The Multimode InfraRed Imaging and Microspectroscopy (MIRIAM) beamline B22 is a state of the art IR facility for molecular microscopy/spectroscopy that provides the highest spatial resolution/sensitivity optically attainable across the widest IR spectral range, including the THz region.

At MIRIAM, the use of Synchrotron-based near-field IR methods have been pioneered in photothermal mode including the first sub-diffraction limited IR nanoscopy experiments performed in 2016 (Donaldson et al., Optics Express 24 (2016) 1852–1864). A dedicated Resonant IR Atomic Force Microscopy (RE-AFM IR) set up is developed and offered to first users currently allocated (February & March’18) for accomplishing IR nanoscopy and mapping on biological  and condensed matter samples.

The (Senior) Support Scientist will work closely within  the IR beamline team of scientists, as well as Diamond technical and engineering support staff, to ensure the optimisation and operation of the Near-field IR microscope (3rd endstation) at MIRIAM, including any commissioning and new development of the research technique with both synchrotron and commercial tunable laser sources.

The successful candidate will assist in supporting academic and industrial user research during beamtime and will be expected to be scientifically active to internationally competitive in-house research programme in IR nanoscopy and mapping within the MIRIAM beamline team.

Specifically, the post holder will support the MIRIAM Principal Beamline Scientist in the following areas:

• Provide support (local contact) for external users of IR nanospectroscopy and in general to MIRIAM beamline operations;
• Participate in IR research at the beamline, including publication of the results and presentation of developments and scientific papers at meetings and conferences;
• Commissioning and optimisation of new IR methods especially in nanospectroscopy;
• Implementing and testing of new AFM hardware/ IR optics as projects and upgrades;
• Work with support teams at Diamond in the development of data acquisition /synchronisation with the IR interferometer, data visualisation and analysis software;
• Assist in the general development and upgrade of the MIRIAM beamline as required;
• Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals) to support the MIRIAM beamline and instrumentation.

Additional duties for appointment at Senior level:

• Drive the technical development of new hardware/software systems and IR methods through identification of possible improvements to nanospectroscopy/nanoimaging;
• Drive  in-house/collaborative scientific research at MIRIAM with special emphasis on exploiting sub-diffraction IR methods in science applications;
• Design, plan and implement new projects at the beamline by coordinating the activity of technical & engineering support groups.

For an informal discussion about this vacancy, please email MIRIAM Principal Beamline Scientist: Gianfelice Cinque at [email protected]

• Appropriate first degree;
• Experience or knowledge of spectroscopy or microscopy or AFM;
• Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
• Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;
• Organisational and planning skills;
• Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
• Self motivation;
• Ability to work flexibly with occasional weekend and out-of-hours working;
• Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.

• Appropriate PhD degree or equivalent post graduate experience (Essential for appointment at the higher level);
• Experience or knowledge of optical systems, microscopes and their alignment (preferential);
• Experience with microspectroscopy/microscopy (preferential);
• Experience or knowledge of Atomic Force/Scanning Probe Microscopy or ultramicroscopy (preferential);
• Experience or knowledge of synchrotron based techniques, especially IR;
• Experience with Windows/Linux/Unix hardware and/or software programming;
• Good organizational and planning skills.