Postdoctoral Appointee - Portable Sensing Systems, Hybrid

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
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• 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*

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* These benefits vary by job classification.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to support the development of next‑generation portable chemical sensing systems for national security applications. Because this work spans hardware, analytical chemistry, data analysis, embedded systems, and fieldable instrument development, we welcome applicants from multiple technical backgrounds. We are especially interested in applicants from electrical engineering and applied physics backgrounds, with expertise in designing, developing, and testing of ion mobility spectrometers, mass spectrometers, or any sensor based detector.

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

• Develop and mature prototype portable sensing systems for detection of hazardous compounds, drugs of abuse, or related analytes.
• Design, build, integrate, and test hardware and subsystems for field‑deployable analytical instruments.
• Contribute to instrument control, data acquisition, algorithm development, or hardware/software integration.
• Conduct laboratory characterization studies to evaluate detection performance, selectivity, sensitivity, analysis time, interferent response, and operational utility.
• Develop or improve sampling methods, thermal interfaces, analytical workflows, or signal‑processing methods for portable detection platforms.
• Perform experiments using laboratory analytical chemistry equipment to guide system design and validate prototype performance.
• Support operational testing, user evaluation, and field demonstrations with government stakeholders.
• Collaborate with chemists, engineers, physicists, and computer scientists to transition sensing technologies from laboratory prototypes toward deployable systems.

The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite work. The selected applicant must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the assigned work location when necessary. This position is located in Albuquerque, NM, and the annual salary for this position is $100,500.

• PhD in Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or other relevant, related field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as evidenced by publication(s) in peer‑reviewed journals and/or presentation(s) at scientific conferences.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L-level security clearance.

• Background in electrical engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field.
• Experience with analog circuit design for electrometers and analytical instrumentation, electronic measurement systems, or related sensing technologies.
• Experience with ion mobility spectrometry, mass…