Autonomous Spectromicroscopy Software Postdoc

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Berkeley (CA); On-site; USD 99,000 - 111,000; Full time

Job summary

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source seeks a Scientific Software Postdoc for Autonomous Spectromicroscopy to develop ML-based real-time data analysis and an agentic AI component to automate beamline control. The role involves collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to validate methods on spectromicroscopy data and contribute to software outputs for autonomous experimentation.

The successful candidate will publish results, present at conferences, and contribute to

Qualifications

• PhD required in a physical sciences or engineering field with strong software/ML background.
• Experience in scientific software development or research software engineering.
• Knowledge of machine learning principles and practices.
• Familiarity with agentic AI systems and concepts.
• Ability to collaborate with a diverse team of scientists and engineers.
• Demonstrated record of publications, talks, or software deliverables.

Responsibilities

• Develop ML methods for real-time analysis of spectromicroscopy data at an ALS beamline.
• Create/extend an agentic AI component to interpret multimodal inputs and formulate instrument commands.
• Integrate AI-driven analysis with beamline control and validate performance across scenarios.
• Contribute to experimental planning, commissioning, and data-quality assessment for automation capabilities.
• Apply human-in-the-loop, validation, and fail-safe approaches in AI-enabled workflows.
• Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and external collaborators; contribute to open source software.
• Present findings at scientific meetings and publish in peer-reviewed journals.

Skills

Scientific software development

Machine learning

Agentic AI concepts

Collaborative work

Publications/presentations

CI / testing practices

Education

PhD in Physical Sciences, Materials Science, Applied Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science

Tools

Python

SciPy stack

Job description

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source seeks a Scientific Software Postdoc for Autonomous Spectromicroscopy to develop ML-based real-time data analysis and an agentic AI component to automate beamline control. The role involves collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to validate methods on spectromicroscopy data and contribute to software outputs for autonomous experimentation.

The successful candidate will publish results, present at conferences, and contribute to