Senior researcher
As part of its efforts to meet the needs of U.S. manufacturers in advanced manufacturing, the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an open-architecture Additive
Manufacturing (AM) platform. This platform consists of open-architecture AM testbeds, including the
Additive Manufacturing Metrology Testbed (AMMT) and the Laser Processing and Metrology Testbed
(LPDT), as well as an open-architecture AM processing software utility known as Smart Additive
Manufacturing (SAM). AMMT is a full-scale AM machine equipped with dual lasers and the capability to
emulate most commercial laser powder bed fusion machines while building industrial-scale parts. It is
powered by open-architecture pointwise control technology and supports closed-loop control based on in-
situ measurements of melt pool area using field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based cameras and
layer-wise surface profile measured by a laser profiler. LPDT is a portable testbed that can be installed
and operated under high-energy synchrotron X-ray measurements to observe internal process phenomena,
using the same control architecture as AMMT, and complements the AM process measurements
conducted on AMMT. The SAM utility converts computer-aided design (CAD) designs into scan
commands with maximum flexibility, compatible with both Common Layer Interface (CLI) and G-code
and provides full transparency through intermediate output files including sliced layers, G-code, and
pointwise commands, enabling unambiguous execution on open-architecture AM testbeds. Together, this
platform enables research that advances additive manufacturing from a geometry-focused paradigm to a
material-focused and process-aware framework. The Research Associate will assist NIST engineers in
developing and improving this platform, including new mechanical, electrical, and optical hardware and
control software for the AM testbeds, enhancing the SAM software utilities, supporting experiment
planning and execution at NIST and external synchrotron X-ray facilities, and contributing to data
processing, analysis, and dissemination efforts that support the NIST open-architecture AM platform.
Open-Architecture Additive Manufacturing Platform Development
- PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering, Information Science, or a closely related field.
- Eight or more years of relevant research experience in additive manufacturing or closely related
advanced manufacturing systems. - Demonstrated expertise in laser-based metal additive manufacturing processes.
- Extensive experience with in-situ measurements and process monitoring applied to advanced
manufacturing processes. Experience with high-speed visible and thermographic imaging techniques
preferred. - Strong background and demonstrated experience working with and developing applied machine
learning and deep learning algorithms, with experience in machine vision and image processing
applications preferred. - Experience with AM system control frameworks and familiarity with industry AM communication
protocols. - Experience with FPGA-based sensing systems, including familiarity with FPGA architectures and at
least one FPGA programming or integration workflow. - Demonstrated professional service and leadership experience, including organizing workshops,
seminars, conferences, or hackathon-style technical events. - Strong oral and written communication skills, supported by a record of peer-reviewed publications
and presentations to technical and multidisciplinary audiences. - U.S. Citizen preferred.
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Analyzing, pre-processing, and formatting data generated from NIST AM testbeds, and comparing
these data with datasets acquired from other NIST systems and external collaborators. - Developing methods to fuse multi-modality data from AM process monitoring for process anomaly
detection and quality assessment. - Presenting research results at internal and external meetings and assisting in organizing workshops to
disseminate NIST open-architecture AM platforms. - Providing assistance with CAD, digital signal processing hardware and algorithms, and prototyping
of new measurement systems on the AM testbeds. - Assisting in deploying real-time feedback control capabilities on AMMT and LPDT as a retrofit
solution for existing AM systems. - Providing technical support for the planning, execution, and data collection phases of
experiments conducted on the AMMT at NIST. - Providing end-to-end support for synchrotron-based research, from the logistics of LPDT
transport and setup at external facilities to the post-experimental analysis of complex X-ray
diffraction data