Postdoctoral Associate - Materials Science & Nanoengineering

Position Summary:

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.

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 robotic system design and integration, automation, robot programming and control, and any experience connecting robotic platforms with materials experiments, digital twins, or AI/ML systems.

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, ongoing research needs, and performance.

Minimum 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

Preferences:

- 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.

Essential Functions:

- 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.

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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.