Overview:
The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is the nonprofit, applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Founded in 1934 as the Engineering Experiment Station, GTRI has grown to more than 2,900 employees, supporting eight laboratories in over 20 locations around the country and performing more than $940 million of problem-solving research annually for government and industry. GTRI's renowned researchers combine science, engineering, economics, policy, and technical expertise to solve complex problems for the U.S. federal government, state, and industry.
Georgia Tech's Mission and Values
Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:
1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
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Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.
Project/Unit Description
The RF Photonics & Advanced Materials Division (RFPAM) in the Electro-Optical Systems Laboratory (EOSL) of GTRI is searching for an entry-level Nanofabrication Engineer willing and able to work on multiple projects within the Division, as the need arises, including laboratory experimentation as well as modeling of experimental data. The RF Photonics and Materials Division (RFPAM) currently performs advanced research and development that involves the development & packaging of new materials and micro-electronic device technologies, spacecraft hardware, photonic integrated circuits, and RF/millimeter-wave devices. The components and sub-systems are used in a variety of systems and applications, primarily for aerospace and national security platforms. The successful candidate will support the GTRI research portfolio in the areas of advanced materials fabrication and characterization, thin film deposition, and heterogeneous material integration and testing.
The RFPAM team is skilled synthesis and deposition of advanced materials and semiconductors; materials physics and chemistry; weathering of materials in space; design, simulation, fabrication, packaging and measurement of RF and photonic ICs and subsystems, fiber optics & comms, and building optical & RF subsystems with both discrete components & ICs. RFPAM is a leader in the Georgia Tech Microelectronics community as well as the Space Technology community. GTRI offers a dynamic, collaborative environment, where research faculty generate new ideas for projects to serve the needs of the warfighter, with opportunities to perform on projects outside their division to broaden their knowledge & experience.
Job Purpose
Nanofabrication research engineer to research and contribute to the design, fabrication, synthesis, characterization, packaging, and testing of nano-fabricated devices and structures for projects such as DNA data storage, quantum sensing and computing, and microelectronics. This may also include delivery of prototype devices. This position involves close collaboration with a highly technical team of research leaders to accomplish task and program objectives, contribute technically to proposal ideation, and conceive and execute internal research efforts refining core fabrication processes and capabilities. Fabrication responsibilities range from process design and supervision to full clean-room implementation, and will utilize a wide range of bulk and micro/nano synthesis/fabrication tools and develop novel techniques to create novel materials, devices, and structures with new properties.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform basic tests, experiments, calculations, and/or simulations to determine physical parameters/properties and behaviors of materials and systems and conduct basic data analysis on the results of measurements and/or simulations
- Perform literature surveys on research topics
- Generate documentation of experiments and results
Additional Responsibilities
- Perform thin film deposition of advanced engineered materials.
- Growth/deposition of inorganic/organic thin film materials by various PVD/CVD and other techniques
- Analyze and characterize various materials and devices for aerospace and national security applications.
- Work with common electronic packaging equipment such as: lithography, etching, dicing saws, wire bonders, etc.
- Learn & practice advanced packaging techniques to manage RF and thermal challenges with devices and integrated circuits
- Model and simulate optical & RF devices, and structures
- Assist in other activities as directed.
Required Minimum Qualifications
- Candidates currently enrolled in an accredited degree program relevant to this position will be considered. The candidate must have a graduation date of no later than December 2024
- B.S. degree in materials science & engineering, electrical engineering, physics, applied physics, microelectronics, mechanical engineering, or similar field
- Hands on experience with mechanical, diffusion, cryo- and turbo-pumped vacuum systems, and chillers
- Hands-on experience with the techniques/equipment for the deposition/growth of thin film materials, such as DC/RF sputtering, thermal and e-beam evaporation, molecular beam epitaxy, and atomic layer deposition equipment.
- Extensive laboratory and computer skills as demonstrated in independent undergrad projects, master’s thesis research, laboratory internships, etc.
- Strong coursework foundation in physics and chemistry
- Strong programming skills in common software / simulation tools such as Python, Matlab etc.
- Knowledge of semiconductor fabrication techniques or device physics
- Conversant with material and device characterization techniques/equipment/metrology (such as optical/electron microscopy, electrical/optical parameters analysis, physical morphology)
- Strong sense of curiosity in both the technical and non-technical aspects of working in applied research.
Preferred Qualifications
- Active Secret Clearance
- Experience with radio frequency component and system simulation and layout software such as HFSS, Cadence AWR, Keysight ADS, Silvaco TCAD, Altium Designer, or Klayout.
- Characterization and test of bare die in a probe station, load-pull measurements
- Ability to clearly communicate technical ideas to a non-technical audience
Travel Requirements
<10% travel
Education and Length of Experience
This position vacancy is an open-rank announcement. The final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty Extension Professional ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook
- 0 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering, Electrical engineering, physics, applied physics, microelectronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and closely related fields.
U.S. Citizenship Requirements
Due to our research contracts with the U.S. federal government, candidates for this position must be U.S. Citizens.
Clearance Type Required
Candidates must be able to obtain and maintain an active security clearance.
Benefits at GTRI
Comprehensive information on currently offered GTRI benefits, including Health & Welfare, Retirement Plans, Tuition Reimbursement, Time Off, and Professional Development, can be found through this link: https://hr.gatech.edu/benefits
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