Scientific Equipment Specialist - XRD
Overall Purpose:
This position is to cover a temporary period of absence of the responsible person for MRF's XRD. The
role involves undertaking experimental materials science projects in the Materials Research Facility
(MRF) as part of UKAEA's fusion research programme either alone or in a team, either with
customers or as part of UKAEA research (sometimes in collaboration with universities and overseas
research organisations). Also, the role may involve participating in the acquisition and installation of
new equipment and in the development of new materials testing techniques appropriate to
radioactive specimens in MRF's hot cell and shielded room environments.
Accountabilities:
* Be responsible for day to day running of the MRF's Rigaku SmartLab XRD, interacting with
users (including training in use of this equipment) and service engineers. This requires an
expertise in the equipment.
* Be familiar with other scientific equipment at MRF, including their use with radioactive and
other hazardous materials (e.g. beryllium).
* Perform XRD measurements as part of jobs for MRF customers or as contributions to one or
more of UKAEA's materials science projects (mostly led by more senior staff,). The postholder is accountable for deliverables contributing to these jobs' and projects' scientific
objectives. This will involve:
o organisation and management of short-term projects
o arranging sample preparation and testing
o Adaptation of techniques for use on irradiated specimens, and use of these
techniques as part of material characterisation research projects; in particular,
supporting the ongoing development of a robotic sample loading system for the XRD
o Work with external collaborators including UK and overseas universities, public
sector research establishments and industry in fusion, fission and other fields
o Contributing to customers' scientific papers as necessary
Specific Qualifications/Experience:
* Practical experience with planning, defining parameters, setting up, and performing
measurements on an X-ray diffractometer
And
* Degree / higher education qualification / HNC or equivalent experience
* Understanding how individual tasks fit in broader projects
* Keen interest and ability to improve efficiency by reviewing current process/procedures
* Ability to communicate with customers and colleagues both verbally and in writing
* Ability to work in a team and to provide support to build the future team
Desirable
* Experience in training or supporting others using XRD
* Experience in operating a Rigaku SmartLab XRD
* Experience in one or more of the following XRD techniques: Phase analysis, Rietveld
refinement, X-ray Line Profile Analysis, texture measurement, residual stress measurement
* Experience with other microstructural characterisation equipment, such as focused ion beam
(FIB), scanning electron microscope (SEM), including knowledge of EBSD and EDX
techniques, AFM, Raman and similar
* Experience in working with robots
* Physical sciences background
* Experience with irradiation effects in materials
* Data management experience
* Insight in how to adapt equipment for use in radioactive (e.g. hot cell) environments
* Experience of work with radioactive material
Additional Duties:
Work with radioactive samples and occasionally other hazardous material (beryllium) is a feature of
this post

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