Assistant Research Scientist; PREP

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.

The position is for a graduate student‑level researcher or recent PhD graduate experienced in and interested in applied data science to work jointly with mathematicians and experimentalists at NIST to study forensic chemometrics and uncertainty quantification in identification and classification in mass spectrometry. A goal of this work is to develop improved classification and identification algorithms in analytical chemistry and incorporate uncertainty quantification into models to provide useful information.

The position is highly interdisciplinary, requiring regular communication between mathematicians working on modelling these devices and experimentalists taking measurements and producing data.

• Implementing optimized calculations to study AI classification algorithms.
• Assessing uncertainty in classification of experimental data.
• Computationally testing mathematical models relating uncertainty quantification.
• Significant software development (most likely Python).
• Disseminating results through posters and seminars at meetings and seminars.
• Ensuring that all results, findings, data, software, etc., have been correctly archived and transmitted through appropriate channels.

• Either a completed master’s degree or PhD in data science or a related field.
• Minimum of one year of experience conducting data science research.
• Significant coursework in mathematics, statistics, and/or computer science.
• Knowledge of or interest in acquiring knowledge of chemistry and chemometrics methods.
• Familiarity with larger computational and AI/ML software packages.
• Ability to program in a modern computational language (e.g., Python).

• Submit a CV/Resume (maximum 3 pages; include a valid email address).
• Do not include self‑portraits, phone number, home address or country, citizenship status, languages spoken, or sex/gender.
• Apply online at

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. The university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits, and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance, and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.

Selected candidates will be subject to a pre‑employment background check including education verification.