Postdoctoral researcher
The Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking immediate applicants for a postdoctoral role focusing on the experimental aspects of high-speed X-ray diffraction in metal additive manufacturing (AM). This position is funded for two years. This postdoc will be part of a broader NIST research team developing a new high-speed X-ray metrology platform. The postdoc will contribute to experimental design, instrumentation, and real-time diffraction analysis to enable high-speed structural metrology for AM.
The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a new metrology capable of conducting in-situ synchrotron diffraction experiments at a target rate of 1 kHz to capture phase transformations and microstructural evolution during AM build in real time. The postdoc will play a key role in developing, optimizing, and automating experimental workflows, including the integration of hardware and diffraction analysis pipelines. The project will require working with Directed Energy Deposition (DED) additive manufacturing, synchrotron beamlines, and real-time data acquisition systems.
This research is expected to be conducted through extensive internal and external collaborations, providing access to a full range of state-of-the-art experimental and computational resources. The results will have broad implications for accelerating AM adoption across industries and advancing NIST’s mission in measurement science.
High-Speed X-Ray Diffraction in Metal Additive Manufacturing
Suitable candidates must have:
- Ph.D. in Materials Science, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- Hands-on experience with synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments and data analysis.
- Experience with instrumentation, experimental automation, and hardware control in scientific research.
The ideal postdoctoral candidate will have the following skills, experience, and/or qualifications:
- Experience in additive manufacturing, preferably DED.
- Strong experimental troubleshooting and hands-on instrumentation development skills.
- Strong interest in autonomous metrology and machine-learning-enhanced measurement systems.
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills for interdisciplinary collaboration.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Supporting the design and implementation of the instrumentation and hardware control systems for autonomous X-ray diffraction experiments.
- Coordinating with national lab partners at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, to deploy and optimize experimental setups.
- Developing and executing synchrotron XRD experiments for in-situ structural analysis of additively manufactured metal alloys.
- Assisting in the integration of experimental workflows with predictive modeling tools to guide real-time decision-making in AM.
- Disseminating research findings through publications, conference presentations, and technical reports.