DOC ranked top 5 in 2023 Best Places to Work for large agencies for the 12th year running! This shows our continued commitment to increasing engagement & promoting diversity, equity, accessibility & inclusion. Join our team! NIST works with industry & science to advance innovation & improve quality of life. We're looking for a Physicist to join us! This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

NIST's Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) sets the definitive U.S. standards for nearly every kind of measurement employed in commerce and research, sometimes across more than 20 orders of magnitude. This position is in PML's Time and Frequency Division, who maintains the standard for frequency and time interval for the U.S., provides official time to the U.S., and carries out a broad program of research and service activities in time and frequency metrology. If hired as a Physicist for the Time and Frequency Division, you will: Lead cutting-edge research in the component level development of a 2-node quantum network. The work will be primarily experimental and will involve teamwork within a diverse scientific community. Work on a team to help develop single photon sources from telecom-based modelocked lasers. Build a modelocked laser using optical amplifiers and nonlinear optics to generate single photons via heralded detection of a single daughter photon via nonlinear spontaneous parametric down conversion Aid in the design, development and realization of phase-stable optical links for quantum communications. This work will require noise characterization of optical fiber links to assess their performance for quantum networking.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics. or Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In either 1 or 2 above, the courses must have included: a fundamental course in general physics, and, in addition, courses in any two of the following: electricity and magnetism heat light mechanics modern physics sound In addition to the basic requirements, you must also meet the following requirements: 1. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-9 (ZP-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as: experience in optical engineering, opto-mechanical design, solid-state lasers, nonlinear optics, and fiber optics. or 2. Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 3. A combination of graduate education and specialized experience. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done. We will credit all qualifying volunteer experience in your application. For application tips, please refer to this site: Application Tips The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position has an education requirement. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required prior to a final offer of employment.

Education completed outside of the U.S. must be evaluated by a credential evaluation service to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view more information about this from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with a course-by-course listing) is required with your application.

Contacts

• Address Time and Frequency Division 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Tailor Thompson
• Email: [email protected]