Computational Materials Scientist (Contract)

Subsense • Palo Alto, CA

1d • Remote

About The Position

Subsense is a deep-tech company developing the world’s first non-surgical, bidirectional brain-computer interface powered by plasmonic and magnetoelectric nanoparticles. Our mission is to unlock direct communication between the human brain and AI - starting with medical applications such as stroke recovery and moving toward cognitive enhancement for healthy users. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Subsense brings together leading scientists and engineers to redefine the future of human–machine interaction. We are looking for a computational materials scientist who can help us evaluate novel nanoparticle core and core/shell designs using first-principles simulation. This role is best suited for someone who can work independently with a defined set of calculations, validate results carefully, and summarize findings clearly for an interdisciplinary R&D team.

Requirements

• Hands-on experience with Quantum ESPRESSO or VASP.
• Hands-on experience with DFT workflows including relaxation, SCF, and convergence testing.
• Hands-on experience with spin-polarized calculations and magnetic materials.
• Hands-on experience with Python-based structure handling and post-processing, such as pymatgen, ASE, or similar tools.
• Hands-on experience with pseudopotential / PAW datasets and practical choices around functional, cutoff, k-point mesh, convergence, and validation.
• Hands-on experience with HPC job management using SLURM, PBS, or similar systems.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Ferrites, spinels, perovskites, piezoelectric materials, magnetostrictive materials, or multiferroics.
• Experience with DFPT calculations for dielectric, elastic, Born charge, or piezoelectric tensors.
• Experience with Magnetostriction, spin-orbit coupling, noncollinear magnetism, or magnetic anisotropy.
• Experience with Core/shell nanoparticle modeling or interface modeling.
• Experience with Cloud compute workflows.

Responsibilities

• Support first-principles simulation of magnetic and magnetoelectric nanoparticle materials, including candidate core materials beyond cobalt ferrite and selected core/shell design concepts.
• Prioritize nanoparticle designs that are most promising for experimental follow-up.
• Set up and run DFT calculations for structural relaxation and SCF workflows.
• Run or support DFPT calculations where appropriate.
• Estimate and interpret materials response properties such as dielectric constants, elastic moduli, Born effective charges, piezoelectric coefficients, and related response tensors.
• Work with spin-polarized systems, magnetic ordering, magnetic moments, and magnetic material properties.
• Evaluate literature values and assess whether published material properties are reliable and reproducible.
• Manage calculations on HPC or cloud compute environments and troubleshoot convergence issues.
• Summarize results in clear written notes, including assumptions, input parameters, outputs, limitations, and recommended next steps.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed