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Argonne National Laboratory · 3 weeks ago

Postdoctoral Appointee – Building Agentic AI Platform for X-ray Science

Lemont, IL

Full-time

Onsite

Senior Level

$71K/yr - $118K/yr

Argonne National Laboratory is seeking a highly motivated and creative Postdoctoral Researcher to join the X-ray Science Division. The role involves developing web-based AI agents for X-ray spectroscopy and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to enhance an agentic AI platform for automated data analysis.

EnergySecuritySocial Impact

Culture & Values

No H1B

U.S. Citizen Only

Responsibilities

Develop web-based AI agents for X-ray spectroscopy by integrating large language models (LLMs) with physics-aware spectroscopy workflows

Work closely with a multidisciplinary team of X-ray physicists and computational scientists to advance a next-generation, user-friendly, agentic AI platform for automated data analysis, interpretation, and user interactions

Qualification

AI frameworksLarge language modelsPythonX-ray spectroscopyFront-end developmentBack-end servicesAPI designLarge-scale datasetsPassion for AIEffective communicationInterpersonal skillsCollaborative work

Required

A recent PhD (completed within 5 years, or soon to be completed) in computer science, engineering, computational science, a physical science (materials science, chemistry, physics etc.), or related field

Hands-on experience with AI frameworks and employing large language models

Strong Python skills and familiarity with LLM APIs (e.g., OpenAI API), agent frameworks (e.g. LangChain), PyTorch, and the Python scientific stack (e.g., numpy, pandas, scikit-learn)

Experience with front-end development and web-based applications, back-end services and API design (e.g., FastAPI, Flask), and deploying applications in local or cloud environments

Experience working with large-scale datasets

Willingness to learn basic domain-specific X-ray science and basic materials knowledge, and a strong passion for applying agentic AI to scientific discovery

Effective written and oral communications skills

Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multidisciplinary environment

Commitment to Argonne's Core Values: Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork

Interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills, and ability to interact with people at all levels both within and outside the laboratory

Preferred

Experience in the following areas is preferred and will help the candidate succeed: X-ray absorption spectroscopy theory and modelling, and handling large synchrotron/X-ray datasets

Experience with vector databases (e.g. Pinecone) for Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Experience with prompt engineering and chain-of-thought techniques

Experience with multimodal AI and/or foundation models