Graduate Intern – Focused Ion Beam, Electron Microscopy, and Autonomous Characterization

Graduate Intern – Focused Ion Beam, Electron Microscopy, and Autonomous Characterization

Location:

CO – Golden

Position Type:
Intern (Fixed Term)

Hours Per Week: 40

Working at NLR

NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado and is the nation’s primary laboratory for energy systems research and development. Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world‑class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future.

Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost‑effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth. At NLR, you’ll find a mission‑driven environment supported by state‑of‑the‑art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories.

We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well‑being.

The MICRO Research Group at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) has an opening for a B.S. – graduate intern to support cutting‑edge work in focused ion beam (FIB) and plasma FIB (PFIB) instrumentation, with particular emphasis on our one‑of‑a‑kind autonomous laser‑integrated PFIB platform. This instrument represents a unique national capability – combining laser‑assisted sample preparation with AI‑driven automation in a configuration unavailable elsewhere in the U.S. research community.

The intern will contribute to both the operation and advancement of this platform, assisting with instrument maintenance, calibration, and scripting workflows that extend its autonomous capabilities. Work will draw on principles from materials science, physics, and chemistry to support a range of characterization and sample preparation tasks – including time‑sensitive customer assignments requiring clear documentation and short‑turnaround reporting.

Working alongside staff scientists and engineers in a multidisciplinary national laboratory environment, the intern will develop and validate computer vision pipelines – including semantic segmentation models – for automated site identification, sample quality assessment, and adaptive ion beam milling strategies. Integration of foundation models and large language models (LLMs) to interpret instrument feedback and guide autonomous decision‑making is an area of active development and a valued area of expertise.

• Assist with maintenance, calibration, and performance validation of FIB, PFIB, and laser PFIB instruments, following established procedures and safety protocols.
• Develop and test Python‑based instrument scripting and automation routines for ion beam control, image acquisition, and adaptive workflow execution.
• Build and validate computer vision pipelines – including semantic segmentation models – for real‑time site identification, feature detection, and sample quality assessment during FIB/PFIB operations.
• Support time‑sensitive customer characterization assignments, including sample preparation, data collection, and preparation of concise technical reports on short turnaround.
• Explore integration of foundation models and large language models (LLMs) for natural language instrument interfacing, automated reporting, and AI‑guided experimental decision‑making.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary staff across materials science, physics, chemistry, and engineering; document methods and contribute to internal reports and peer‑reviewed publications as appropriate.

• Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
• Undergraduate:
  Must be enrolled as a full‑time student in a bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Post Undergraduate:
  Earned a bachelor’s degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an…