Sandia National Laboratories · 4 hours ago
Early Career Data Science - Artificial Intelligence Enablement, NM/CA Hybrid
Albuquerque, NM
Full-time
Hybrid
New Grad, Entry Level
$114K/yr - $228K/yrSandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation. The role involves joining the AI team to design, implement, and operate an AI-ready data ecosystem that transforms various data types into datasets powering AI models and workflows.
GovernmentInformation TechnologyNational Security
No H1B
Security Clearance RequiredU.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
AI Solution Development & Deployment
Design, prototype, and deploy AI-driven applications that solve real organizational challenges
Integrate large language models (LLMs), computer vision, and other AI capabilities into production environments
Build and maintain APIs, pipelines, and interfaces that connect AI models to enterprise systems
Evaluate emerging AI tools, frameworks, and research from academia and industry
Rapidly prototype promising technologies to assess feasibility and value
Operationalize proven concepts into robust, user-friendly systems
Build intelligent workflows that automate data processing, analysis, and decision support
Leverage orchestration tools and MLOps practices for reliable AI lifecycle management
Design systems that integrate human feedback and oversight where needed
Partner with data stewards to ensure clean, context-rich data fuels AI solutions
Collaborate with domain experts to define use cases and success metrics
Provide guidance and templates that help other teams safely and effectively adopt AI tools
Implement responsible AI principles, including bias testing, explainability, and auditability
Document model assumptions, limitations, and operational dependencies
Ensure compliance with data protection and organizational security policies
Prototype new AI workflows using frameworks like LangChain, Hugging Face, or OpenAI APIs
Connect AI systems to enterprise data sources, dashboards, and collaboration tools
Working with MLOps pipelines (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, or Vertex AI) for deployment and monitoring
Evaluating new open-source models or vendor tools and testing their performance on internal data
Collaborating with IT and cybersecurity teams to deploy AI tools securely
Collaborating on public-private partnerships and multi-lab federated data efforts
Creating documentation, tutorials, and reusable components to scale adoption
Meeting with mission or program teams to identify where AI can streamline workflow
Qualification
Required
A Bachelor's degree in a relevant STEM discipline such as Data Science, Statistics or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development
Ability to acquire and maintain a DOE Q clearance
Preferred
Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a relevant computationally-intensive discipline with a where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation)
Experience in developing software for enterprise and national security applications
Experience acquiring, preparing, and analyzing real world data
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
Degree in Data Science, Informatics, Statistics, or a related STEM field with a significant data research component
Background in AI-mediated data curation: automated annotation, feature extraction, and dataset certification
Familiarity with data security and zero-trust principles, including secure enclaves, attribute-based access control, and data masking or differential privacy
Familiarity with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data practices
Experience implementing data governance and metadata management tools (e.g., Apache Atlas, DataHub, Collibra)
Experience with programming languages, such as Python, R, SQL
Working knowledge of a variety of machine learning concepts, techniques, models, and tools
Familiarity with agile principles and practices
Implementing data policies for classified, export-controlled, or proprietary data
Advanced and automated data wrangling techniques for raw heterogeneous and streaming data sources, particularly for AI input
Ability to obtain and maintain an SCI clearance, which may require a polygraph test
Benefits
Generous vacation
Strong medical and other benefits
Competitive 401k
Learning opportunities
Relocation assistance
Amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance
Company
Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia is a conducts research and development into the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons.
Founded in 1945
10001+ employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$4.4MKey Investors
US Department of EnergyARPA-E
2023-09-21Grant· $0.5M
2023-07-27Grant
2023-01-10Grant· $3.7M
Leadership Team
Laura McGill
Deputy Laboratories Director - Nuclear Deterrence, and Chief Technology Officer
Maria Gallardo
CFO Enterprise Risk Management Program Lead
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