Research Computing and Computational Sciences,… at Savannah… · Aiken

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), a national laboratory under the stewardship of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM), is seeking an accomplished and collaborative Group Manager to lead the Research Computing and Computational Sciences (RCCS) group within the newly formed Energy Sciences and Engineering (ESE) Division, part of the Science, Energy, and Innovation (SEI) Directorate.

RCCS is one of four founding groups within ESE, alongside Energy Material Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Automation, and Fusion Energy and Isotope Science. The group exists to make computational capability a strategic asset for the entire laboratory — spanning both the research computing infrastructure the laboratory's science depends on and the digital twin, modeling, and simulation methodologies that turn computation into scientific insight. This is cross-cutting capability that other groups, programs, and application areas draw on and build with; the Group Manager is accountable for making sure that foundation is technically rigorous, shared rather than duplicated, and genuinely co-owned with the partners who depend on it — most notably OCIO on the infrastructure side and application areas like fusion, grid, and separations on the methodology side.

As a line leader reporting to the ESE Division Director, the Group Manager is accountable for the stewardship, development, and support of the group's people; the creation of an environment where computational research thrives; and the execution of technical work that aligns with the strategic direction set by the Division Director and SRNL leadership. Because RCCS operates by design as a genuine partnership rather than a stand-alone technical authority, the Group Manager also carries distinctive accountability for navigating shared decision rights with OCIO and with application-area leadership, and for escalating cleanly to joint leadership review when agreement isn't reached rather than allowing ambiguity to stall the work.

This role requires deep technical credibility in research computing, computational science, or a closely related discipline, a demonstrated record of developing researchers and research leaders, and the judgment to prioritize across a portfolio that spans infrastructure stewardship, methodology development, and direct embedding in application-area teams. Success is measured on the group's collective impact: the quality and trajectory of its science, the development and retention of its staff, the strength and health of its partnerships with OCIO and application areas, and its operational and safety excellence.

Responsibilities

People Development and Culture Building

• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain a high-caliber computational science and research computing staff. Identify and grow the next generation of technical leaders within the group.
• Reinforce the division's operating culture, values, and norms around scientific rigor, collaboration, psychological safety, inclusion, and accountability at the group level. Set the day-to-day tone for how the group works together.
• Create an environment where researchers and engineers are supported, developed, and enabled to do their best work. Manage performance, allocate staff and resources across the group's infrastructure and methodology portfolio, and make sound personnel and investment decisions.
• Foster a strong safety and security culture appropriate to a laboratory handling scientific data and computing infrastructure in a national security and radiological research environment, and ensure compliance with relevant cybersecurity, quality, and security requirements.

Science and Infrastructure Stewardship and Execution

• Work with the ESE Division Director to understand the strategic direction and mission priorities of the division and SEI, and translate that direction into the group's technical portfolio and resource allocation.
• Steward the technical quality, rigor, and reputation of the group's work across both research computing infrastructure and digital twins, modeling and simulation. Serve as a credible technical voice to sponsors, peers, and the external research community.
• Co-own, with OCIO leadership, the direction and operation of research computing infrastructure, ensuring that platforms and scientific data systems are shaped first by the needs of the science they serve, while OCIO's infrastructure expertise, security discipline, and operational scale are fully leveraged.
• Ensure core modeling, simulation, and AI/ML methodologies remain technically rigorous and reusable as a shared foundation, even as they are configured and extended by individual application areas for their own scientific needs.
• Identify high-value computational science opportunities that align with DOE mission needs, SRNL strategic priorities, and the group's distinctive capabilities. Bring those opportunities forward to inform division and directorate strategy.
• Ensure the group has the computing platforms, tools, talent, and partnerships needed to execute its missions effectively and on time, and that capability investments are sequenced against where the science is headed rather than where it has been.

External and Cross-Organizational Partnership

• Cultivate and steward the group's central partnership with OCIO, working through shared decisions collaboratively and escalating to joint leadership review when agreement isn't reached, rather than resolving disagreements unilaterally.
• Embed staff directly into application-area teams — fusion, grid, separations, and others as they emerge — so that digital twin, modeling, and simulation capabilities are shaped by real scientific problems as they are built, not developed in isolation and handed off afterward.
• Cultivate and steward strategic partnerships outside the Department of Energy — industry engagement, university collaborations, and national laboratory partnerships — that strengthen the group's technical capabilities and expand its funding base and impact.
• Advance SRNL's standing and visibility in research computing and computational science through publications, presentations, professional leadership, and strategic external relationships.
• Support the Division Director and Directorate in engaging DOE program offices relevant to the group's domains, and translate those relationships into a healthy, diversified project portfolio.

