Core4ce is seeking a qualified Optical Coatings Research Scientist to carry out R&D at the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate (RX) at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) located within Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. This research position resides within the Optical Coatings group of the Photonic Materials Branch (RXEP). At the broadest level, optical coatings research within AFRL/RXEP plans, directs, and carries out in-house and extramural R&D of materials-based technologies with an emphasis in functional optical coating applications.

Responsibilities

• Focus on the development, fabrication, and comprehensive characterization of advanced thin film optical coatings.
• Conduct experimental fabrication and characterization of emergent optical coating technologies in conjunction with existing in-house capabilities.
• Hands-on experience involving physical vapor deposition methodologies is mandatory.
• Exceptional teamwork and communication skills.

Requirements 

• PhD in Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science & Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or closely related science, engineering, or mathematics field.
• PhD entry level or 0-3 years of professional research experience post PhD.
• Excellent technical communication skills as demonstrated by research conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.
• Ability to be self-motivated, work independently, and seamlessly engage in proficient collaborative teamwork dynamics.
• Experience with physical vapor deposition such as magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, e-beam evaporation, or thermal evaporation.
• Experience with experimental optical characterization of thin films or metasurfaces (e.g., UV/Vis/NIR and FTIR spectrophotometry, polarization-dependent spectrophotometry, spectroscopic ellipsometry, etc.).
• Experience with compositional, morphological, or topological experimental characterization of thin films or metasurfaces (e.g., XPS, XRD, XRR, AFM, SEM, TEM, etc.).
• Must be able to work in a laboratory environment and lift or carry up to 25 lbs.
• Ability to obtain and maintain an Active Security Clearance (U.S. citizenship required)

Preferred

• Experience with temperature-dependent characterization of thin film materials.
• Experience with magnetron sputtering techniques including DCMS, PDCMS, HiPIMS, and reactive ion sputtering methods thereof.
• Experience with LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python, or Mathematica and associated scripting languages.
• Experience deducing structure-property-processing relationships of thin films and optical coating systems through systematic design of experiments.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or other legally protected status.