Fellowships. For general information refer to the Postdoctoral Program webpage.
Work Location: The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.
Note to Applicants:
- Applicants must submit a CV and a cover letter detailing how they meet the minimum requirements and the desired skills for this position.
- The appointment is for a duration of two years, with the possibility of a third-year extension based on performance evaluation.
- Candidates may be considered for a fellowship supported by the Center for Nonlinear Studies (CNLS), or the Information Sciences and Technology Institute (ISTI). Outstanding candidates may be considered for a Director's Postdoc Fellowship or for the prestigious Richard P. Feynman, Darleane Christian Hoffman, J. Robert Oppenheimer, or Frederick Reines Distinguished Postdoc Fellowships.
- For more information about the Postdoc Program, please go to https://www.lanl.gov/careers/career-options/postdoctoral-research/index.php
- Contact: Dr. Nandakishore Santhi (nsanthi@lanl.gov)
Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Where You Will Work
Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
§ PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
§ Dental and vision insurance
§ Free basic life and disability insurance
§ Paid childbirth and parental leave
§ Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
§ Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
§ Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
§ Onsite gyms and wellness programs
§ Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)
Additional Details
Directive 206.2 - Employment with Triad requires a favorable decision by NNSA indicating employee is suitable under NNSA Supplemental Directive 206.2. Please note that this requirement applies only to citizens of the United States. Foreign nationals are subject to a similar requirement under DOE Order 142.3A.
No Clearance: Position does not require a security clearance. Selected candidates will be subject to drug testing and other pre-employment background checks.
New-Employment Drug Test: The Laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new-employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing. Although New Mexico and other states have legalized the use of marijuana, use and possession of marijuana remain illegal under federal law. A positive drug test for marijuana will result in termination of employment, even if the use was pre-offer.
Internal Applicants: Regular appointment employees who have served the required period of continuous service in their current position are eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the required period of continuous service, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. Please refer to Policy Policy P701 for applicant eligibility requirements.
Incentive Compensation Program: Position is eligible to participate in the Triad Incentive Compensation Program. You must be in an eligible position for a minimum of 3 months, before July 1st and remain in an eligible position as of the end of the fiscal year, September 30th. The annual distribution is prorated based on the number of months in the eligible position.
Equal Opportunity: Los Alamos National Laboratory is an equal opportunity employer. All employment practices are based on qualification and merit, without regard to protected categories such as race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status or spousal affiliation, physical or mental disability, medical conditions, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or citizenship within the limits imposed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Laboratory is also committed to making our workplace accessible to individuals with disabilities and will provide reasonable accommodations, upon request, for individuals to participate in the application and hiring process. To request such an accommodation, please send an email to applyhelp@lanl.gov or call (505)-664-6947.
