Technical Specialist: ATHENA NSF Programmable Cloud Lab - UTK

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, invites applications for a Technical Specialist to support research activities associated with the PCL ATHENA program. The position will provide advanced microscopy expertise, user support, instrumentation operation, scientific data analysis, and technical support for collaborative research and educational activities.

ATHENA is a newly funded $20 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Platform for Programmable Cloud Lab (PCL) headquartered at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) in collaboration with Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University and Pellissippi State Community College, with multiple academic, national laboratories, and industrial partners. ATHENA is one of NSF’s flagship national testbeds established to develop the next generation of autonomous laboratories, AI-driven scientific discovery, cloud-connected instrumentation, and cyber-physical infrastructure for materials research.

• Advanced Microscopy and User Support:
  Serve as a technical resource for ATHENA users by supporting experiment planning, user training, troubleshooting, and data acquisition using scanning probe microscopy (SPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
• Instrumentation Operations:
  Operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and support advanced microscopy instrumentation used in ongoing research and collaborative experimental workflows.
• Correlative and Multimodal Microscopy:
  Support experiments combining SPM, SEM, FIB, and STEM techniques
• Scientific Data Processing:
  Develop and implement data-processing and analysis workflows for complex and multidimensional microscopy datasets generated by SPM, SEM, FIB, and STEM measurements.
• Scientific Computing and Outreach Support:
  Develop and maintain computational and web-based resources supporting ATHENA research activities, microscopy hackathons, summer schools, workshops, and related scientific training and outreach programs.

• Bachelor's degree in materials science, physics, engineering, or a closely related field.
• Experience with scanning probe microscopy (SPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
• Experience operating, troubleshooting, or supporting advanced scientific instrumentation.
• Experience with scientific data processing and analysis.
• Ability to train and support users in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

• Advanced degree in materials science, physics, engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience with correlative or multimodal microscopy workflows.
• Experience with Python or related scientific programming tools.
• Experience developing microscopy data-analysis workflows, automation tools, or scientific web resources.

• Knoxville, TN
• Onsite

• UT market range: MR08
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

ATHENA is building a national platform that will transform materials research through AI, robotics, cloud-connected instrumentation, and autonomous experimentation. This position offers the opportunity to help lead one of the NSF’s premier national research infrastructure initiatives and work alongside world-leading researchers shaping the future of AI-enabled scientific discovery.

The Tickle College of Engineering (TCE) is in the midst of an unprecedented period of growth and success, including adding over 30 new faculty to the college as part of ambitious hiring campaigns led by Chancellor Donde Plowman and Dean Matthew Mench. The college has set records in research expenditures, enrollment, incoming student GPA, diversity, intellectual property development, and U.S. News & World Report rank in the past three years.

New facilities include the state-of-the-art Zeanah Engineering Complex, the University of Tennessee Manufacturing and Design Enterprise (TN-MADE) facility, and the Innovation South building now under construction that will house UTK’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility (FCMF).

TCE currently has 203…