Staff Engineer - SSRL Materials Science Division

Position Overview:

SSRL is seeking an outstanding Staff Engineer to join a dynamic scientific research environment in the hard x-ray group of the Materials Science Division. The primary responsibility of this position is to provide engineering support to the hard x-ray group, including assisting scientists with instrument development on the end stations and working with scientists and users to develop new sample environments, such as rapid heating/cooling, strain or high-pressure cells, chemical and electrochemical environments, or laser excitation setups.

Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), a SLAC Directorate at Stanford University, is a national scientific user facility providing synchrotron radiation for research in biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental science, material science, medicine, and physics. SSRL operates and maintains the 3 GeV electron storage ring SPEAR3, the associated injector facility, and synchrotron radiation beam lines on SPEAR3.

Your specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Design and develop in-situ/operando experimental hardware and technical capabilities for advanced synchrotron experiments.
• Identify, scope and execute projects that expand experimental capabilities, improve system reliability, and streamline beamline operations.
• Design, prototype, commission, and maintain beamline hardware, and provide high-quality technical support for scientific operations.
• Contribute engineering input to the beam time scheduling by aligning instrument readiness, maintenance needs, and experimental requirements.
• Align x-ray optics, diagnose beam quality issues, and resolve system-level performance problems.
• May serve as a beam line program manager (requires periodic on-call duties).
• Other duties may also be assigned.

To be successful in this position you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, chemistry or related field and at least 2 years of experience in a scientific, engineering, or technical environment, including:
  • Hands-on experience with small/wide angle x-ray scattering, diffraction, reflectivity, or microscopy with synchrotron radiation instrumentation.
  • Hands-on experience with in-situ/operando instrument design.
  • Mechanical design and drawing creation using parametric CAD software such as SolidWorks or Solid Edge.
  • Working knowledge of mechanical fabrication techniques, precision mechanism design, and kinematic design principles related to mechanical systems design.
  • Strong hands-on skills in assembling complex mechanical systems and handling delicate instruments.
  • Scientific programming experience, such as Python.
  • Experience interfacing scientific instrumentation or industrial controls with Linux and Windows operating systems.
• Demonstrated ability to translate concepts into practical designs, supported by strong analytical and problem-solving, and creative engineering judgment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of scientists, technical staff and user groups in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Ability to work in a team environment as well as independently.
• Ability to write clear technical documentation, engineering notes, and user manuals.
• Ability to evaluate and troubleshoot sophisticated electro-mechanical and logic control systems.

In addition, preferred qualifications include the following areas:

• Knowledge of beamline control and data acquisition software such as EPICS, SPEC, or ICS.
• Experience tuning x-ray optics and opto-electro-mechanical systems.
• Experience with beamline optics simulation using ray-tracing software.