Postdoctoral Fellow

Job ID #: 12414
Location: Newport News, VA

Functional Area: Science
Division: Accelerator Ops, R & D

Position Type: Term
Education Required: Doctorate (Professional)

Experience Required: Less than 1 year
Relocation Provided: Yes

Position Description

As a matter of corporate policy, all JSA employees are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All successful hires will be required to provide COVID-19 vaccination verification as a condition of employment, subject to limited legally recognized exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination.
POSITION POSTED: February 9, 2022
SALARY RANGE: $58,300 - $87,500 (PD)

What Your Job Will Be Like:

A strong case has been made by the Jefferson Lab Positron Working Group, comprised of over 200 members from 59 institutions, that positron beams (both polarized and unpolarized) would provide important new research opportunities for the nuclear physics program at Jefferson Lab. In response, the Accelerator Division has stood up an R&D team to evaluate the conceptual design of a polarized positron injector and its integration to the 12 GeV CEBAF accelerator at Jefferson Lab. A comprehensive evaluation of the beam dynamics and technical challenges of the positron injector (electron drive beam, positron converter, positron beam collection) and for delivering high quality positrons beams at CEBAF is on going with scientists, students and collaborators. An important deliverable of the project is proposing meaningful experimental studies to develop and test essential components of the positron injector, and potentially building a small-scale demonstration injector.

Working under general direction, the incumbent will focus on the technical design, component modeling, and particle beam simulations of an electron-driven positron beam source. Critical components of a conventional positron source include a high power electron beam, a target to convert the beam power to positron yield, and solenoidal magnetic fields + RF cavities which define the transverse and longitudinal positron beam phase space. With guidance, the incumbent will develop accurate simulation solutions which address technical constraints including target heating limitations, continuous-wave beam operation, and providing unpolarized or polarized positron beam yields. In particular the incumbent is responsible for developing a global optimization of a positron source model, to predict the best parameters (energy, target, collection) which satisfy CEBAF beam requirements.

The incumbent will assume a leading scientific role in this project, but will also work closely with the principal investigator, staff and graduate students to develop the beam line design, to evaluate results which guide the optimization, and to write reports in the form of technical notes, conference proceedings and/or peer reviewed journals. Upon the project completion, it is expected to summarize the parameters of a positron source suitable for CEBAF and to describe a follow-on prototype
experiment.

Your Role Will:

Performs scientific calculations and simulations, critically evaluating the results. Communicates scientific results with other project members, developing comprehensive solutions.
Summarizes and explains results at internal meetings and within technical notes. Presents scientific conclusions at external meetings, in proceedings and/or peer reviewed journals.

Position Requirements

Education, Certifications and Experience:
PhD degree in physics, applied physics, or closely related electrical engineering discipline from an accredited university or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: a) Able to communicate clearly in writing (e.g. email, memos, explanations, drawings) and explain work to his/her supervisor and others in the group.
b) Interacts well in a team environment.
c) Can represent work associated with specific projects at professional meetings.
d) Has skills required to compute dynamics of particle beams through standard accelerator components, such as magnets and RF cavities.
e) Has demonstrated a track record of performing particle tracking simulations. Experience with software such as GPT, ASTRA or PARMELA is highly desired.
f) Has experience performing numerical optimization and/or implementing multi- object genetic algorithms.
g) Has experience in calculations and/or simulations regarding the particle interactions in matter, power deposition and radiation production and/or shielding. Especially experience with software tools such as Geant, EGS4 or Fluka.
JSA will not sponsor H1B visas for this position

Mental Requirements

• Ability to comprehend, formulate, and communicate highly abstract concepts
• Ability to express or exchange complex ideas by means of spoken and written communication
• Ability to analyze and interpret complex data and develop models

Physical Requirements

• Ability to traverse across various locations on the laboratory site and access work areas
• Ability to lift up to 10 pounds frequently and 25 pounds occasionally
• Ability to stoop, bend over and climb ladders
• Ability to work on a computer for extended periods
• Visual capabilities sufficient to use computer workstations, read documents, and see safety alarms
• Auditory capabilities to hear safety alarms

Jefferson Science Associates, LLC (JSA) manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Jefferson Lab). JSA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, or veteran status or on any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. As part of the JSA’s equal employment opportunity policy, we also take affirmative action as called for by applicable laws and Executive Orders to ensure that minority group individuals, females, disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, other protected veterans, Armed Forces, and qualified disabled persons are introduced into our workforce and considered for promotional opportunities.
JSA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities (unless doing so will result in an undue hardship). If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e-mail to employment@jlab.org or call (757) 269-7598 to provide the nature of your request. Reasonable accommodations are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Employment with JSA is conditional upon DOE approval if at any time during your employment you are participating in a Foreign Government Talent Recruitment Program or Affiliated activity. Generally, such programs/activities include any foreign-state-sponsored attempt to acquire U.S.-funded scientific research through programs run or funded by the government that target scientists, engineers, students, academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs of all nationalities working or educated in the United States. This includes positions or appointments, both domestic and foreign, titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether or not remuneration is received and whether full-time, part-time or voluntary.

Location: 12000 Jefferson Avenue,Newport News,VA 23606, Newport News, VA 23606

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $58,300.00 - $87,500.00 per year