Postdoctoral Appointee - Portable Chemical Sensing Systems, Onsite​/Hybrid

Position Overview

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to join our team in Albuquerque, NM. This temporary position supports the development of next‑generation portable chemical sensing systems for national security applications. Work involves a mix of hardware, analytical chemistry, data analysis, embedded systems, and field‑deployable instrument development, with opportunities across several technical disciplines.

Annual salary: $98,500. The selected applicant may work a combination of onsite and offsite work and must live within a reasonable distance for commuting when required.

Successful candidates may contribute in one or more of the following areas:

• Develop and mature prototype portable sensing systems for detection of hazardous compounds, drugs of abuse, or related analytes.
• Design, build, integrate, and test hardware and subsystems for field‑deployable analytical instruments.
• Conduct laboratory characterization studies to evaluate detection performance, selectivity, sensitivity, analysis time, interferent response, and operational utility.
• Develop or improve sampling methods, thermal interfaces, analytical workflows, or signal‑processing methods for portable detection platforms.
• Contribute to instrument control, data acquisition, algorithm development, or hardware/software integration.
• Perform experiments using laboratory analytical chemistry equipment to guide system design and validate prototype performance.
• Support operational testing, user evaluation, and field demonstrations with government stakeholders.
• Collaborate with chemists, engineers, physicists, and computer scientists to transition sensing technologies from laboratory prototypes toward deployable systems.

• PhD in Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or other relevant field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as evidenced by publication(s) in peer‑reviewed journals and/or presentation(s) at scientific conferences.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L‑level security clearance.

• Option
  - Electrical Engineering / Applied Physics: Background in electrical engineering, applied physics, or a closely related field; experience with analog circuit design for electrometers and analytical instrumentation, electronic measurement systems, or related sensing technologies.
• Option
  - Ion Mobility Spectrometry / Mass Spectrometry / Electrical Engineering / Applied Physics: Background in electrical engineering, applied physics, chemical engineering or a closely related field; experience with ion mobility spectrometry, mass spectrometry, analytical instrumentation, electronic measurement systems, or related sensing technologies.
• Option
  - Mechanical Engineering / Portable Systems: Background in mechanical engineering or a closely related field; experience designing, building, integrating, or testing portable sensor systems, field‑able instruments, data‑collection systems, or other deployable hardware platforms.
• Option
  - Chemistry / Drug Analysis: Background in chemistry, analytical chemistry, chemical engineering, or a closely related field; experience performing chemical analysis relevant to drugs, hazardous compounds, trace analytes, complex mixtures, or related applications using laboratory or field‑portable analytical methods.
• Option
  - Computer Science / Hardware‑Software Integration: Background in computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, robotics, or a closely related field; experience developing software and integrating hardware/software systems for sensing, instrument control, automation, data acquisition, signal processing, or embedded/real‑time applications.
• Option
  - Sensor‑Adjacent / Related Technical
  
  Experience:
  
  Background in a relevant science or engineering discipline; experience in sensor development, sensor system integration, analytical instrumentation, embedded systems, microfabrication, field‑able hardware, signal processing, detection algorithms, chemometrics, or other technical areas closely related to portable sensing systems.
• Ability to work onsite up to 100% of the time.

The Biological and…