Reinforcement Learning Drilling Scientist

Houston, Texas, United States

Job ID 201943

Date Posted 08/18/2025

Category Engineering/Science/Technology

We are looking for the right people — people who want to innovate, achieve, grow and lead. We attract and retain the best talent by investing in our employees and empowering them to develop themselves and their careers. Experience the challenges, rewards and opportunity of working for one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the global energy industry.

Job Duties

We are seeking a pioneering Reinforcement Learning (RL) Scientist to join our Innovation team.

- You will be instrumental in the design, development, and deployment of intelligent systems that automate and optimize the drilling process.

- Leveraging your expertise in RL, you will build and train agents to make real-time, data-driven decisions that enhance safety, increase efficiency, and maximize the economic value of our customers’ drilling operations.

- This is a unique opportunity to apply state-of-the-art AI techniques to a high-impact oil and gas domain, transforming how we discover and produce energy.

Qualifications

- Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related quantitative field.

- Strong theoretical and practical knowledge of core reinforcement learning concepts and algorithms (e.g., Deep Q-Networks, Proximal Policy Optimization, Actor-Critic methods).

- Programming: Proficiency in Python and experience with at least one major deep learning framework (PyTorch or TensorFlow).

- A solid understanding of machine learning fundamentals, statistics, and optimization.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Hands-on experience or a strong understanding of drilling operations or geomechanics. Familiarity with key drilling parameters and performance metrics.

- Proven experience applying RL to real-world control systems, robotics, or other physical systems with dynamic environments.

- Experience with drilling or reservoir simulation software (e.g., COMPASS, DrillSim, Nexus) or other physics-based simulators.

- A track record of publications in relevant conferences or industry journals (e.g., SPE Journal).

Candidates having qualifications that exceed the minimum job requirements will receive consideration for higher level roles given (1) their experience, (2) additional job requirements, and/or (3) business needs. Depending on education, experience, and skill level, a variety of job opportunities might be available including Senior Technical Professional Data Science or Principal Technical Professional Data Science.

Halliburton is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.

Location

3000 N Sam Houston Pkwy E, Houston, Texas, 77032, United States

Job Details

Requisition Number: 201943

Experience Level: Experienced Hire

Job Family: Engineering/Science/Technology

Product Service Line: Landmark Software & Services

Full Time / Part Time: Full-time

Additional Locations for this position:

Compensation Information

Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience.