Postdoctoral researcher—Thin film photoabsorber development

Posting Title

Postdoctoral researcher—Thin film photoabsorber development

CO - Golden

Postdoc (Fixed Term)

40

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 Materials Discovery and Design team in the Materials Science center has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher to work on the development of inorganic polycrystalline thin film photoabsorber materials. This experimental position would involve synthesis, characterization, and processing of chalcogenide (selenide, telluride) and pnictide (nitride, phosphide) thin film semiconductor materials for applications as light absorbers and photoelectrodes in photoelectrochemical fuel production.

This role will involve thin film deposition, with a focus on multilayer device stack fabrication, and characterization of semiconductor structure and properties, with a focus on measurements of photoexcited carrier dynamics and charge transport. Job duties will also include setting up and maintaining existing experimental equipment, and improving/developing data collection and analysis software.

This research will take place within a multi-disciplinary team, where the successful candidate will not only develop their own work for publication but also collaborate closely with others to provide material and publish work beyond synthesis or device fabrication. As such, established track record in scientific writing, presentation, publication, and communication is required for this position. In addition, a successful candidate will be expected to have strong self-motivation, ability to work on collaborative projects and to balance different types of tasks and deadlines.

The initial appointment is for 1 year with possible extension of up to 3 years total provided mutual satisfaction and availability of funds.

Please include a cover letter describing how you meet Additional Required Qualifications and Preferred Qualifications (see below) in order to complete your application.

• Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.
• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

• Hands‑on experience with thin film vacuum deposition tools, such as reactive sputtering, co‑evaporation, or molecular beam epitaxy.
• Background developing and optimizing polycrystalline photoabsorber materials and interfacial/contact layers, including device level work.
• Working knowledge of photoexcited carrier dynamics measurement methods, such as time‑resolved photoluminescence, transient absorption spectroscopy, etc.
• Experience in fabrication and characterization of semiconductor junctions for optoelectronic applications.

Note:

We encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to apply, even if they don't meet 100% of the position requirements. We seek dedicated people who believe they have the credentials, skills, and ambition to succeed at NREL to apply for this role.

• Proven ability to maintain complex synthesis and characterization equipment, in particular high vacuum instruments using hazardous production materials.
• Expertise in novel chemical spaces with under explored materials compositions (ternary or…