Postdoctoral Appointee

About the Role

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to support the development of next-generation portable chemical sensing systems for national security applications. This role spans hardware, analytical chemistry, data analysis, embedded systems, and fieldable instrument development, welcoming applicants from multiple technical backgrounds.

This position is located in Albuquerque, NM.

The annual salary for this position is $100,500.

This is a temporary position for up to one year, renewable at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years.

The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and mature prototype portable sensing systems for detection of hazardous compounds, drugs of abuse, or related analytes.
• Design, build, integrate, and test hardware and subsystems for field-deployable analytical instruments.
• Contribute to instrument control, data acquisition, algorithm development, or hardware/software integration.
• Conduct laboratory characterization studies to evaluate detection performance, selectivity, sensitivity, analysis time, interferent response, and operational utility.
• Develop or improve sampling methods, thermal interfaces, analytical workflows, or signal-processing methods for portable detection platforms.
• Perform experiments using laboratory analytical chemistry equipment to guide system design and validate prototype performance.
• Support operational testing, user evaluation, and field demonstrations with government stakeholders.
• Collaborate with chemists, engineers, physicists, and computer scientists to transition sensing technologies from laboratory prototypes toward deployable systems.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• PhD in Physical Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering, or other relevant, related field.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, as evidenced by publication(s) in peer-reviewed journals and/or presentation(s) at scientific conferences.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L-level security clearance (requires U.S. citizenship).

Qualifications We Desire

• Background in electrical engineering, applied physics, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field.
• Experience with analog circuit design for electrometers and analytical instrumentation, electronic measurement systems, or related sensing technologies.
• Experience with ion mobility spectrometry, mass spectrometry, analytical instrumentation, electronic measurement systems, or related sensing technologies.
• Experience designing, building, integrating, or testing portable sensor systems, fieldable instruments, data-collection systems, or other deployable hardware platforms.

The selected applicant can work a combination of onsite and offsite work and must live within a reasonable distance for commuting to the assigned work location when necessary.