Advisor, Research​/Development, Research Scientist

Overview

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.

Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.

The Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate's (PCSD’s) strengths in experimental, computational, and theoretical chemistry and materials science, together with our advanced computing, applied mathematics and data science capabilities, are central to the discovery mission we embrace  our most important resource is our people—experts across the range of scientific disciplines who team together to take on the biggest scientific challenges of our time.

The Department of Energy’s Isotope Program produces and sells stable isotopes and radioisotopes world-wide, including materials from PNNL. Isotope Program research at PNNL supports scientific advances in the production and use of radioisotopes for research, medicine, and industrial applications.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) seeks an Advisor 5 to set strategy and provide technical and programmatic leadership for isotope research and production. The leader will grow capabilities that advance domestic isotope supply and innovation for medicine, discovery science, national security and industry, and will steward a cross-laboratory portfolio aligned with the Department of Energy Isotope R&D and Production Program (DOE IP).

The role includes close engagement with DOE IP, the National Isotope Development Center, and partner institutions to expand production capacity, mature new isotope technologies, and strengthen supply‑chain resilience.

The Advisor will coordinate across PNNL directorates and facilities to deliver mission outcomes, including leveraging PNNL’s Radiochemical Processing Laboratory and related assets that support the production and use of radioisotopes. The selected scientist must demonstrate a commitment to working with PNNL staff members and engaging those staff members in the broader research and production enterprise.

In the role of PNNL liaison to the DOE Isotope R&D and Production Program (DOE IRP), the sector lead will steward PNNL’s isotope research and production portfolio and play a lead role in developing and executing PNNL’s strategy for advancing isotope supply, technology innovation, and mission delivery. In addition, the successful candidate will work across organizations to enhance the recognition of the isotope science and production community and individual contributors at PNNL.

Specifically, the sector lead sets a clear, lab‑wide strategy for isotope research, development, and production that advances national priorities and aligns with DOE IRP objectives. The sector lead translates this strategy into practical investment plans that cover people, facilities, instrumentation, digital capabilities, and quality systems.

The role serves as PNNL’s primary point of contact with DOE IRP and the National Isotope Development Center, ensuring transparent planning and coordination across reactors, accelerators, enrichment assets, and radio chemical processing resources. The leader cultivates partnerships with national laboratories, universities, and industry to co‑develop technologies, expand supply, and accelerate appropriate commercialization.

On the technical front, the sector lead advances new production routes, targets, and separations methods, then converts promising concepts into reliable production and distribution pathways that address domestic shortfalls. The sector lead oversees production campaigns and pilot efforts in close collaboration with operations teams, maintaining rigorous standards for safety, quality, regulatory compliance, and on‑time delivery.

The position grows the program through proactive sponsor engagement, alignment to…