Optical Sensor Scientist

Description

The Leidos Research Support Team supporting the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is seeking an Optical Sensor Scientist to join our team in Pittsburgh, PA. This opportunity will allow side by side execution of research with world-class scientists and engineers using state of the art equipment to contribute to new areas of basic and applied research. The work will support the development of robust fiber optic sensors capable of withstanding harsh environments and detecting changes in gas compositions for hydrogen and methane.

In this position, the researcher will have opportunities to publish in high-quality peer-reviewed journals, present at national and international conferences, and contribute to the development of new intellectual property. Regular project reporting will be required. Given the extensive interface with clients and collaborators, strong communication skills are essential.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Design and develop novel fiber optic-based hydrogen sensors with high sensitivity, selectivity, and robustness.
• Test, characterize, and optimize the fiber optic hydrogen sensor system. Optimize functionalized material properties to enhance sensor performance metrics such as sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.
• Conduct experimental testing to evaluate sensor performance under various environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, humidity).
• Sensor packaging and prototype design compatible with field deployment.
• Conduct field tests to validate sensor performance in real-world sceneries, including pipelines, hydrogen storage, and other safety-critical environments.
• Analyze sensor data and refine sensor designs to meet stringent performance criteria.

Required Education, Experience & Other:

• PhD in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Physics, or a related field.
• Hands-on experience in fiber optic sensor development, particularly for gas detection.
• Experience with sensor fabrication and testing (ideally in harsh environments).
• Knowledge of functional materials for hydrogen sensing, and experience in optical sensing techniques (e.g., interferometry, spectroscopy, evanescent wave sensing).
• Hands-on experience materials characterization experience (e.g. SEM/TEM, XPS, XRD)
• First authorship of posters/presentations at national conferences and/or peer-reviewed journal articles.
• Must be able to meet the requirements for gaining access to work on the NETL campus.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated track record of publications and/or patents in the field of hydrogen sensing and/or fiber optics.
• Experience with sensor packaging and field deployment is a plus.
• Knowledge of optical spectroscopy techniques including UV/Vis/Near-IR, ellipsometry, fluorescence, fiber coating, fiber Bragg gratings, interferometric sensing, optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR), optical frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR), Rayleigh and other backscatter phenomena.
• Experience performing field tests to demonstrate sensor performance targets.
• Experience developing, maintaining, and troubleshooting experimental apparatus with programs like LabView.

Salary Range for this position: $95K to $100K

While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.