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PREP Research Associate

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Research Title:

Experimental Postdoctoral Research Associate - High-Speed X-Ray Diffraction in Metal Additive Manufacturing

The work will entail: The Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking immediate applicants for a postdoctoral role focusing on the experimental aspects of high-speed X-ray diffraction in metal additive manufacturing (AM). This position is funded for two years. This postdoc will be part of a broader NIST research team developing a new high-speed X-ray metrology platform. The postdoc will contribute to experimental design, instrumentation, and real-time diffraction analysis to enable high-speed structural metrology for AM.

The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a new metrology capable of conducting in-situ synchrotron diffraction experiments at a target rate of 1 kHz to capture phase transformations and microstructural evolution during AM build in real time. The postdoc will play a key role in developing, optimizing, and automating experimental workflows, including the integration of hardware and diffraction analysis pipelines. The project will require working with Directed Energy Deposition (DED) additive manufacturing, synchrotron beamlines, and real-time data acquisition systems.

This research is expected to be conducted through extensive internal and external collaborations, providing access to a full range of state-of-the-art experimental and computational resources. The results will have broad implications for accelerating AM adoption across industries and advancing NIST's mission in measurement science.

Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:

- Supporting the design and implementation of the instrumentation and hardware control systems for autonomous X-ray diffraction experiments.

- Coordinating with national lab partners at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, to deploy and optimize experimental setups.

- Developing and executing synchrotron XRD experiments for in-situ structural analysis of additively manufactured metal alloys.

- Assisting in the integration of experimental workflows with predictive modeling tools to guide real-time decision-making in AM.

- Disseminating research findings through publications, conference presentations, and technical reports.

- Ph.D. in Materials Science, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.

- Hands-on experience with synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments and data analysis.

- Experience with instrumentation, experimental automation, and hardware control in scientific research.

The ideal postdoctoral candidate will have the following skills, experience, and/or qualifications:

- Experience in additive manufacturing, preferably DED.

- Strong experimental troubleshooting and hands-on instrumentation development skills.

- Strong interest in autonomous metrology and machine-learning-enhanced measurement systems.

- Excellent communication and teamwork skills for interdisciplinary collaboration.

Salary: $82,764.00 a year

Please upload the following with your application:

- CV/Resume

*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Please DO NOT include telephone numbers, home address or photos on your resume.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) (https://www.nist.gov/iaao/academic-affairs-office/nist-professional-research-experience-program-prep) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

Job Type: Full Time

The listed salary range represents the minimum and maximum Johns Hopkins University offers for this position, based on a good faith estimate at the time of posting. Actual compensation will vary depending on factors such as location, skills, experience, market conditions, education, and internal equity. Not all candidates will qualify for the highest salary in the range.

Johns Hopkins provides a comprehensive benefits package supporting health, career, and retirement. Learn more: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.

Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

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