Research Software Engineer for Intelligent Experiment Steering

The Data Science and Systems Integration (DSSI) division at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) develops scientific software to orchestrate experiments, including control systems, automation, networking, data management, and analysis.

Position Description

We are seeking a Research Software Engineer - (2 Year Term) to contribute to the ILLUMINE project, a collaborative initiative developing intelligent experiment steering across all six DOE light and neutron sources. In this role, you will lead the development of critical technologies that enable self-driving beamlines, integrating AI-driven decision-making with scientific experiments to accelerate discovery at NSLS-II and beyond.

You will work with the DSSI team and the broader ILLUMINE collaboration to develop software that integrates advanced algorithms into experimental workflows, implement services for experiment control, and deploy AI tools alongside large-scale scientific infrastructure.

This position offers an outstanding opportunity to gain hands-on experience in open-source scientific software engineering and AI-driven scientific research.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Work collaboratively on data-oriented and controls-oriented software projects to develop new capabilities at NSLS-II.

• Develop open-source software integrated into the Bluesky experimental planning and data acquisition framework.

• Work with scientists and engineers to integrate AI algorithms into beamline operations.

• Deploy, maintain, and optimize software in an operational scientific environment.

• Publish and present the results of these studies to the community.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related STEM discipline, and a minimum of Bachelor's and 2+ years of experience, or Master's degree and 1+ years of experience.

• Proficiency in Python or C++ programming.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative research environment.

• Self-motivated, with a strong ability to learn quickly and adapt to new challenges.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience with high-volume scientific data collection, management, and analysis.

• Experience managing distributed software systems.

• Contributions to community-led open-source projects.

• Familiarity with data acquisition and analysis at a synchrotron light source, neutron source, or other major scientific facility.

• Experience in developing and deploying AI models.

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate on distributed software development teams.

• Experience with HTTP APIs, Microservices, and containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).

• Familiarity with message bus solutions such as Kafka, RabbitMQ, Redis, or ZeroMQ.

Environmental, Health & Safety Requirements:

• Ergonomic considerations associated with regular computer use

Brookhaven Laboratory is committed to providing fair, equitable and competitive compensation. The full salary range for this position is $82,250 - $115,000.00 $/ year. You will be placed at the level and salary commensurate with your experience. Salary offers will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualification, education and experience and considered with the internal peer group.