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Job Title Support Scientist / Senior Support Scientist (Data Analysis) Beamline I13
Job Reference DIA0797/CB
Post Type
Division Science
Salary information Circa £26k or Circa £33k for appointment at the higher level
Application deadline 20/01/2013


Job Description

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. Located at Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, we enable world-leading research across a wide range of scientific disciplines and industrial applications.

Beamline I13 is one of the latest beamlines, dedicated to imaging and coherence and has been operational since October 2011. The scientific applications for the two independently operating beamline branches relate to imaging in real (X-ray microscopy; absorption, phase contrast and ultrafast tomography) and reciprocal space (coherent X-ray diffraction imaging).
 
This post will be centred on the imaging branchline, which has been operational since April 2012. Micro- and nano-structured materials from different scientific fields such as biology, materials and earth science are studied in the energy range of 6-30keV. As part of the I13 beamline team, the successful candidate will also be expected to contribute to the coherence branchline.

Manchester University are co-funders of the beamline and this appointment.  Manchester have co-located academics and PDRA’s both at Diamond and at their co-located X-ray Facility (MXIF) to stimulate interaction, providing a unique opportunity to undertake long term collaborative work to jointly develop applications, techniques and undertake research projects with academia.
 
The candidate will have experience in data acquisition and/or imaging analysis, ideally in synchrotron-based tomography. Candidates with experience in neighbouring fields such as electron microscopy, neutron imaging or similar are welcome. Programming skills and knowledge of imaging processing are important. The successful candidate will be involved in promoting the beamline’s scientific profile. You will be highly motivated, able to work independently as well as in a team. The task requires strong social skills for closely interacting with scientists visiting the beamline. 

The position is currently fixed term; this status will be reviewed after 2 years.

Working in support of the Principal Beamline Scientist in the following areas:

  • Supporting the Diamond-Manchester collaboration, and acting as a daily point of contact supporting beamline users in scientific experiments and data evaluation;
  • Evaluate and eventually develop software accordingly to the scientific needs of the beamline. Acquiring expertise in imaging software is essential;
  • Assist in preparation of experiments in connection with beamline users;
  • Assist in beamline operation;
  • Interact closely with the I13 collaborating university;
  • Liaise with suppliers of equipment relevant to assigned task;
  • Eventually assist in design, procurement, testing, installation and commissioning of beamline components, instrumentation and sample environments.

For appointment at the senior / higher level, additional responsibilities as follows:

  • Scientific data collection including data analysis and contribution to publications;
  • Develop software and instrumentation to upgrade the performance of the beamline;
  • Develop and maintain expertise in a scientific field (e.g. imaging), and apply it via collaboration with University of Manchester, to new areas of application for all users;
  • Development of new software and instrumentation to upgrade the performance of the beamline.

Qualification & Experience - Essential

  • Appropriate Science Degree;
  • Experience in imaging/tomography data analysis;
  • Experience of software packages and programming;
  • Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;
  • Ability to interact with staff and facility users at all levels;
  • Ability to work flexibly with occasional 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;
  • Self motivated.

Essential for appointment at the senior / higher level:

  • Appropriate PhD and three years relevant experience;
  • Experience in supporting Scientists in the conduct of research in a synchrotron or equivalent facility;
  • Capability of providing full data analysis to the users.
  • Experience in programming (i.e. Python, Matlab, etc).

Qualification & Experience - Desirable

  • Relevant synchrotron research experience;
  • Experience or knowledge of synchrotrons;
  • Notions about coherence, microscopy, imaging or tomography;
  • Experience form relevant fields such as laser physics or electron microscopy (Alternative qualification which can replace one of above desired qualifications);
  • Good organisational and planning skills.

Further Information

  • Desirable to 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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