Associate Research Scientist; PREP

General Description

PREP Research Associate, CHIPS Funded Project. This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program and involves collaboration with academic institutions to support scientific research.

High‑speed metrology for magneto electronic devices and models:
Research Associate

This short‑term (maximum 12 months) in‑person position in Boulder, CO, focuses on developing optical methods for measuring the Heisenberg exchange parameter in thin films relevant to magnetic random‑access memory (MRAM) and on designing electrical methods to estimate the attempt time of MRAM bit cells. The associate will design, execute, and analyze measurements, develop robust data‑analysis protocols with proper statistical validation, and report results to the group and via publication.

U.S. Citizen Preferred

• Design, build, maintain, and use optical measurement systems based on inelastic light scattering.
• Develop high‑speed electronic (microwave) measurements, including pulsed, harmonic, sampled and real‑time methods using microwave sources, arbitrary waveform generators, and oscilloscopes.
• Analyze heterogeneous data sources, including optical spectra, read‑ and write‑error rate data streams, and real‑time and sampled high‑speed electronic traces.
• Analyze temperature‑dependent magnetization data using advanced atomistic fitting models.
• Fabricate magneto electronic devices using optical and electron‑beam lithography, reactive, and physical ion‑etching methods.
• Present results at internal meetings and at occasional external stakeholder meetings.
• Ensure results, protocols, software, and documentation are archived or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization.

• A Ph.D. in Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field; several years of post‑degree experience in relevant areas preferred.
• Experience with the design and fabrication of magnetic nanostructures, including magnetron sputtering, e‑beam evaporation or molecular beam epitaxy, and electron‑beam and photo‑lithography.
• Experience with characterization tools such as SQUID, ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy, MOKE, X‑ray reflectometry, and secondary‑ion mass spectrometry.
• Demonstrated experience with micromagnetic simulation tools including MuMAX.
• Demonstrated experience in temperature‑dependent magnetic simulations, particularly atomistic simulations of magnetization temperature dependence.
• Experience developing novel data‑acquisition platforms for large‑scale DC and RF data collection.
• Familiarity with scripting languages such as Python and their implementation on GPU clusters for data analysis.
• Ability to develop tools for analyzing large datasets using Python, MATLAB, or similar programming environments.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Track record of publishing in peer‑reviewed scientific journals.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is an equal‑opportunity employer. We do 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 characteristics. Qualified individuals receive equal access to all employment programs, benefits, and opportunities that are based on demonstrated ability, performance, and merit, without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the job.