Postdoctoral Research Associate- Silicon Isotope Specialist

Texas A&M • College Station, TX

3d • Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M's Oceanography Department is looking for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the research team of Dr. Justin Dodd. Under general supervision, this position is responsible for conducting multi-proxy analyses of legacy Antarctic sediment cores housed at the Gulf Coast Repository, including sedimentological, geochemical, and imaging-based investigations. The Postdoctoral Research Associate will apply advanced knowledge and skills gained through their education, training, and research experience to design and execute research projects, analyze and interpret data, and contribute to advancing scientific understanding in their area of expertise. This role offers the opportunity to support innovative oceanographic and paleoclimate research while collaborating with faculty, researchers, and students in a dynamic academic environment.

Requirements

• Appropriate PhD in a related field.
• Demonstrated experience developing or applying wet-chemical sample preparation methods (e.g., alkaline fusion with NaOH or LiBO₂, HF/HNO₃ digestion, MAGIC/Mg(OH)₂ pre-concentration) for traceelement or stable-isotope analyses of geologic and/or aqueous samples.
• Hands-on experience with ion-exchange column chromatography (e.g., AG50W-X8 cation resin) for the purification of Si or other elements from complex matrices, including the development and validation of new column procedures.
• Experience extracting and cleaning biogenic silica (diatom frustules, sponge spicules, radiolaria, or phytoliths) from marine or lacustrine sediments, and/or processing seawater, pore-water, river-water, or groundwater samples for dissolved silicic acid analysis.
• Operating experience on a Thermo Scientific Neptune or Neptune Plus multi-collector ICP-MS, including tuning, cup configuration, and routine maintenance.
• Familiarity with medium- or high-mass-resolution MC-ICP-MS operation to resolve polyatomic interferences (e.g., ¹⁴N¹⁶O on ³⁰Si), desolvating sample-introduction systems (Apex, Aridus II), standard–sample bracketing, and Mg-doping for mass-bias correction.
• Experience analyzing community Si-isotope reference materials (e.g., IRMM-018, Big Batch, Diatomite, NBS-28) and reducing MC-ICP-MS data, including calculation of δ³⁰Si and δ²⁹Si and associated uncertainties.
• Working knowledge of clean-laboratory protocols (Class 100/1000 environments), trace-metal-clean techniques, and blank/contamination control for low-level stable-isotope work.
• Demonstrated record of first-author peer-reviewed publications in geochemistry, paleoceanography, oceanography, or a related field, and a history of presenting research at national or international meetings (e.g., AGU, Goldschmidt, Ocean Sciences).
• Prior experience mentoring, training, or supervising undergraduate or graduate student researchers in a laboratory, field, or classroom setting, and a commitment to supporting an inclusive research environment.
• Proficiency with scientific data-analysis and visualization tools (e.g., MATLAB, Python, R) for processing MC-ICP-MS data and preparing publication-quality figures.
• Excellent verbal and written skills.
• Presentation skills.
• Analytical skills.
• Attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Conducts and supports research projects within their field of expertise by applying specialized knowledge, analyzing data, and summarizing research findings.
• Collaborates with researchers, faculty, and students by contributing to research activities and providing guidance, mentoring, or supervision as needed.
• Prepares and communicates research outcomes through reports, presentations, publications, and other materials for sponsors, stakeholders, and professional audiences.
• Assists with the preparation, organization, and maintenance of research workspaces and project-related activities.

Benefits

• Medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life and AD&D, flexible spending accounts , and long-term disability insurance with Texas A&M contributing to employee health and basic life premiums
• 12-15 days of annual paid holidays
• Up to eight hours of paid sick leave and at least eight hours of paid vacation each month
• Automatic enrollment in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
• Free exercise programs and release time
• All employees have access to free LinkedIn Learning training, webinars, and limited financial support to attend conferences, workshops, and more
• Educational release time and tuition assistance for completing a degree while a Texas A&M employee

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree