Sensor operator [h1.location_city]

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Details

New ideas are all around us, but only a few will change the world. That’s our focus at JPL. We ask the biggest questions, then search the universe for answers—literally. We build upon ideas that have guided generations, then share our discoveries to inspire generations to come. Your mission—your opportunity—is to seek out the answers that bring us one step closer. If you’re driven to discover, create, and inspire something that lasts a lifetime and beyond, you’re ready for JPL.

Located in Pasadena, California, JPL has a campus-like environment situated on 177 acres in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and offers a work environment unlike any other : we inspire passion, foster innovation, build collaboration, and reward excellence.

JPL is unique among NASA Centers in that its staff are Caltech employees, yet can access NASA technical resources. Cross-discipline teamwork is standard here : colleagues across JPL's science and engineering organizations and on Caltech's academic campus often work together. Learning to speak and understand other disciplines' languages is a doorway to the creativity needed to do what has not been done before. JPL staff are encouraged to create mission concepts that address humanity's core questions through a combination of science and technology. They are supported in developing ideas into proposals and hardware, and in communicating funded missions' results to the scientific community and the broader public. JPL seeks to employ scientists and engineers who are passionate about lifelong learning and excited to both contribute to and lead team efforts. We emphasize the importance of partnering across discipline boundaries and creating a friendly, constructive work environment to overcome space exploration's challenges. The Postdoctoral scholars at JPL benefit from an informal mentoring network, an annual conference showcasing their results, a dedicated seminar series, exposure to diverse career paths, and social connections across the JPL and Caltech community for advice on housing, childcare, and other aspects of living in southern California.

The Microdevices Laboratory (MDL) of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) was established 3 decades ago with the goal of providing capabilities for development of components, sensors, and instruments for the JPL / NASA space program. Since inception, MDL has enjoyed significant success in enabling new missions, new measurements, and ultimately new science for space. In order to maintain and excel the current leadership role, it is essential to identify and carry high quality research programs that are targeted toward future important scientific and technical goals of NASA and JPL utilizing the existing and expanding capabilities at MDL.

Our approach : hire a number of outstanding postdoc researchers to focus on long term technology development in the areas of :

• Integrated Optics, nano-photonics
• Quantum sensors
• Space detectors
• Sensors and microsystems for harsh environment
• lidars, radars, and spectrometers.
• New microfabrication processes for disruptive microdevice technologies.

We currently have several open positions for outstanding postdoc researchers to define and develop microdevices technologies, components, and subsystems at MDL. Future microdevices developed at MDL will be critical for future NASA / JPL missions, with a focus on the 2025 and 2035 timeframes. The appointee(s) will carry out research in collaboration with the JPL advisor(s), resulting in publications in the open literature.

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