Lila Sciences
Scientist II / Senior Scientist, Electron Diffraction Characterization
$128K–$198K
Cambridge, MA USA +1 · Senior · Full-time · Posted Sep 14, 2026
- Location
- Cambridge, MA USA
Alewife, Cambridge, MA - Education
- PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, Applied Physics, Engineering, or a related field, or M.S. with equivalent hands-on characterization experience.
About the job
Develops and operates electron diffraction characterization workflows, turning measurements into reliable, machine-readable data for materials discovery, analysis, and modeling.
What you'll do
- Lead and validate electron diffraction workflows, including sample preparation, measurements, data interpretation, and troubleshooting.
- Develop crystal structure determination and microstructure analysis methods, with calibration, quality-control, and reproducibility standards.
- Partner with ML, software, automation, and experimental teams to build scalable, traceable analyzer pipelines.
What they ask for
- PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, Applied Physics, Engineering, or a related field, or an M.S. with equivalent hands-on characterization experience.
- Hands-on expertise in SEM and TEM, including advanced diffraction analysis such as micro-ED.
- Strong understanding of diffraction principles, crystallography, crystal structure determination, and microstructure analysis.
- Experience preparing samples, validating methods, interpreting diffraction data, troubleshooting workflows, and collaborating across scientific or technical teams.
Nice to have
- Experience with EBSD or 4D-STEM; familiarity with automated or high-throughput characterization.
- Proficiency with Python or similar scientific data analysis tools; experience integrating instrument data with ML-ready datasets or analyzer workflows.
Pay
$128,000 — $198,000 USD (base salary)
Tools
SEM, TEM, micro-ED, EBSD, 4D-STEM, Python
AI focus
Supports AI-enabled materials discovery by producing machine-readable diffraction data and collaborating on ML-ready datasets, analyzer pipelines, and model development.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative