Jobs UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER

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Professional Research Assistant

Requisition Number:

64596

Location:

Boulder, Colorado

City

Boulder

State

Colorado

Employment Type:

Research Faculty

Schedule:

Full-Time

Posting Close Date:

20-Jun-2025

Date Posted:

10-Jun-2025
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Job Summary

This position entails making high speed electronic and optical measurements of the Heisenberg exchange parameter on state of the art samples and devices from industrial collaborators.  The successful applicant will work closely with collaborators to analyze these results and use the results to develop better predictive models of device performance.  In addition, the position will involve fabrication of metrological structures using magnetic thin-film deposition tools and photo- and electron-beam lithography to develop metrology for high-speed real-time measurements of high-impedance devices.  In these projects the PREP participant will work closely with NIST staff, but the PREP participant must be self-motivated in designing and executing measurements, developing robust data analysis methods with proper statistical validation, and reporting these results to the group and via publication.
 
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.
CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected 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 Spin Electronics Group under the Applied Physics Division at NIST.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

  • Using optical measurement systems based on inelastic light scattering. 
  • Developing high speed electronic (microwave) measurements, including pulsed, harmonic, sampled and real-time measurement methods using microwave sources, arbitrary waveform generators, and oscilloscopes.  
  • Analyze heterogeneous data sources including optical spectra, read- and write- error rate data streams, real-time and sampled high speed electronic traces.
  • Fabricating magnetoelectronic devices using optical and electron beam lithography, reactive and physical ion etching methods.
  • 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.

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 of 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 $62,000 - $100,000 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 expense.

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 pioneering. Be Boulder.

What We Require

  • A Master’s degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.

What We Would Like You to Have

  • Experience with the design and fabrication of magnetic nanostructures including magnetron sputtering and e-beam evaporative deposition or molecular beam epitaxy, electron-beam and photo-lithography.
  • Experience with characterization tools including vibrating sample magnetometry, MOKE, x-ray reflectometry, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, atomic force and scanning electron microscopy.
  • Experience with simulation tools including MuMAX, COMSOL, OOMMF.
  • Experience developing novel data acquisition platforms to acquire DC and RF data at scale. 
  • Familiarity with coding languages including Python, Matlab, Verilog.

Special Instructions

To apply, please submit the following materials:
  1. Resume/CV
  2. Cover Letter
(Optional) Transcripts/Proof of Degree: 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 an English-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 June 20, 2025.
 
Note: Application materials will not be accepted via email.  For consideration, applications must be submitted through CU Boulder Jobs.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.

Posting Contact Information

Posting Contact Name: Lisa Valencia

Posting Contact Email: recruitprep@colorado.edu