Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. Located on the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire a 20 minute drive south of Oxford in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Diamond Light Source conducts world-class research in virtually all fields of science and offers rewarding career opportunities covering both technical and scientific disciplines.

We enable an international community of scientists to carry out world-leading research across a wide range of disciplines and industrial applications.

Currently, we are in the process of building a new beamline, VERSOX (versatile soft X-ray beamline), which is dedicated to experiments in realistic environments, such as atmospheric or reaction conditions. This is the first facility of this kind in the UK and will enable studies in the fields of catalysis, pharmaceuticals, biology, environmental science, materials science, heritage conservation, etc.

We are looking for an experienced and highly motivated support scientist to join the interdisciplinary beamline team . The post involves designing and commissioning components of the beamline, helping users with their experiments, maintaining the beamline during operations and developing and testing of new equipment and software. Candidates will have an appropriate degree in Physical Sciences or Engineering and experience in the use of scientific instrumentation and data collection.
 

Support Scientist - Scientific support to designated beam lines and the user operation programme.

• Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;
• Assist in the procurement, installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;
• Liaise with the suppliers of the beamline components;
• Liaise with in-house technical support groups;
• Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals) to support the beamline;
• Support in-house research programmes;
• Maintenance of the beamline during operations;
• Assist in undertaking problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;
• Collaborate with users and in house staff within area of expertise.

Senior Support Scientist - Scientific support to the B07 beamline and the user operation programme.

• Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;
• Assist in the procurement, installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;
• Liaise with the suppliers of the beamline components;
• Liaise with in-house technical support groups;
• Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals) to support the beamline;
• Participate in in-house research programmes;
• Maintenance of the beamline during operations;
• Assist in undertaking problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;
• Collaborate with users and in house staff within area of expertise;
• Scientific data collection including data analysis and contribution to publications;
• Develop and maintain expertise in a scientific field, and apply it to user support;
• Develop new instrumentation, equipment and software to upgrade the performance of the beamline;
• Collaborate with users and in house staff within area of expertise;

• Appropriate Science or Engineering Degree;
• Appropriate PhD or equivalent qualification;
• Experience in the use of scientific instrumentation;
• Capability of writing specifications and instructions for scientific instrumentation;
• Experience in scientific data collection;
• Knowledge of soft X-ray synchrotron radiation techniques (photoemission and photoabsorption);
• Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;
• Ability to interact with staff and facility users at all levels;
• Ability to work flexibly including weekend and out-of hours working;
• Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• Good organizational and planning skills;
• Self motivation.

• Experience in handling hazardous chemicals and COSHH procedures;
• Experience in macro programming (e.g. Python, Matlab, IDL) (essential for appointment at the senior level);
• Experience in supporting Scientists in the conduct of research in a synchrotron or equivalent facility (essential for appointment at the senior level);
• Capability of providing data analysis to the users (essential for appointment at the senior level);
• Significant years of relevant experience (essential for appointment at the senior level).

• Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences;