diff --git a/src/relentless/optimize/__init__.py b/src/relentless/optimize/__init__.py
index 07b721b1..6b14bf05 100644
--- a/src/relentless/optimize/__init__.py
+++ b/src/relentless/optimize/__init__.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
     SteepestDescent
     FixedStepDescent
     LineSearch
+    Adam
 
 Convergence criteria
 ====================
@@ -63,5 +64,11 @@
     Tolerance,
     ValueTest,
 )
-from .method import FixedStepDescent, LineSearch, Optimizer, SteepestDescent
+from .method import (
+    Adam,
+    FixedStepDescent,
+    LineSearch,
+    Optimizer,
+    SteepestDescent,
+)
 from .objective import ObjectiveFunction, ObjectiveFunctionResult, RelativeEntropy
diff --git a/src/relentless/optimize/method.py b/src/relentless/optimize/method.py
index a9ec9791..7474a449 100644
--- a/src/relentless/optimize/method.py
+++ b/src/relentless/optimize/method.py
@@ -591,3 +591,288 @@ def descent_amount(self, gradient):
         for i in k:
             k[i] = self.step_size
         return k / gradient.norm()
+
+
+class Adam(Optimizer):
+    r"""Adam optimization algorithm.
+
+    For an :class:`~relentless.optimize.objective.ObjectiveFunction`
+    :math:`f\left(\mathbf{x}\right)`, the `Adam optimization algorithm`_ seeks
+    to approach a minimum of the function.
+
+    The optimization is performed using scaled variables :math:`\mathbf{y}`.
+    Define :math:`\mathbf{X}` as the scaling parameters for each variable such
+    that :math:`y_i=x_i/X_i`. (A variable can be left unscaled by setting
+    :math:`X_i=1`). The gradient of the function with respect to the scaled
+    variables is:
+
+    .. math::
+
+        \mathbf{g} = \nabla f\left(\mathbf{y}\right) =
+            \left[X_1 \frac{\partial f}{\partial x_1},
+            \cdots,
+            X_n \frac{\partial f}{\partial x_n}\right]
+
+    Define :math:`\alpha` as the descent step size hyperparameter. Adam
+    iteratively minimizes the function by taking steps based on exponentially
+    weighted first and second moment estimates of the gradient. Let
+    :math:`\mathbf{g}_n` be the gradient at iteration :math:`n`, and let
+    :math:`\mathbf{m}_n` and :math:`\mathbf{v}_n` be the first and second moment
+    estimates. If the scaled variables are :math:`\mathbf{y}_n` at iteration
+    :math:`n`, the next value of the variables is:
+
+    .. math::
+
+        \mathbf{m}_n &= \beta_1 \mathbf{m}_{n-1}
+            + \left(1-\beta_1\right)\mathbf{g}_n \\
+        \mathbf{v}_n &= \beta_2 \mathbf{v}_{n-1}
+            + \left(1-\beta_2\right){\mathbf{g}_n}^2 \\
+        \hat{\mathbf{m}}_n &= \frac{\mathbf{m}_n}{1-{\beta_1}^n} \\
+        \hat{\mathbf{v}}_n &= \frac{\mathbf{v}_n}{1-{\beta_2}^n} \\
+        \mathbf{y}_{n+1} &= \mathbf{y}_n-\alpha
+            \frac{\hat{\mathbf{m}}_n}
+            {\sqrt{\hat{\mathbf{v}}_n}+\epsilon}
+
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    stop : :class:`~relentless.optimize.criteria.ConvergenceTest`
+        The convergence test used as the stopping criterion for the optimizer.
+        Note that the result being tested will have *unscaled* variables and gradient.
+    max_iter : int
+        The maximum number of optimization iterations allowed.
+    step_size : float
+        The step size hyperparameter (:math:`\alpha`).
+    beta_1 : float
+        The exponential decay rate for the first moment estimates
+        (defaults to ``0.9``).
+    beta_2 : float
+        The exponential decay rate for the second moment estimates
+        (defaults to ``0.999``).
+    epsilon : float
+        A small constant added for numerical stability (defaults to ``1e-8``).
+    scale : float or dict
+        A scalar scaling parameter or scaling parameters (:math:`\mathbf{X}`)
+        keyed on one or more :class:`~relentless.optimize.objective.ObjectiveFunction`
+        design variables (defaults to ``1.0``, so that the variables are unscaled).
