Postdoctoral Associate - Materials Science & Nanoengineering

Position Summary:

The NSF-funded READINESS Programmable Cloud Laboratory (PCL) at Rice University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to help develop AI-enabled, cloud-accessible autonomous laboratories for next-generation electronic and quantum materials. The position works at the intersection of materials science, AI for Science, experimental automation, and cloud infrastructure, bridging AI and digital frameworks with physical synthesis and characterization systems to enable secure, remotely accessible autonomous experimentation.

We seek a highly motivated researcher at the intersection of materials science, AI for Science, experimental automation, and cloud infrastructure. The successful candidate will bridge AI/digital frameworks with physical synthesis and characterization systems and help enable secure, remotely accessible autonomous experimentation.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Please submit a CV, a brief statement of research interests and relevant experience, and contact information for three references. The statement should highlight experience in AI for Science, experimental materials research, and connecting AI frameworks with physical laboratory and cloud infrastructure. Contact: [email protected] (please include “ AI Postdoc ” in the subject line)

Workplace Requirements:

This position is exclusively on-site, necessitating all duties to be performed in-person at Rice University Campus. Per Rice policy 440, work arrangements may be subject to change

Hiring Range : $60,000 annually

This is a one year, full-time, benefits eligible position funded by a grant, soft and/or restricted funds, and may be renewed based on continued funding availability, research needs, and performance.

Minimum Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Materials Science, or a closely related field.

• No additional experience beyond graduate research required

Skills:

• Strong experience applying AI/ML to scientific or engineering problems.

• Solid understanding of experimental materials science.

• Strong programming skills, preferably Python.

• Excellent interdisciplinary communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.

Preferences:

- Extensive research experience in AI for Science or a closely related area.
- Experience with autonomous or self-driving laboratories, agentic AI or LLM-based scientific agents, digital twins, Bayesian optimization, or active learning.
- Experience with laboratory automation, instrument control, robotics, materials informatics, cloud computing, scientific data infrastructure, or web-based user-interface development.
- Experience integrating software with laboratory hardware or commercial scientific instruments.

Essential Functions:

- Develops AI/ML and agentic AI frameworks, digital twins, and closed-loop optimization workflows for autonomous materials synthesis.
- Connects AI frameworks with physical synthesis and characterization instruments through APIs, communication protocols, data pipelines, and hardware/software control interfaces.
- Designs and constructs a web-based user interface and cloud-access framework enabling external users to securely access and utilize READINESS infrastructure remotely.
- Collaborates with researchers from materials science and computer science, serving as a technical bridge between the two communities.
- Helps lead and mentor a small group of graduate students and publishes research in AI-enabled autonomous experimentation.
- Performs other duties as assigned.

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Rice University is committed to ensuring Equal Employment Opportunity and welcoming the fullness of diversity into our candidate pools. Rice considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status. Rice also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. If an applicant requires a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please get in touch with Rice University’s Human Resources Office via email at [email protected] for support.

If you have any additional questions, please email us at [email protected] . Thank you for your interest in employment with Rice University.