Job Description

Job Description
The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, invites applications for a Technical Specialist to support research activities associated with the PCL ATHENA program. The position will provide advanced microscopy expertise, user support, instrumentation operation, scientific data analysis, and technical support for collaborative research and educational activities.

ATHENA is a newly funded $20 million National Science Foundation (NSF) Platform for Programmable Cloud Lab (PCL) headquartered at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) in collaboration with Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University and Pellissippi State Community College, with multiple academic, national laboratories, and industrial partners. ATHENA is one of NSF’s flagship national testbeds established to develop the next generation of autonomous laboratories, AI-driven scientific discovery, cloud-connected instrumentation, and cyber-physical infrastructure for materials research.

Responsibilities
Advanced Microscopy and User Support: Serve as a technical resource for ATHENA users by supporting experiment planning, user training, troubleshooting, and data acquisition using scanning probe microscopy (SPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
Instrumentation Operations: Operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and support advanced microscopy instrumentation used in ongoing research and collaborative experimental workflows.
Correlative and Multimodal Microscopy: Support experiments combining SPM, SEM, FIB, and STEM techniques
Scientific Data Processing: Develop and implement data-processing and analysis workflows for complex and multidimensional microscopy datasets generated by SPM, SEM, FIB, and STEM measurements.
Scientific Computing and Outreach Support: Develop and maintain computational and web-based resources supporting ATHENA research activities, microscopy hackathons, summer schools, workshops, and related scientific training and outreach programs.
Qualifications
Required qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in materials science, physics, engineering, or a closely related field.
Experience with scanning probe microscopy (SPM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM).
Experience operating, troubleshooting, or supporting advanced scientific instrumentation.
Experience with scientific data processing and analysis.
Ability to train and support users in a multidisciplinary research environment.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred qualifications:

Advanced degree in materials science, physics, engineering, or a related discipline.
Experience with correlative or multimodal microscopy workflows.
Experience with Python or related scientific programming tools.
Experience developing microscopy data-analysis workflows, automation tools, or scientific web resources.