Postdoctoral Appointee - Portable Chemical Sensing Systems, Onsite​/Hybrid

Postdoctoral Appointee – Portable Chemical Sensing Systems, Onsite/Hybrid

Sandia National Laboratories is seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to join our Biological and Chemical Sensors Department in Albuquerque, NM. The annual salary is $98,500. The position is based onsite, with a combination of onsite and remote work, and requires the applicant to be able to work onsite up to 100% of the time.

• Develop and mature prototype portable sensing systems for detection of hazardous compounds and drugs of abuse.
• Design, build, integrate, and test hardware and subsystems for field‑deployable analytical instruments.
• 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.
• Contribute to instrument control, data acquisition, algorithm development, or hardware/software integration.
• 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 multidisciplinary team members to transition sensing technologies from laboratory prototypes toward deployable systems.

• PhD in Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or other relevant field; the degree must have been conferred within five years of employment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, evidenced by publications in peer‑reviewed journals and/or conference presentations.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L‑level security clearance.

• Background in Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, or related field with experience in analog circuit design for analytical instrumentation.
• Experience with ion mobility spectrometry, mass spectrometry, or analytical instrumentation.
• Background in Mechanical Engineering with experience in designing, building, or testing portable sensor systems.
• Experience in chemistry, chemical analysis of drugs or hazardous compounds using laboratory or field‑portable methods.
• Background in Computer Science or related field with experience in software/hardware integration for sensing applications.
• Experience in sensor‑adjacent areas such as microfabrication, embedded systems, signal processing, detection algorithms, or chemometrics.

• The applicant must be able to work onsite up to 100% of the time.
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens to obtain a DOE L‑level security clearance.

Applicants must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE L‑level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. Standard background checks and drug screening are required for all positions.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.