+
+
+    .. _Adam optimization algorithm: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1412.6980
+
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        stop,
+        max_iter,
+        step_size,
+        beta_1=0.9,
+        beta_2=0.999,
+        epsilon=1e-8,
+        scale=1.0,
+    ):
+        super().__init__(stop)
+        self.max_iter = max_iter
+        self.step_size = step_size
+        self.beta_1 = beta_1
+        self.beta_2 = beta_2
+        self.epsilon = epsilon
+        self.scale = scale
+
+    def optimize(self, objective, variables, directory=None, overwrite=False):
+        r"""Perform the Adam optimization for the given objective function.
+
+        If ``directory`` is specified and ``overwrite`` is ``True``, ``directory``
+        will be cleared before the optimization begins. The output will be saved
+        into a directory created for each iteration of the optimization, e.g.,
+        ``directory/0``. To advance to the next iteration of the optimization
+        (e.g., from iteration 0 to iteration 1), a directory ``directory/0/.next``
+        is created at iteration 0 to hold the proposed result at iteration 1.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        objective : :class:`~relentless.optimize.objective.ObjectiveFunction`
+            The objective function to be optimized.
+        variables: :class:`~relentless.variable.IndependentVariable` or tuple
+            Design variable(s) to optimize.
+        directory : str or :class:`~relentless.data.Directory`
+            Directory for writing output during optimization. Default of `None`
+            requests no output is written.
+        overwrite : bool
+            If ``True``, overwrite the directory before beginning optimization.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        bool or None
+            ``True`` if converged, ``False`` if not converged, ``None`` if no
+            design variables are specified for the objective function.
+
+        Raises
+        ------
+        OSError
+            If ``directory`` is not empty and overwrite is ``False``.
+
+        """
+        variables = variable.graph.check_variables_and_types(
+            variables, variable.IndependentVariable
+        )
+        if len(variables) == 0:
+            return None
+
+        if directory is not None:
+            directory = self._setup_directory(directory, overwrite)
+
+        # fix scaling parameters
+        scale = math.KeyedArray(keys=variables)
+        for x in variables:
+            if numpy.isscalar(self.scale):
+                scale[x] = self.scale
+            else:
+                try:
+                    scale[x] = self.scale[x]
+                except KeyError:
+                    scale[x] = 1.0
+
+        # initialize moment estimates
+        m = math.KeyedArray(keys=variables)
+        v = math.KeyedArray(keys=variables)
+        for x in variables:
+            m[x] = 0.0
+            v[x] = 0.0
+
+        iter_num = 0
+        if directory is not None:
+            cur_dir = directory.directory(str(iter_num), create=mpi.world.rank_is_root)
+            mpi.world.barrier()
+        else:
+            cur_dir = None
+        cur_res = objective.compute(variables, cur_dir)
+
+        while not self.stop.converged(cur_res) and iter_num < self.max_iter:
+            grad_y = scale * cur_res.gradient
+            step_y = math.KeyedArray(keys=variables)
+
+            # update moment estimates
+            for x in variables:
+                m[x] = self.beta_1 * m[x] + (1.0 - self.beta_1) * grad_y[x]
+                v[x] = self.beta_2 * v[x] + (1.0 - self.beta_2) * grad_y[x] ** 2
+
+                # bias correction
+                m_hat = m[x] / (1.0 - self.beta_1 ** (iter_num + 1))
+                v_hat = v[x] / (1.0 - self.beta_2 ** (iter_num + 1))
+
+                # Adam step in scaled variables
+                step_y[x] = self.step_size * m_hat / (numpy.sqrt(v_hat) + self.epsilon)
+
+            update = scale * step_y
+
+            # Adam update
+            for x in variables:
+                x.value = cur_res.variables[x] - update[x]
+
+            # compute next result
+            if cur_dir is not None:
+                next_dir = cur_dir.directory(".next", create=mpi.world.rank_is_root)
+                mpi.world.barrier()
+            else:
+                next_dir = None
+            next_res = objective.compute(variables, next_dir)
+
+            # move the contents of the "next" result to the new "current" result
+            if directory is not None:
+                cur_dir = directory.directory(
+                    str(iter_num + 1), create=mpi.world.rank_is_root
+                )
+                mpi.world.barrier()
+            else:
+                cur_dir = None
+            if next_res.directory is not None:
+                mpi.world.barrier()
+                if mpi.world.rank_is_root:
+                    next_res.directory.move_contents(cur_dir)
+                mpi.world.barrier()
+
+            # recycle next result, updating directory to new location
+            cur_res = next_res
+            cur_res.directory = cur_dir
+            iter_num += 1
+
+        return self.stop.converged(cur_res)
+
+    @property
+    def max_iter(self):
+        """int: The maximum number of optimization iterations allowed."""
