Chemical Physicist - Interfacial Spectroscopy (Project Hire)

Company: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Location: Washington
Posted on: March 5, 2025

Job Description:

OverviewThe Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate (PCSD) researchers lead major R&D efforts in experimental and theoretical interfacial chemistry, chemical analysis, high energy physics, interfacial catalysis, multifunctional materials, and integrated high-performance and data-intensive computing.PCSD is PNNL's primary steward for research supported by the Department of Energy's Offices of Basic Energy Sciences, Advanced Scientific Computing Research, and Nuclear Physics, all within the Department of Energy's Office of Science.Additionally, Directorate staff perform research and development for private industry and other government agencies, such as the Department of Defense and NASA. The Directorate's researchers are members of interdisciplinary teams tackling challenges of national importance that cut across all missions of the Department of Energy.This is a temporary position working 30 hours per week with an end date of September 30, 2025.ResponsibilitiesWork in the Physical Sciences Division emphasizes basic research at the boundary of chemistry and physics, pursuing a molecular-level understanding of chemical, physical, and electron- and photon-driven processes in liquids and at interfaces. Our scientific goals are to extend the experimental characterization and description of chemical reactions to encompass the effects of condensed media and interfaces, develop a multidisciplinary capability for describing condensed phase and interfacial chemical processes relevant to improved energy technologies, and to create state-of-the-art research and analytical methods for characterizing complex materials. Much of our research involves detailed studies of reaction mechanisms in liquids and at liquid interfaces, of high-energy processes at interfaces, of models of the condensed phase, and of cluster spectroscopy and dynamics.We are seeking a Chemical Physicist to contribute to PNNL's goals in several research areas including contributing to the science goals of our experimental Condensed Phase and Interfacial Molecular Science program and providing technical expertise and guidance to the development of novel near-field multimodal (non)linear optical instrumentation for the analysis of biomolecules in microbial systems.QualificationsMinimum Qualifications:

• BS/BA and 9+ years of relevant work experience -OR-
• MS/MA and 7+ years of relevant work experience -OR-
• PhD with 5+ year of relevant experiencePreferred Qualifications:
  • Degree in Chemical Physics, Physical Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Materials Sciences or a related field.
  • Develop and conduct independent research and collaborate with other team members.
  • Experience in writing and leading research proposals.
  • Experience supervising and mentoring graduate students, postdocs, or junior scientists.
  • Demonstrated expertise in the development and application of experimental approaches to understand the fundamentals of the condensed phase and/or interfaces.
  • Expertise with nano-spectroscopy, microscopy, and atomic force characterization instrumentation, techniques, and methods.
  • Expertise in instrument development and building optical systems/assembling optical components.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
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Keywords: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington DC , Chemical Physicist - Interfacial Spectroscopy (Project Hire), Other , Washington, DC