Assistant Research Scientist; PREP

General Description

Salary: $55,000-$60,000 a year

Perception Performance of Robotic Systems

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 and thus requires that such institutions be the recipients 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 Intelligent Systems Division at NIST is investigating the performance of 3D machine vision systems for various manufacturing applications. The research will focus on conducting experiments and analyzing data to understand these systems' performance and support the development of standards for measuring their depth error and depth resolution, as well as for measuring the performance of robotic systems used for bin‑picking applications.

• Programming and maintaining robots (arms, mobile robots, exoskeletons, etc.)
• Operating and maintaining measurement equipment (e.g., laser trackers, laser scanners, oscilloscopes, etc.)
• Preparing and maintaining laboratories to support experiments.
• Conducting experiments in support of the development of standards.
• Assisting in recording and analyzing test data and preparing test reports.
• Performing simple preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, adjustment, and repairs of laboratory equipment.
• Keeping laboratories clean and organized.
• Assisting in performing market research for purchases required for the laboratories.
• Using CAD software to design parts, end‑of‑arm tooling, and fixtures.
• Working with NIST and/or external resources to have parts fabricated.
• Recording knowledge and best practices to help improve efficiency and productivity.
• Conducting tests in the laboratory as well as in the field.

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in physical sciences, engineering or related field (or a training certificate in robotics, engineering, or automation).
• Experience using gauge blocks and/or micrometers.
• A basic understanding of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T).
• Experience in using digital oscilloscopes, multimeters, and environmental monitoring instruments (thermometers, hygrometers, etc.).
• Experience with CAD software such as Solid Works.
• Experience in programming robots (using a teach pendant, hand guidance, and a command line interface).
• Experience using basic hand and power tools.
• Experience using fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printers.
• Experience in operating in laboratory environments in a safe manner.
• Be able to work without close supervision in a team environment.
• Experience using software tools such as Matlab, Python, Excel (or other) to analyze data.

• Experience in using dimensional measurement instruments (such as laser trackers, laser scanners, coordinate measurement machines, etc.).
• Experience in using Python, C++, C#, JAVA, etc. for programming/controlling robots.
• Experience in using the Robot Operating System (ROS) to program robots.
• Experience in using simulation software (e.g., MoveIT, RoboDK, etc.) to program robots.
• Experience with basic machine tools (e.g., drill press, band saw, lathe, etc.).
• Experience with programming and using CNC milling machines.

Please upload the following with your application:

• CV/Resume

Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and only include a valid email address for your contact info. Please do not include telephone numbers, home address or photos on your resume.