+        return self._max_iter
+
+    @max_iter.setter
+    def max_iter(self, value):
+        if not isinstance(value, int):
+            raise TypeError("The maximum number of iterations must be an integer.")
+        if value < 1:
+            raise ValueError("The maximum number of iterations must be positive.")
+        self._max_iter = value
+
+    @property
+    def step_size(self):
+        r"""float: The step size hyperparameter (:math:`\alpha`). Must be positive."""
+        return self._step_size
+
+    @step_size.setter
+    def step_size(self, value):
+        if value <= 0:
+            raise ValueError("The step size must be positive.")
+        self._step_size = value
+
+    @property
+    def beta_1(self):
+        """float: Exponential decay rate for the first moment estimates."""
+        return self._beta_1
+
+    @beta_1.setter
+    def beta_1(self, value):
+        if not 0 <= value < 1:
+            raise ValueError("beta_1 must be in the range [0, 1).")
+        self._beta_1 = value
+
+    @property
+    def beta_2(self):
+        """float: Exponential decay rate for the second moment estimates."""
+        return self._beta_2
+
+    @beta_2.setter
+    def beta_2(self, value):
+        if not 0 <= value < 1:
+            raise ValueError("beta_2 must be in the range [0, 1).")
+        self._beta_2 = value
+
+    @property
+    def epsilon(self):
+        """float: A small constant for numerical stability."""
+        return self._epsilon
+
+    @epsilon.setter
+    def epsilon(self, value):
+        if value <= 0:
+            raise ValueError("epsilon must be positive.")
+        self._epsilon = value
+
+    @property
+    def scale(self):
+        r"""float or dict: Scaling parameter.
+
+        A scalar scaling parameter or scaling parameters (:math:`\mathbf{X}`)
+        keyed on one or more :class:`~relentless.optimize.objective.ObjectiveFunction`
+        design variables. Must be positive."""
+        return self._scale
+
+    @scale.setter
+    def scale(self, value):
+        try:
+            scale = dict(value)
+            err = any([s <= 0 for s in value.values()])
+        except TypeError:
+            scale = value
+            err = value <= 0
+        if err:
+            raise ValueError("The scaling parameters must be positive.")
+        self._scale = scale
diff --git a/tests/optimize/test_method.py b/tests/optimize/test_method.py
index 2ccde78f..20ff7f66 100644
--- a/tests/optimize/test_method.py
+++ b/tests/optimize/test_method.py
@@ -334,5 +334,157 @@ def test_run(self):
         self.assertAlmostEqual(x.value, 1.0)
 
 
+class test_Adam(unittest.TestCase):
+    """Unit tests for relentless.optimize.Adam"""
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        if relentless.mpi.world.rank_is_root:
+            self._tmp = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+            directory = self._tmp.name
+        else:
+            directory = None
+        directory = relentless.mpi.world.bcast(directory)
+        self.directory = relentless.data.Directory(directory)
+
+    def test_init(self):
+        """Test creation with data."""
