Postdoctoral Associate - Materials Science & Nanoengineering
About The Position
The NSF-funded READINESS Programmable Cloud Laboratory (PCL) at Rice University is seeking a Postdoctoral Associate – Robotics to support the development of robotics-enabled, cloud-accessible autonomous laboratories for next-generation electronic and quantum materials. The postdoctoral associate will design, build, program, and commission robotic platforms for materials synthesis and characterization and will work closely with researchers in materials science, artificial intelligence, and data infrastructure. The position will contribute to robotic system integration, automated experimental workflows, robot programming and control, and connections between robotic platforms, digital twins, and AI-enabled systems. The postdoctoral associate will also contribute to scholarly publications, collaborative research activities, and mentoring of graduate students.
Requirements
- Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Automation Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a closely related field.
- No additional experience beyond graduate research required
Nice To Haves
- Experience with autonomous or self-driving laboratories, industrial or collaborative robots, or laboratory automation.
- Experience with machine vision, sensing systems, scientific instrumentation, or automated materials processing.
- Experience integrating robotic systems with laboratory hardware.
- Experience developing reliable closed-loop experimental workflows.
- Experience connecting robotic platforms with digital twins, AI/ML systems, or optimization tools.
Responsibilities
- Designs, builds, integrates, and commissions robotic platforms for materials synthesis and characterization.
- Develops automated and closed-loop workflows for experimental systems.
- Integrates machine vision, sensors, actuators, robotic manipulators, stages, and scientific equipment.
- Programs and controls robotic systems using Python, C++, or related tools and develops interfaces between hardware, instruments, and software.
- Calibrates, tests, troubleshoots, and safely operates complex robotic experimental systems.
- Works with collaborating researchers to connect robotic platforms with digital twins, AI/ML models, and optimization systems.
- Analyzes and documents research activities and contributes to manuscripts, presentations, and other scholarly products.
- Collaborates with faculty, researchers, graduate students, and other members of the READINESS team and provides research guidance as appropriate.
- Performs all other duties as assigned.
Benefits
- benefits eligible position
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
Education Level
Ph.D. or professional degree
