Position Overview:SSRL is seeking an outstanding Staff Engineer to join a dynamic scientific research environment in the hard x-ray group of the Materials Science Division. The primary responsibility of this position is to provide engineering support to the hard x-ray group, including assisting scientists with instrument development on the end stations and working with scientists and users to develop new sample environments, such as rapid heating/cooling, strain or high-pressure cells, chemical and electrochemical environments, or laser excitation setups. The successful candidate will independently lead engineering projects from concept through deployment, contribute to the development of new experimental capabilities, and serve as a key technical resource for beamline operations and upgrades.
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), a SLAC Directorate at Stanford University, is a national scientific user facility providing synchrotron radiation for research in biology, chemistry, engineering, environmental science, material science, medicine, and physics. SSRL operates and maintains the 3 GeV electron storage ring SPEAR3, the associated injector facility, and synchrotron radiation beam lines on SPEAR3.
Your specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:- Design and develop in-situ/operando experimental hardware and technical capabilities for advanced synchrotron experiments.
- Identify, scope, lead and execute projects that expand experimental capabilities, improve system reliability, and streamline beamline operations.
- Design, prototype, commission, and maintain beamline hardware, and provide high-quality technical support for scientific operations.
- Provide technical leadership for major engineering projects, coordinating efforts across scientific, engineering, and technical teams.
- Develop engineering requirements, project plans, schedules, and resource estimates for new instrumentation and facility upgrades.
- Contribute engineering input to the beam time scheduling by aligning instrument readiness, maintenance needs, and experimental requirements.
- Align x-ray optics, diagnose beam quality issues, and resolve system-level performance problems.
- Mentor junior engineers, technicians, and students in engineering design, fabrication, integration, and troubleshooting activities.
- May serve as a beam line program manager (requires periodic on-call duties).
- Contribute to strategic planning and long-term development of beamline instrumentation and experimental capabilities.
- Other duties may also be assigned.
To be successful in this position you will bring:- Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, chemistry or related field and at least 4 years of relevant experience in a scientific, engineering, or technical environment, including:
- Hands-on experience with small/wide angle x-ray scattering, diffraction, reflectivity, or microscopy with synchrotron radiation instrumentation.
- Hands-on experience with in-situ/operando instrument design.
- Mechanical design and drawing creation using parametric CAD software such as SolidWorks or Solid Edge.
- Working knowledge of mechanical fabrication techniques, precision mechanism design, and kinematic design principles related to mechanical systems design.
- Strong hands-on skills in assembling complex mechanical systems and handling delicate instruments.
- Scientific programming experience, such as Python.
- Experience interfacing scientific instrumentation or industrial controls with Linux and Windows operating systems.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex engineering projects from concept through commissioning in a multidisciplinary environment.
- Demonstrated ability to translate concepts into practical designs, supported by strong analytical and problem-solving, and creative engineering judgment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong interpersonal and organizational skills.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of scientists, technical staff and user groups in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
- Ability to work in a team environment as well as independently.
- Ability to write clear technical documentation, engineering notes, and user manuals.
- Ability to evaluate and troubleshoot sophisticated electro-mechanical and logic control systems.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize multiple projects, balance competing operational demands, and deliver results with minimal supervision.
In addition, preferred qualifications include the following areas:- Knowledge of beamline control and data acquisition software such as EPICS, SPEC, or ICS.
- Experience tuning x-ray optics and opto-electro-mechanical systems.
- Experience with beamline optics simulation using ray-tracing software.
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