+        x = relentless.model.IndependentVariable(value=3.0)
+        t = relentless.optimize.GradientTest(tolerance=1e-8, variables=x)
+
+        o = relentless.optimize.Adam(stop=t, max_iter=1000, step_size=0.25)
+        self.assertEqual(o.stop, t)
+        self.assertEqual(o.max_iter, 1000)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.step_size, 0.25)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.beta_1, 0.9)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.beta_2, 0.999)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.epsilon, 1e-8)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.scale, 1.0)
+
+        # test scalar scaling parameter
+        o.scale = 0.5
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.scale, 0.5)
+
+        # test dictionary of scaling parameters
+        o.scale = {x: 0.3}
+        self.assertEqual(o.scale, {x: 0.3})
+
+        # test setting beta_1, beta_2, epsilon
+        o.beta_1 = 0.8
+        o.beta_2 = 0.99
+        o.epsilon = 1e-7
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.beta_1, 0.8)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.beta_2, 0.99)
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(o.epsilon, 1e-7)
+
+        # test invalid parameters
+        with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
+            o.stop = 1e-8
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.max_iter = 0
+        with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
+            o.max_iter = 100.0
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.step_size = -0.25
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.beta_1 = -0.1
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.beta_1 = 1.0
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.beta_2 = -0.1
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.beta_2 = 1.0
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.epsilon = -1e-9
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.epsilon = 0
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.scale = -0.5
+        with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
+            o.scale = {x: -0.5}
+
+    def test_run(self):
+        """Test run method."""
+        x = relentless.model.IndependentVariable(value=3.0)
+        q = QuadraticObjective(x=x)
+        t = relentless.optimize.GradientTest(tolerance=1e-8, variables=x)
+        o = relentless.optimize.Adam(stop=t, max_iter=1000, step_size=0.25)
+
+        self.assertTrue(o.optimize(objective=q, variables=x))
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(x.value, 1.0)
+
+        # test insufficient maximum iterations
+        x.value = 1.5
+        o.max_iter = 1
+        self.assertFalse(o.optimize(objective=q, variables=x))
+
+        # test with nontrivial scalar scaling parameter
+        x.value = 35
+        o.scale = 0.85
+        o.max_iter = 1000
+        self.assertTrue(o.optimize(objective=q, variables=x))
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(x.value, 1.0)
+
+        # test with nontrivial dictionary of scaling parameters
+        x.value = -35
+        o.scale = {x: 1.5}
+        self.assertTrue(o.optimize(objective=q, variables=x))
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(x.value, 1.0)
+
+        # test with custom beta_1, beta_2, epsilon
+        x.value = 3
+        o.beta_1 = 0.8
+        o.beta_2 = 0.99
+        o.epsilon = 1e-7
+        o.scale = 1.0
+        self.assertTrue(o.optimize(objective=q, variables=x))
+        self.assertAlmostEqual(x.value, 1.0)
+
+    def test_directory(self):
+        x = relentless.model.IndependentVariable(value=1.5)
+        q = QuadraticObjective(x=x)
+        t = relentless.optimize.GradientTest(tolerance=1e-8, variables=x)
+        o = relentless.optimize.SteepestDescent(stop=t, max_iter=1, step_size=0.25)
+        d = self.directory
+
+        # test that overwrite raises error when False
+        with self.assertRaises(OSError):
+            o.optimize(q, x, d, overwrite=False)
+
+        # optimize with output
+        o.optimize(q, x, d, overwrite=True)
+
+        # 0/ holds the initial value
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(os.path.join(d.path, "0")))
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile(os.path.join(d.path, "0", "x.log")))
+        with open(d.directory("0").file("x.log")) as f:
+            self.assertAlmostEqual(float(f.readline()), 1.5)
+
+        # 0/.next should be empty because it has been accepted to 1/
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(os.path.join(d.path, "0", ".next")))
+        self.assertEqual(len(os.listdir(d.directory("0/.next").path)), 0)
+
+        # 1/ holds the next output
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isdir(os.path.join(d.path, "1")))
+        self.assertTrue(os.path.isfile(os.path.join(d.path, "1", "x.log")))
+        with open(d.directory("1").file("x.log")) as f:
+            self.assertAlmostEqual(float(f.readline()), 1.25)
+
+    def test_directory_str(self):
+        x = relentless.model.IndependentVariable(value=1.5)
+        q = QuadraticObjective(x=x)
+        t = relentless.optimize.GradientTest(tolerance=1e-8, variables=x)
+        o = relentless.optimize.Adam(stop=t, max_iter=1, step_size=0.25)
+        d = self.directory.path
+
+        o.optimize(q, x, d, overwrite=True)
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        relentless.mpi.world.barrier()
+        if relentless.mpi.world.rank_is_root:
+            self._tmp.cleanup()
+            del self._tmp
+        del self.directory
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()