Postdoctoral Associate

Job Summary

The Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) encourages applications for a Postdoctoral Associate!

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

Conduct research on ultrastable lasers and their application to optical atomic clocks, environmental sensing, and low-noise microwave generation via optical frequency division.

The University of Colorado Boulder is committed to building a culturally diverse community of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to contributing to an inclusive campus environment. We are an Equal Opportunity employer, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

PREP is a special partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. PREP provides research opportunities to CU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers with a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in NIST labs to gain research experience alongside NIST scientists.

The particular group that needs a researcher is the Precision Photonic Synthesis Group under the Time and Frequency Division at NIST.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• This position involves designing and implementing novel ultrastable laser systems with compact and portable formfactors.
• This includes designing and constructing ultrastable optical frequency reference cavities, building and implementing the electro-optic and electronic frequency locking hardware, and measuring the stable laser’s performance in terms of frequency and timing noise and acceleration sensitivity.
• The work is expected to lead to results that the incumbent will present at professional conferences and fully describe in peer-reviewed publications.
• This position involves teamwork within a diverse scientific community, excellent oral communication, and the generation of written publications.

What You Should Know

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.

What We Can Offer

• The salary range for this full-time position is $69,000 - $76,000 annually.
• Onboarding/relocation assistance may be available, however, if within a 12-month period you exercise your right to willfully terminate your employment with the University of Colorado, you hereby agree to reimburse the department for your relocation expenses.

Benefits

The University of Colorado offers excellent benefits , including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO Pass. The University of Colorado Boulder is one of the largest employers in Boulder County and offers an inspiring higher education environment. Learn more about the University of Colorado Boulder .

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be groundbreaking. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• PhD in one of the following: physics, optical physics, or related field.

What We Would Like You to Have

• Experience with fiber optics, fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, phase-locked loops, electro-optics, phase noise metrology, and microwave photonics.
• Would prefer someone with experience with Pound-Drever-Hall locking; experience with finite element analysis software.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:

1. Resume/CV
2. Cover Letter

If you are selected as the finalist, your degree will be verified by the CU Boulder Campus Human Resources Department using an approved online vendor. However, if your degree was obtained outside of the United States, please submit a translated version as an Optional document.

During the application process, you will need to enter contact information for a reference. We will request the letter of recommendation immediately following your application.

Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email. For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Lisa Valencia

Posting Contact Email: recruitprep@colorado.edu