PREP0004302 Adaptive Control for NV-Diamond Magnetometry Researcher

PREP Research Associate

Opportunity No.: PREP0004302

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, and thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

APPLY ONLINE HERE

Adaptive Control for NV-Diamond Magnetometry Researcher

Project Description:

The Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to help build a deployable, calibration-free, SI-traceable vector magnetometer based on diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers—technology with the potential to enable secure, GPS-free navigation when GPS is degraded, denied, or unavailable. This is a chance to work at NIST, where the mission is to deliver world-leading measurement science and standards with direct national and economic impact, and to do so in a highly collaborative, well-resourced research environment. This project sits at the intersection of quantum sensing, real-time control, and data-driven inference. The postdoc will lead efforts on parallelized readout and real-time adaptive control for high-sensitivity measurement of 3D magnetic fields and temperature—capabilities needed to push magnetic navigation beyond today’s ~km-scale uncertainty toward practical, robust performance. This position is ideal for someone excited to translate cutting-edge quantum sensing into a field-ready instrument, while contributing to NIST’s broader effort to make next-generation navigation and timing technologies more trustworthy, secure, and SI-linked.

Key Responsibilities: 

• Develop and implement real-time, parallel readout schemes for vector magnetometry and thermometry using diamond NV centers
• Design and deploy adaptive measurement and control algorithms (e.g., Bayesian/adaptive protocols) to improve sensitivity and measurement efficiency
• Build and validate numerical simulations of adaptive sensing strategies, including performance vs. computational-cost tradeoffs
• Integrate adaptive algorithms with experimental hardware for multi-channel, real-time device control and readout

Desired Qualifications: 

• U.S. Citizen Preferred
• Ph.D. in physics, computer science, or related field 
• Relevant work experience with machine learning (PyTorch) or physics and programming in Python 
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written 
• Experience with quantum sensing/NV centers, Ramsey/ODMR control
• Experience with real-time experiment automation, estimation/inference (Bayesian/optimal design)
• Adaptive sensing, signal processing, and performance-driven algorithm–hardware co-design
• Curious mindset with a strong interest in the project

Other Details:

• Full-time: the participant is expected to work 40 hours a week
• Location: the participant will work at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus.
• Duration: this is expected to be a nine-month position. Extensions are sometimes granted depending on the availability of funds.
• For questions related to the research project or the nature of the work in this position, please contact Dr. Mark A. Przybocki (mark.przybocki@nist.gov). For questions related to the online application or NIST PREP more generally, please contact msu-nistprep@morgan.edu.

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.

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