Postdoctoral Researcher in Autonomous Experimentation for Semiconductor Materials National Laboratory of the Rockies in United States

National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) is hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher in Autonomous Experimentation for Semiconductor Materials in Golden, Colorado, United States.

This postdoctoral role sits in the Materials Discovery and Development group and focuses on the intersection of semiconductor materials, artificial intelligence, laboratory automation, robotics, and scientific software. The project is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s METALLIC platform and broader autonomous experimentation initiatives, including work on wide band gap semiconductors, dielectrics, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric materials.

The successful candidate will help build closed-loop experimental systems that integrate advanced instrumentation, data infrastructure, workflow orchestration, and AI-driven decision-making. Experimental methods mentioned include sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and characterization tools such as photoluminescence, profilometry, J-V, C-V, P-E, XRD, and XRF. The work emphasizes autonomous experimentation for thin-film inorganic semiconductor materials, especially systems involving Ga, Ge, Sc, and other critical elements.

Required background includes a recent PhD (within the last three years), strong Python programming, Git-based software development, scientific instrumentation or laboratory automation experience, machine learning or optimization methods such as active learning and Bayesian optimization, and foundational knowledge of materials science, inorganic chemistry, semiconductor physics, and vacuum-based thin-film processing.

Preferred experience includes autonomous or closed-loop lab systems, high-throughput or combinatorial experiments, vacuum thin-film synthesis and characterization, data pipelines and databases, feedback control systems, robotics, machine vision, SCPI/Modbus/OPC UA integration, messaging systems such as NATS/MQTT/ZeroMQ, and PLC programming.

The position is full time and postdoctoral. The annual salary range is $76,600–$126,400, with benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, retirement-related benefits, PTO, sick leave, paid holidays, and possible relocation reimbursement. Applicants must also satisfy DOE access requirements and pass a pre-employment drug test.

To apply, submit an application through the Workday portal for this specific posting. Include a cover letter and CV/resume; the cover letter should explain fit for the role and include links to relevant GitHub repositories or other examples of prior software development work, along with a brief description of your contributions. The posting indicates the application window is anticipated to remain open for up to 30 days and may be extended.