Research Software Engineer for Intelligent Experiment Steering

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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.

This position is for a 3-year term.

Position Description

Brookhaven National Laboratory is seeking a Research Software Engineer / Data Scientist to join the Data Science and Systems Integration (DSSI) Division at the National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II). This unique position is jointly supported by two major initiatives: ILLUMINE, a DOE-wide collaboration advancing intelligent experiment steering, and the Quantum-Enhanced Microscopy (QEM) project, which develops next-generation event-based detector and analysis capabilities.

The successful candidate will split their effort between these two efforts, contributing to the development of cutting-edge software infrastructure that powers both intelligent beamline control and quantum-enhanced experimental methods. On the ILLUMINE side, you will help build critical technologies for self-driving beamlines by integrating AI-driven decision-making directly into experimental workflows, accelerating scientific discovery across all six DOE light and neutron sources. On the QEM side, you will advance detector integration, scalable data analysis, and real-time pipelines for novel event-based detectors such as Timepix, with emphasis on GPU-accelerated methods and integration into the Bluesky/Tiled data ecosystem.

This role offers an outstanding opportunity to work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, high-performance scientific software, and advanced x-ray/quantum imaging. The position combines fundamental software engineering, AI/ML integration, and real-time data systems with direct impact on beamline operations and user science at NSLS-II and across the DOE complex.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop, deploy, and maintain open-source software for experiment planning, control, and data acquisition within the Bluesky/Tiled ecosystem.

• Advance detector integration and real-time analysis capabilities, with emphasis on event-based detectors (e.g., Timepix), GPU-accelerated methods, and scalable pipelines.

• Collaborate with scientists and engineers to integrate AI algorithms into beamline operations and enable intelligent experiment steering.

• Design and support automated workflows for calibration, data conversion, and large-scale analysis in operational scientific environments.

• Provide user-facing support, training, and documentation while publishing and presenting results to the broader community.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Requires a bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline or closely related field of study. This is an entry level position where formal work experience is not a requirement.

• 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:

• A Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline or closely related field of study.

• Minimum three (3) years progressively responsible related work experience is required.

• Maintains a sound knowledge of current principles and practices in a specialized engineering field.

• 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. This is a multi-level role and the full salary range for this position is $77,000 - $121,000 / 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.

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About Us

Brookhaven National Laboratory (www.bnl.gov) delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure the nation's future. Brookhaven Lab is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research. The Lab is primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science. Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) operates and manages the Laboratory for DOE. BSA is a partnership between Battelle and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University. BSA salutes our veterans and active military members with careers that leverage the skills and unique experience they gained while serving our country, learn more at BNL | Opportunities for Veterans at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

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