Operational Excellence and Business Performance

• Manage the group's budget, financial performance, and infrastructure needs, including capital planning for computing platforms. Ensure delivery of high-quality work products on scope, on schedule, and on budget.
• Establish group-level metrics, reporting cadences, and accountability structures. Track and communicate progress to the Division Director.
• Work within the SRNL matrix structure to ensure alignment between group capabilities and program priorities; surface challenges and opportunities that should inform division and directorate strategic planning.

Qualifications

Leadership Competencies

• Technical credibility — deep, current expertise in research computing infrastructure, computational science, digital twins, or modeling and simulation, with the breadth to engage knowledgeably across the group's full portfolio.
• People leadership — ability to recruit talent, develop researchers and engineers into technical leaders, create psychological safety, and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Shared-governance judgment — comfort operating in a model where direction and decisions are genuinely co-owned with OCIO and application areas, with the discipline to escalate cleanly to joint leadership review rather than forcing unilateral resolution.
• Portfolio judgment — ability to prioritize across infrastructure stewardship, methodology development, and application-area embedding, and to make resourcing calls that connect computation to scientific outcomes.
• Collaborative matrix leadership — skill in working through peer relationships across ESE's other groups, OCIO, and SRNL's broader program office structure, navigating ambiguity, and building alignment without direct authority.
• Business and operational acumen — comfort with budgets, metrics, and performance management; ability to connect resources to outcomes.
• External relationship building — ability to establish trust and credibility with DOE sponsors, industry, and university partners; skill in translating relationships into funded work.
• Founding-group mindset — comfort building structures, processes, and norms for a group still taking shape, and documenting decisions and rationale for those who come after.
• Integrity and unwavering commitment to safety and security — personal integrity that sets the tone for the group; zero tolerance for shortcuts on safety, security, quality, or ethical conduct.

Minimum Qualifications

• Ph.D. in computer science, computational science, applied mathematics, physics, engineering, or a closely related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Significant progressive experience in research and research leadership, including direct management or mentorship of technical staff. Minimum 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Deep technical credibility in at least one core RCCS domain — high-performance or scientific research computing infrastructure, digital twin frameworks, modeling and simulation, or AI/ML methodology development — with the intellectual breadth to engage across adjacent domains.
• Demonstrated experience working effectively across organizational lines in a shared-governance or matrixed structure, including navigating disagreement constructively.
• Track record of developing technical talent and cultivating the next generation of research leaders.
• Proven ability to work effectively in matrix environments, partnering with peer leaders, IT organizations, and sponsors to align direction and execute missions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to represent the group credibly to sponsors, DOE leadership, external partners, and internal staff.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE security clearance as required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a DOE national laboratory, federal research environment, or comparable mission-driven research organization.
• Direct experience building or operating research computing infrastructure in partnership with an enterprise IT organization.
• Experience developing or applying digital twin, modeling and simulation, or AI/ML methodologies in a scientific or engineering application area (e.g., fusion, grid resilience, separations, materials science).
• Established relationships with relevant DOE program offices (e.g., Advanced Scientific Computing Research, Fusion Energy Sciences, Environmental Management) and credibility in the relevant national research computing communities.
• Experience building and cultivating strategic partnerships with industry, universities, and other national laboratories.
• Track record of growing a research portfolio and securing external funding, including competitive proposals and industry-sponsored work.
• Experience contributing to or standing up a new group, program, or research computing capability within a larger organization.

About the Company

"We put science to work!"

Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is a multi-program laboratory applying state of the art science and practical, high-value, cost-effective solutions to complex technical problems to protect the nation. Located at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken SC, the laboratory develops and deploys innovative technologies to address some of the nation’s environmental, energy, and national security challenges.

Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BSRA) is constantly assessing trends to provide the best possible benefits to our workforce. We also negotiate cost effective premiums that will meet the needs of our evolving workforce.

Some of the *Benefits offered to employees include:

*Benefits vary based upon employment status

• Highly competitive Medical, Dental, and Vision options including HSA options with company provided seed
• Short- & Long-Term Disability (company paid)
• Life Insurance Non-Contributary 1X salary (company paid)
• AD&D Non-contributary 1x salary (company paid)
• Savings & Investment plan:
• • Qualified Non-Elective Company Contribution of 5% each pay period with immediate vesting
    • Company match 50 cents/dollar up to 8% (5 yrs. vesting in company match)
• Contributory Life Insurance up to 5x Salary with $1M Cap
• Contributory AD&D (employee, spouse and children)
• Paid Time Off
• Employee Assistance Plan
• SRNL offers a competitive relocation package to ease the transition process. Domestic and international relocation assistance is available for certain positions.

For more information about our benefits, working here, and living here, visit the “About” tab at www.srnl.doe.gov.

BSRA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. BSRA 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. Please email us at SRNLRecruiting@srnl.doe.gov with any questions regarding the hiring process or to request an accommodation.