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Job Title Postdoctoral Research Associate, BLI19
Job Reference DIA0969/TH
Post Type Full time, 3 year fixed term
Division Physical Science
Salary information Circa £33k
Application deadline 07/11/2014


Job Description

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.

The fixed-term position will be based on Beamline I19 at Diamond, which is designed for small-molecule single-crystal diffraction using an intense x-ray beam (5-25 keV) to study the structural properties of materials in detail. The successful applicant will work on this state-of-the art beamline which is designed to study small and weakly diffracting crystals, for time resolved studies, for anomalous dispersion studies and for studies involving complex crystallography.

Suitable candidates should be experienced with single-crystal diffraction instrumentation and methodology, structure solution and refinement. Familiarity with the principles of synchrotron x ray single-crystal diffraction would be an advantage and he/she should have a strong interest in a specific area of materials science, physics, chemistry and pharmaceuticals. The position will involve some participation in beamline commissioning and development and the successful candidate would be expected to be able to assist in the setting up of the beamline in advance of NCS beamtime.  

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to be involved in performing individual or collaborative research activities on the beamline and/or using other central facilities. The successful candidate will also have the opportunity to use the high-flux laboratory equipment of the host institution to further support their research interests.

The PDRA will be responsible for the operation of the synchrotron component of National Crystallography Service (NCS) based at Diamond.

Working with the single-crystal diffraction beamline team in the following areas:

  • running beamtime for the synchrotron component of the National Crystallography Service;
  • data collection on demanding samples sent from the laboratory component of the NCS based at the host institution;
  • structure solution and refinement on extremely challenging data sets;
  • participation in the drafting of journal articles;
  • interaction with DLS staff and the NCS team of scientists at the host institution;
  • direct interaction with users of the NCS;
  • the management of core diffraction data and meta data;
  • the reporting of the NCS usage of time awarded on beamline I19.

Qualification & Experience - Essential

  • Appropriate First Degree;
  • PhD;
  • Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;
  • Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;
  • Good organisational and planning skills;
  • Ability to interact effectively with staff at all levels;
  • Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;
  • Ability to work flexibly including weekend and out-of hours working as required;
  • A high level of self motivation;
  • Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.

Qualification & Experience - Desirable

  • Experience of synchrotrons and x ray beamlines;
  • Experience with Windows/Linux/Unix;
  • Experience of programming, especially Python and Java.

Further Information

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

Applying for employment

For further details on applying for employment at Diamond, please visit our 'Application Form' page.

Appointments will be made depending on the skills and experience of the candidate. Electronic Diamond application forms in MS-Word are preferred. These should be emailed to recruitment@diamond.ac.uk



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