Postdoctoral Associate

Postdoctoral Associate

Requisition Number: 69221

Location: Boulder Colorado

Employment Type: Research Faculty

Schedule: Full Time

Posting Close Date: 09-Jan-2026

Date Posted:

The Postdoctoral Associate will conduct laboratory and field-based demonstrations in optical time transfer and optical communications.

This position is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Professional Research Experience Program (PREP). NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas.

Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

PREP is a special partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado Boulder. PREP provides research opportunities to CU undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers with a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in NIST labs to gain research experience alongside NIST scientists.

The particular group that needs a researcher is the Fiber Sources and Applications Group under the Spectrum Technology and Research Division at NIST.

• Design and implement femtosecond optical time-transfer experiments.
• Conduct laboratory experiments and analyze results.
• Present results at scientific conferences and in scientific journals.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. 272(b) and (c)

Purpose: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) (https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.

PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate administrative functions of the PREP Program.

Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.

Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.

• The salary range for this full-time position is $67,000 – $100,000 annually.
• Onboarding/relocation assistance may be available, however, if within a 12-month period you exercise your right to willfully terminate your employment with the University of Colorado, you hereby agree to reimburse the department for your relocation expense.

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