Cambridge, Massachusetts
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Posted: 20-Mar-26
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Type: Full-time
Salary: 85,000.00 - 89,000.00
Categories:
Internal Number: A-183546-26
General Description
PREP Research Associate
This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may want to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest and, therefore, requires those institutions to be recipients of a PREP award. The PREP program involves staff from a wide range of backgrounds conducting scientific research across various fields. Individuals in this position will perform technical work supporting the collaboration's scientific research.
Research Title:
Nanofabrication and metrology specialist
The work will entail:
This work aims to develop processes for fabricating novel materials and structures, with the goal of characterizing and analyzing the fundamental physics of these systems. For more information about the group, see: https://www.nist.gov/pml/nanoscale-device-characterization-division/nanoscale-processes-and-measurements-group/scanning.
U.S. Citizen Preferred
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
§ Designing and fabricating van der Waals heterostructure devices, including rhombohedral graphene and twisted graphene multilayers, for investigation with scanning probe microscopy.
§ Fabrication of superlattices in 2d materials via e-beam lithography.
§ Perform measurements with scanning probe microscopy techniques.
§ Presenting results at internal meetings, and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.
§ Ensuring that results, protocols, software, and documentation have been archived or otherwise transmitted to the larger organization.
Qualifications
§ A PhD degree in experimental condensed matter physics.
§ Five years of experience in fabricating nanoscale patterns at complex oxide interfaces using conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM) and ultra-low voltage electron beam lithography (ULV-EBL).
§ Three years of experience in nanoscale patterning of ferroelectric materials, using ultra-low voltage electron beam lithography.
§ Five years of experience in cleanroom-based nanofabrication of nanoelectronics and quantum devices, including layout design, fume hood, resist-based lithography (photolithography and electron-beam lithography), thin-film deposition and etching.
§ Three years of experience in fabricating two-dimensional layered material devices, including graphene and hexagonal boron nitride heterostructures stacking and transferring.
§ Five years of experience in electrical transport measurements at ultra-low temperatures.
§ Five years of experience in radio frequency (RF) measurements at ultra-low temperatures.
§ Five years of experience in the maintenance and operation of a dilution refrigerator.
§ Five years of experience in handling cryogens, including liquid helium transfer.
§ Experience in operating a multi-modal measurements scanning probe system, including STM, AFM, and electrical transport measurements in a single system operating at ultra-low temperatures and in ultra-high vacuum.
§ Experience in the preparation of atomically sharp probe tips for STM and AFM measurements.
§ Experience with ultra-high vacuum (UHV) techniques, including assembly, types of UHV pumps, in-situ ion sputtering, and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements.
§ Experience in dilute atom evaporation in UHV for SPM experiments on single isolated deposited atoms.
§ Five years of experience in research of complex oxide physics, including in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 (LAO/STO) heterostructures, with a least three peer-reviewed publications.
§ Three years of experience in research of 2D quantum materials, including graphene-based heterostructures and related van der Waals materials.
§ Research experience in superconducting materials.
§ Research experience with SPM probe-based superconducting Josephson junctions.
§ Five years of experience in developing and programming LabVIEW VIs for electrical transport measurements and spectroscopic mapping of STM and AFM measurements on the Nanonis SPM control system platform.
§ Five years of experience in developing and programming LabVIEW Vis for general instrument control and transport measurements.
Application Instructions
Please upload the following with your application:
- CV/Resume
*Please limit C.V to 3 pages only and ONLY include a valid email address for your contact info. Your resume will not be considered if the following information is included on your CV/resume.
- Self portraits
- Phone number
- Home address/Country
- Citizenship status
- Languages spoken
- Sex/Gender
-
Privacy Act Statement
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c) Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor's degree holders, graduate students, master's degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.
PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.
Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.
Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.
Salary Range
The referenced salary range represents the minimum and maximum salaries for this position and is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Not all candidates will be eligible for the upper end of the salary range. The actual compensation offered to the selected candidate may vary and will ultimately depend on multiple factors, which may include the successful candidate's geographic location, skills, work experience, internal equity, market conditions, education/training and other factors, as reasonably determined by the University.
Total Rewards
Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/.
Equal Opportunity Employer
The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.
Pre-Employment Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the HR Business Services Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu.
Background Checks
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check including education verification.
EEO is the Law:
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf
Vaccine Requirements
Johns Hopkins University strongly encourages, but no longer requires, at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine does not apply to positions located in the State of Florida. We still require all faculty, staff, and students to receive the seasonal flu vaccine. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. This change does not apply to the School of Medicine (SOM). SOM hires must be fully vaccinated with an FDA COVID-19 vaccination and provide proof of vaccination status. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.
The following additional vaccine requirements may apply, depending upon your campus. Please contact the hiring department for more information. The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.
