Postdoctoral Appointee

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
Extraordinary co-workers
Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at:
These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like

The Applied Optical and Plasma Sciences Department is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to advance novel opto-thermal systems for material characterization. This role involves close collaboration with Sandia's interdisciplinary team, focusing on optical system design, experimentation, and modeling. The research emphasizes innovative thermoreflectance and spectroscopic optical systems for multiphysical characterization of microelectronics and materials. You will gain expertise in designing metamaterials, phase change materials, and optical systems for opto-electronic characterization of microelectronics. Contributing to team efforts in publishing research results and supporting Sandia's mission areas is a critical aspect of this position. Working closely with Sandia's highly interdisciplinary staff, this is an extraordinary opportunity to gain mastery over the operation and maintenance of a range of novel experimental equipment and instruments including custom and commercial optical systems and computational methods that support said experimental techniques for gaining deeper insight.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Design, experiment, and model novel optical systems for material characterization.
Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to achieve research objectives.
Focus on thermoreflectance and spectroscopic systems for microelectronics and material characterization.
Design metamaterials, phase change materials, and optical systems for opto-electronic applications.
Publish and present research results in leading journals and conferences.
Master and maintain experimental equipment, including custom and commercial optical systems.
Utilize computational methods to support experimental techniques.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

Postdoctoral Appointee Salary is $95,500.00/annual for NM Location.

Qualifications We Require

PhD in Physics, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, or other related STEM technical areas conferred within five (5) years prior to employment
Proven research experience demonstrated through peer-reviewed publications and conference proceedings
Experience in optical, thermal, and/or electrical measurement systems
Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q Security Clearance
Qualifications We Desire

Knowledge of thermoreflectance methods (e.g., FDTR, TDTR) and optical spectroscopy (e.g., Raman, FTIR)
Understanding of micro/nanoscale thermal transport (such as near-field thermal radiation)
Experience in building and applying free-space optical systems
Experience with electrical test equipment (e.g., oscilloscopes)
Experience with phase change materials (e.g., GST, VO2)
Understanding of full-wave electromagnetic simulations (e.g., COMSOL, Lumerical)
Scanning Probe Microscopy (e.g., AFM, STM, s-SNOM, etc.)
Infrared thermography and spectroscopy
About Our Team

Our department is a multidisciplinary group of experts in three areas: Low Temperature Plasma Physics, Laser and Optical Diagnostics and Analysis, and Thermal Characterization of Materials. We work with groups in Sandia and other entities to develop the science that enables engineering solutions.

The Low Temperature Plasma Physics thrust has ongoing work in plasma-driven chemistry, plasma-surface interactions, arc discharges (from vacuum to high pressure), charged particle transport, sheath physics, and more. To study this wide array of phenomena, we possess both experimental and computational experts that work together to produce new understanding. The plasma codes we use range from fully kinetic, through hybrid, to fluid models. We also actively use and develop models for surface properties, electromagnetic propagation, and more. Experimentally, we have developed a variety of sources including multipole confinement systems, CCP/ICP RF plasmas, and atmospheric pressure plasma systems. We use a variety of diagnostics to examine these systems and are actively involved in the development or use of advanced laser diagnostics, other spectroscopic techniques, physical probes, RF sensing, and more.

The Laser and Optical Diagnostics and Analysis thrust conducts innovative research, application development, and analysis using a wide variety of techniques and instrumentation. Some of these involve development of optical or laser sources, as well as passive or active optical spectroscopy providing unique, real-time, non-contact, in-situ optical diagnostic capabilities from Brillion spectroscopy, Optical Emission Spectroscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, and numerous hyphenated FTIR techniques.

The Thermal Characterization thrust research the fundamental thermal properties and performance of a diverse set of materials experiencing an expansive range of environments. This research uses state-of-the-art custom and commercial thermal imaging tools, Frequency Domain Thermal Reflectance (FDTR), and modeling/simulation tools to create and characterize new materials. This work entails both state-of-the-art diagnostics as well as developing custom diagnostics and techniques to provide information on the underlying science of thermal behaviors of materials.

Posting Duration

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.

Position Information

This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment.

Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.

---