The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility's (ALCF) Margaret Butler Fellowship in Computational Science is an exciting and unique opportunity to pursue high-impact scientific research at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Science and High-Performance Computing (HPC) to drive scientific discoveries. The mission of this fellowship is to broaden domain science in leadership-class computing.
This postdoctoral fellow is expected to leverage the ALCF’s world-class computing resources. These include the Aurora Supercomputer — one of the two exascale computing platforms in the US for open science research — and novel AI accelerators in the AI Testbed. The postdoctoral fellow will work closely with multidisciplinary science teams to drive a research agenda and help chart the future direction of scientific computing and artificial intelligence on leadership-class supercomputing facilities. The responsibilities will be determined based on the accepted research proposal and plan and based on meetings with the supervisor/mentor of this fellow.
The appointment is for one year and may be renewed for another year, subject to performance, project needs, and funding availability. The benefits of the appointment include a highly competitive salary and a generous professional allowance. For additional details, including past recipients, see: https://www.alcf.anl.gov/margaret-butler-fellowship-computational-science
This position requires on-site presence at the Argonne campus in Lemont, Illinois, with the possibility of a hybrid schedule which applies to employees regularly scheduled for some onsite and some remote days, with employees typically working up to 40% of their time remotely.
This position description documents the general nature and level of work but is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all activities, duties and responsibilities required of job incumbent. Consequently, job incumbent may be required to perform other duties as assigned.
ABOUT MARGARET K. BUTLER (1924-2013)
This Argonne-based postdoctoral fellowship program is named in honor of Margaret K. Butler, a pioneering scientist who spent her career at the leading edge of computer science and nuclear energy. She programmed the first digital computers at Argonne National Laboratory in the early 1950s, helped design subsequent ones, and contributed to simulations of nuclear power reactors. Butler was the first female Fellow at the American Nuclear Society and director of the National Energy Software Center. Her analytical talents, vision, and drive led to a lifetime of scientific contributions.
Position Requirements
Required skills and qualifications:
- Ph.D. (completed within the last 0-5 years, or to be awarded by the start of the appointment) in applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science, or similar field.
- Knowledge of high-performance computational science. Examples include, but are not limited to computational science research in at least one of the following:
- Biology; chemistry; earth science; engineering; materials science; nuclear energy; physics; renewable energy; energy science; artificial intelligence; numerical methods & applied mathematics
- Experience with at least one AI-driven approach, such as distributed foundation model development and Fine tuning; agentic AI orchestration; development and application of surrogate models; AI integration with autonomous laboratories; multimodal AI; etc.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to contribute to creative solutions to complex problems
- Effective verbal and written communications skills
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with researchers and contribute to impactful research outcomes
- Ability to work effectively with collaborators within Argonne and at other laboratories, universities, computing centers, and industry organizations.
- Ability to model Argonne’s core values of impact, safety, respect, integrity, and teamwork
Application requirements:
- A research proposal for a 1-2 year self-directed research program that aligns with the fellowship's mission of broadening domain science in leadership-class computing with a special focus in both development and applications of AI for science. The research proposal should contain research goals, proposed approach, research plan, expected outcome, use of ALCF resources, and impact. With a length of maximum 4 pages, including images, the references would not count to the page limit. This file must be submitted in PDF format.
- CV/curriculum vitae in PDF format. The following points must be addressed in the application:
- For every relevant work, include a short explanation (1–2 sentences) of the candidate’s specific contribution and its relevance. In particular:
- Refereed papers or proceedings must include a DOI and a link.
- Unpublished work (in press, under review, in progress, etc.) must be clearly differentiated from refereed work.
- Must include a GitHub, GitLab, or other public repository with original work; where the work is not original (e.g., modifications, bug fixes), indicate this clearly.
- Include links for any dataset, model, or similar artifact. Provenance should be indicated and authorship identifiable.
- A list of PhD, internship, or postdoc projects, including named collaborations and start/end dates (where applicable). Do not include coursework.
- The full name and email of current and past supervisors, advisors, and mentors, and the duration of each interaction.
Suggested templates could be found here: https://anl.box.com/s/qtvb3okkr3ddhx4qfk1goxjfbpydqigb
AI policy: AI tools may be used for grammar checking only, but those should not be used to develop ideas or to generate or reinterpret text. Any use of AI in the submission materials should be disclosed.
Application timeline:
- To receive full consideration, all application materials must be submitted by February 5, 2027, 5pm CT. We may extend this deadline based on the number of applications we receive by that time.
- Application packages will start to be reviewed on February 8, 2027.
- After the interview process is completed and a selection has been made, the appointment can start anytime in summer/fall 2027.
Job Family
Argonne Scholar
Job Profile
Argonne Scholar
Worker Type
Long-Term (Fixed Term)
Time Type
Full timeThe expected hiring range for this position is $85,781.00-$142,968.00.
Please note that the pay range information is a general guideline only. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as, but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, business considerations, internal equity, and external market pay for comparable jobs. Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package.
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