Professional Aide

Position Summary(Basic Job Function)

This is a temporary or an on-call position. Provides professional support. Responsibilities may include general business, science, medical, agricultural or other professional support functions. Term: Temps can work two (2) nine (9) month terms with a week break in service in between and at the end of the second term terminate for three (3) months or switch to an on-call. On-Call allowed to work 1039 hours in any twelve (12) month period.

Unit Position Summary

Michigan State University (MSU) operates the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) as a user facility for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), supporting the mission of the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics. FRIB provides researchers with one of the most advanced tools of modern science to study rare isotopes, or short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth. Hosting what is designed to be the most powerful heavy-ion accelerator, FRIB enables scientists to make discoveries about the properties of rare isotopes, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry. User facility operation is supported by the DOE-SC Office of Nuclear Physics as one of 28 DOE-SC user facilities. MSU’s nuclear physics graduate program is a top-ranked program nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report.

This position affords an exciting opportunity to become part of the world-class FRIB Laboratory that enables unique discovery opportunities in nuclear science.

Purpose: 

The Professional Aide will support the development of reduced-order models for nuclear reaction theory calculations to accelerate computationally intensive simulations and enable Bayesian uncertainty quantification, experimental design studies, and improved predictive theory.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Develop, implement, test, and document reduced-order modeling methods for nuclear reaction theory and optical-potential calculations using Python. 
• Process and analyze nuclear reaction data and compare theoretical calculations with available data. 
• Use version-control and modern scientific software-development tools, including Git/GitHub and, where appropriate, agentic AI tools, to support code development, testing, documentation, and maintenance. 
• Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties in this job classification. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• General knowledge of nuclear physics, including nuclear reaction theory, optical potentials, scientific computing, and data analysis.
• Ability to analyze verbal or statistical data to prepare reports and studies.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to ensure accuracy of facts and figures.
• Ability to effectively organize, assemble, and arrange resources to meet goals.
• Excellent communication skills to communicate effectively and credibly, both verbally and in writing with all audiences.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suites.

Desired Qualifications

FRIB Required: 

• At least one year of academic or research experience in nuclear physics or a closely related area.
• At least one year of experience using Python for scientific computing, numerical analysis, and data analysis.

FRIB Desired: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Physics or a closely related field.
• Experience in nuclear reaction theory and optical potentials.
• Experience working with nuclear reaction data.
• Experience with reduced-order modeling or related computational methods.
• Experience using AI-assisted or agentic AI tools for scientific software development, testing, or maintenance.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Application Materials

Please provide a cover letter and a resume. 

Work Hours

STANDARD 8-5

Website

frib.msu.edu