Physicist Research Scientist

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's (LBNL) Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics Division (ATAP) has an opening for a Physicist Research Scientist to join the Advanced Modeling Program team.

In this exciting role, you will perform research in the Advanced Modeling Program as a key member of a team consisting of physicists, applied mathematicians, software engineers and students. Use and improve the high-performance simulation tools of the BLAST suite, to model systems involving plasmas, accelerated particle beams and/or high-intensity lasers, such as particle accelerators and colliders, fusion devices and experiments, etc. Working collaboratively with ATAP scientists, engineers, postdoctoral scholars, technicians and students, document and communicate results of work in peer-reviewed journals, oral presentations, and participate in meetings, conferences and reviews.

What You Will Do:

• Design, perform and analyze simulations of particle accelerators and colliders, including simulations of beam crossing at the interaction point, towards the design of future large-scale facilities.
• Design, perform and analyze simulations of fusion-relevant plasma systems, with an emphasis on ensuring that all the key physics (esp. collisional effects) is correctly captured with the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) algorithm.
• Participate in multi-laboratory collaboration on the development of the BLAST (Beam, pLasma & Accelerator Simulation Toolkit) suite of codes that includes the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) codes WarpX and ImpactX, esp. to add new capabilities that are relevant to the above-mentioned simulations.
• Run simulations on modern high-performance computing architecture, esp. using GPUs.
• Work closely with scientists, postdocs, and graduate students.
• Document and communicate results of work in peer-reviewed-journal publications and in oral presentations, including participation in meetings, conferences, and reviews.
• Use advanced visualization tools to convey the results of simulations in a way that is understandable to various audiences.
• Adhere to Environment, Safety, and Health (EH&S) policies and practices, as well as IDEA principles.

What is Required:

• Ph.D. in Physics or related field plus postdoctoral research experience, or overall equivalent breadth and depth of experience.
• Demonstrated experience in running and analyzing Particle-In-Cell simulations of plasmas and/or particle accelerators.
• Demonstrated experience in adding new features in high-performance simulation codes.
• Demonstrated experience of written and oral presentation of scientific results.
• Knowledge of modern C++ and python for scientific computing.
• Knowledge of parallel, High-Performance Computing (MPI, GPU programming).

Desired Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in using advanced visualization tools (e.g., Paraview, Visit).
• Excellent analytical, organizational and multi-tasking skills.

Notes:

• This is a full time 2 year, term appointment with the possibility of extension or conversion to Career appointment based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds and ongoing operational needs.
• This position is expected to pay $10,165 to $14,231 per month, which fits within the full salary range of $7,624 to $18,297 per month for this position. Salary will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualification, skills, knowledge, and abilities, including relevant education, certifications, and years of experience and aligned with internal peer group. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position.
• This position may be subject to a background check. Any convictions will be evaluated to determine if they directly relate to the responsibilities and requirements of the position. Having a conviction history will not automatically disqualify an applicant from being considered for employment.
• Work will be primarily performed at: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA.

Want to learn more about working at Berkeley Lab? Please visit: careers.lbl.gov

Berkeley Lab is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. In support of our rich community, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status.