Sensor Chemist

Position: Staff Scientist/Engineer

Group: Optical Chemical Sensing

Company: Intelligent Optical Systems

About the Company

Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) is a leading-edge research and development company providing optical test, measurement, and sensor solutions for industry, government, research, and academic customers. Over 25 years, we have developed cutting-edge optical chemical and biochemical sensors and associated opto-electronic instrumentation. IOS has established a deep presence in the optical chemical sensing field, offering systems to support advanced sensing requirements including applications in environmental monitoring, in-vivo sensing, space suit development, fighter pilot safety, and chemical warfare agent detection. Our facilities are located in Gardena, CA, just south of Los Angeles, near the intersection of the 110 and the 91.

Job Description

We are seeking a scientist or engineer with experience in optical chemical sensing, optical spectroscopy, and data analysis to contribute to our chemical monitoring technology development projects.

Development of optical chemical sensors and biosensors at IOS involves multiple disciplines, including photochemistry, organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and material science, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, mechanical, optical, and electronic engineering, among others. This position seeks an individual with the knowledge, experience, and skills to contribute to our projects and who understands the scientific and engineering principles of the multiple disciplines converging on chemical sensor development.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive forward R&D projects with support from the Principal Investigator
• Participate in the design of fiber optic and/or film chemical sensors
• Prepare polymer films and fiber optic polymeric coatings doped with indicator dyes sensitive to specific chemicals
• Contribute to the selection of colorimetric and fluorometric molecular probes
• Perform optical chemical sensor and/or biosensor testing, characterization, and maturation
• Analyze and thoroughly understand the experimental data collected, calculate sensor analytical parameters and extract relevant information (generate high quality plots, figures, tables, statistics, etc.)
• Maintain precise, accurate, and up-to-date records of experiments performed
• Analytical method development and validation
• Evaluate the performance of optoelectronic hardware developed for our chemical monitoring systems
• Participate in and contribute to scientific Research and Development meetings
• Assume responsibility for some R&D initiatives
• Design, assemble, and maintain testing setups for sensor devices
• Prepare for and participate in instrumentation deployment in the field
• Generate internal and external written reports of work performed at both an accomplishment-based and granular technical level of detail.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (eg. Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, etc.)
• Minimum 2 years postgraduate or professional experience in a chemical R&D laboratory setting (Coursework in B.S. or M.S. programs is valuable but will not be considered as experience)
• Hands-on experience with optical sensor fabrication, testing, and characterization
• In depth knowledge of spectroscopy, in particular UV-VIS absorption and luminescence
• Experience with chemical laboratory safety and experimental protocols
• Excellent analytical skills
• Familiarity with Python, standard libraries, etc.
• Strong writing, organizational, and documentation skills
• U.S. residence or citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong understanding of optical sensor instrumentation, including experience in defining system requirements and generating high level designs for sensing and monitoring devices
• In depth knowledge of time/frequency domain spectroscopy
• Extensive experience with light sources, detectors, signal modulation, and signal processing
• Technical knowledge of chemical sensors or a closely related field such as optical sensing or analytical chemistry
• Experience in executing on and managing government and industry-funded R&D projects
• Experience or skill in technical writing
• Familiarity with intellectual property development and strategy
• Capable of effective communication with sponsors and customers.

Compensation

• Salary range: $55,000 to $70,000 depending on qualifications and experience
• Competitive medical and dental insurance
• Paid vacation and holidays.

Contact

To apply, please e-mail your resumé to:

recruitment@intopsys.com

Equal Opportunity Employer

IOS is an equal opportunity & affirmative action employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and apprenticeship. IOS makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.