Postdoctoral Appointee - Photonic Integrated Systems, Onsite

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

+ Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide

+ Extraordinary co-workers

+ Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world

+ Career advancement and enrichment opportunities

+ Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

+ Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance
* World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..gov

* These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking a postdoctoral researcher to advance automated test and characterization capabilities for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) designed for quantum systems and photonic sensors. This role will focus on the development of software, instrumentation interfaces, and experimental workflows for an automated probe station used to evaluate integrated photonic devices.

The successful candidate will design and implement code for hardware control, measurement automation, data acquisition, and analysis. In addition, this position will emphasize the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches into the testing workflow, with the goal of enabling adaptive, agentic measurement protocols that can make informed decisions during device characterization, optimize test execution, and improve throughput and insight generation.

Research activities may also include device design and modeling, mask layout, characterization, and development of new photonic-based architectures. In this role, you will have the opportunity to lead research efforts and publications while working closely with a multidisciplinary team of physicists, materials scientists, and engineers.

On any given day, you may be called upon to:

+ Design and implement code for autoprober hardware control

+ Develop and implement agentic measurement protocols on the autoprober

+ Run the automated probe station and analyze results

+ Design photonic integrated circuits and oversee related fabrication

+ Characterize photonic integrated circuits in our piezo-optomechanical platform

+ Communicate research results through publications and conferences

+ Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, including experimentalists and theorists

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.  Relocation will be provided for those that qualify.

Qualifications We Require:

+  PhD, conferred within 5 years prior to employment in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, or related discipline

+ Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L clearance

Qualifications We Desire:

+ A record of technical achievement, as evidenced by first-author publications in scientific journals.

About Our Team:

The III-V Optoelectronics Department develops compound semiconductor and RF devices, photonics, and microsystems for national security applications including high-performance computing, communications, renewable energy, sensing and imaging. As part of Sandia's Microsystems Science, Technology and Components Center, we research, design, fabricate, prototype, test and deliver novel RF and photonics devices, including lasers, photonic integrated circuits, and sensors. We focus on R&D of high performance technology platforms and customized microsystems.

We leverage state-of-the-art materials and fabrication capabilities within the Microsystems Engineering Sciences and Applications (MESA) cleanroom complex to serve a broad mix of internal and external customers. Core capabilities include:

Optical, optoelectronic and electronic…