Lead Scientist - SSRL HAXPES Beamline

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s SSRL seeks a Lead Scientist to drive the design, construction, and commissioning of a state-of-the-art HAXPES/PEEM beamline. You will shape scientific programs and provide user support, while leading cross-disciplinary teams to deliver high-impact results.

Based in Menlo Park, you will oversee instrumentation development, collaborate with researchers and industry partners, and publish findings that advance microelectronics and related fields.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in physics, applied physics, materials science, or related discipline, with a minimum of 8 years of post-PhD research experience.
• Demonstrated research excellence in materials science.
• Extensive knowledge and hands-on experience with HAXPES and/or PEEM techniques.
• Demonstrated competence in developing, operating, and maintaining complex experimental systems at a synchrotron radiation facility.
• Experience with facility operations and user support.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Preferred: research experience in microelectronics or related fields.
• Technical expertise in synchrotron beamline or endstation development, including operando or in situ sample environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide scientific leadership for the conceptual design, technical development, construction, and commissioning of the HAXPES/PEEM beamline and associated endstation.
• Define and translate scientific requirements into technical specifications for beamline optics, monochromators, electron analyzer, and sample environments.
• Work closely with the project manager, engineers, technical staff, and scientists to develop robust, high-performance instrumentation.
• Oversee system integration, testing, commissioning, and performance optimization.
• Develop and lead an independent and competitive research program using HAXPES/PEEM, aligned with SSRL's mission.
• Lead and participate in collaborative research projects with SSRL staff, academic users, industrial partners, and other national laboratories.
• Publish high-impact scientific results and present at conferences and workshops.
• Play a central role in establishing and growing the HAXPES/PEEM user program at SSRL.
• Engage with the user community to identify opportunities and guide beamline evolution.
• Support users through experimental design, beamtime execution, and data analysis.
• Develop and maintain user training and outreach activities, including workshops and documentation.
• Manage routine beamline operations, endstation maintenance, and continuous performance improvement.
• Ensure safe operation of the beamline per DOE requirements.
• Contribute to division-wide initiatives, mentoring, outreach, and strategic planning.

Skills

Leadership

Communication skills

HAXPES/PEEM techniques

Materials science expertise

Team collaboration

Project coordination

Education

Ph.D. in physics, applied physics, materials science, or related discipline

Tools

Python

Data analysis

Scripting

Scientific programming

Job description

Job Description

Position Overview

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), a Directorate of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is developing a state-of-the-art Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy / Photoemission Electron Microscopy (HAXPES/PEEM) beamline with a strong focus on probing electronic and chemical states in buried layers of functional devices, particularly for microelectronics applications. We seek an outstanding Lead Scientist to play a leading scientific and technical role in the design, construction, commissioning of this new beamline, and - once in operation - in scientific program development and user support.

The successful candidate will join the Materials Science Division and become an integral member of a highly collaborative, interdisciplinary research environment that combines staff-led scientific programs with close engagement and collaboration with the SSRL user community. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape a flagship SSRL beamline while advancing impactful research in microelectronics, semiconductor materials, quantum information science, and related fields.

You r specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Beamline and Endstation Development

• Provide scientific leadership for and contribute to the conceptual design, technical development, construction, and commissioning of the HAXPES/PEEM beamline and associated endstation. Promote and represent the scientific objectives of the beamline to internal and external stakeholders.

• Define and translate scientific requirements into technical specifications for beamline optics, monochromators, electron analyzer, and sample environments optimized for hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

• Work closely with the project manager, engineers, technical staff, and scientists to develop robust, high-performance instrumentation.

• Oversee system integration, testing, commissioning, and performance optimization.

Scientific Research and Leadership

• Develop and lead an independent and competitive research program using HAXPES/PEEM, aligned with the mission of the SSRL Materials Science Division.

• Conduct frontier research in areas such as microelectronics, semiconductor devices, thin films, heterostructures, and buried interfaces.

• Lead and participate in collaborative research projects involving SSRL staff, academic users, industrial partners, and other national laboratories.

• Publish high-impact scientific results and present research at conferences and workshops.

User Program Development and Collaboration

• Play a central role in establishing and growing the HAXPES/PEEM user program at SSRL.

• Engage with the user community to identify emerging scientific opportunities and guide the evolution of beamline capabilities.

• Support users throughout the experimental lifecycle, including experimental design, beamtime execution, and data analysis.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive user training and outreach activities, including workshops, tutorials, and documentation.

Operations, Service, and Division Engagement

• Manage routine beamline operations, endstation maintenance, and continuous performance improvement.

• Ensure safe operation of the beamline in accordance with SLAC and DOE requirements.

• Contribute to division-wide scientific initiatives, mentoring, outreach, and strategic planning.

Note : Appointment at the Lead Scientist level is a regular-continuing position and requires a review and evaluation of documented scientific achievements, with approval by the Directorate Appointment and Promotion Committee. Applicants should include a cover letter, a research statement (including a summary of accomplishments), a curriculum vitae, a publication list, and the names of five references for future letters of recommendation.

SLAC is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory operated by Stanford University and based in Menlo Park, CA.

To be successful in this position, you will bring:

• Ph.D. in physics, applied physics, materials science, or related discipline, with a minimum of 8 years of post-PhD research experience.

• Demonstrated research excellence in materials science, supported by publications and experimental achievements.

• Extensive knowledge and hands-on experience with HAXPES and/or PEEM techniques.

• Demonstrated competence in developing, operating, and maintaining complex experimental systems at a synchrotron radiation facility.

• Experience with facility operations and user support.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.

In addition, preferred qualifications include:

• Research experience in microelectronics or closely related fields.

• Technical expertise in synchrotron beamline or endstation development, including operando or in situ sample environments.

• Proficiency in data analysis, scripting, and scientific programming tools.

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is an Affiliation Action / Equal Opportunity Employer and supports diversity in the workplace. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital or family status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information. All staff at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory must be able to demonstrate the legal right to work in the United States. SLAC is an E-Verify employer.