**Posting Title**
Undergraduate/graduate intern - software and data infrastructure for autonomous thin film experimentation (Year-Round)
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**Location**
CO - Golden
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**Position Type**
Intern (Fixed Term)
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**Hours Per Week**
25
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**Working at NLR**
NLR is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.
Join the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.
At NLR, you'll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.
**Job Description**
NLR's Materials Design and Discovery group is seeking an undergraduate or graduate intern to support the development of digital infrastructure for autonomous semiconductor processing and characterization systems. In conjunction with the DOE's METALLIC platform ( https://netl.doe.gov/metallic ), we are developing a closed-loop autonomous experimentation platform that integrates scientific instrumentation, data management, artificial intelligence, and workflow orchestration to accelerate the discovery and optimization of advanced semiconductor thin films.
The successful candidate will work closely with a multi-disciplinary team to build the software and data infrastructure that enables autonomous operation of advanced semiconductor synthesis and characterization instruments.
**Key responsibilities include**
+ Develop and maintain Python software for scientific instrument control and laboratory automation.
+ Implement APIs, communication interfaces, and messaging systems connecting distributed experimental instruments and control computers.
+ Support real-time data exchange, data management, and provenance infrastructure for autonomous experimentation workflows.
+ Assist with integration, testing, debugging, deployment, and documentation of software systems.
+ Develop tools for monitoring, logging, and visualization of experimental data and system status.
Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams working in semiconductor processing, materials science, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
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**Basic Qualifications**
Minimum of a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
Undergraduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a bachelor's degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Undergraduate: Earned a bachelor's degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
Graduate: Must be enrolled as a full-time student in a master's degree program from an accredited institution.
Post Graduate: Earned a master's degree within the past 12 months. Eligible for an internship period of up to one year.
Graduate + PhD: Completed master's degree and enrolled as PhD student from an accredited institution.
Please Note:
- Applicants are responsible for uploading official or unofficial school transcripts, as part of the application process.
- If selected for position, a letter of recommendation will be required as part of the hiring process.
- Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.
*** Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.**
**Additional Required Qualifications**
+ Experience programming in Python.
+ Familiarity with software development practices, including version control (e.g., Git).
+ Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
+ Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary research team.
+ Strong written and verbal communication skills.
+ Ability to quickly learn new technologies and experimental systems.
**Preferred Qualifications**
+ Experience developing software for hardware interfacing, automation, laboratory systems, or scientific instrumentation.
+ Experience with communication standards, protocols, and messaging technologies used for instrument integration and distributed systems (e.g., OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT, TCP/IP, SCPI).
+ Experience with databases, data pipelines, or data management systems.
+ Experience with machine learning, optimization, computer vision, or autonomous experimentation systems.
+ Previous experience working with scientific instrumentation, labora