Coatings Materials Scientist

Responsibilities

• Develop and optimize fluorine-resistant optical coatings for laser-facing components, including mirrors, windows, and diagnostic optics.
• Design and evaluate fluorine-compatible material systems for broader system applications (e.g., chambers, fixtures, and exposed hardware).
• Work closely with the optics and laser engineering teams to define coating requirements, performance targets, and integration constraints.
• Lead hands-on coating deposition efforts, including thin film development, process tuning, and substrate preparation.
• Design and execute test plans and Design of Experiments (DOE) to evaluate coating adhesion, durability, chemical resistance, and optical performance.
• Perform detailed materials and coating characterization, including microstructural, compositional, and optical property analysis.
• Analyze failure modes (e.g., delamination, degradation under fluorine exposure) and drive root cause investigations and corrective actions.
• Develop and document coating processes, specifications, and qualification procedures.
• Collaborate with internal teams and external vendors to scale coating processes from lab development to pilot and high-volume manufacturing.
• Support integration of coatings into system hardware, including validation under relevant operating conditions.
• Contribute to the development of experimental infrastructure and coating test platforms within M&P.

Qualifications

• Education : PhD in Materials Science, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics or a closely related field.
• Experience : 5–10 years of industry experience in coating development, materials engineering, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience developing optical coatings and/or protective coatings for harsh environments.
• Strong understanding of:
• Thin film deposition processes (e.g., PVD, CVD, IBS, ALD, sputtering, evaporation, plasma-based methods)
• Coating adhesion, stress, and durability mechanisms
• Optical coating performance (reflectivity, absorption, damage thresholds)
• Hands-on experience with coating fabrication and processing.
• Hands-on expertise with materials and coating characterization tools, including:
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
• Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
• Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS/EDX)
• X-ray Diffraction (XRD)
• Optical microscopy and profilometry
• Surface analysis and coating thickness/roughness measurements
• Strong ability to correlate microstructure, composition, and processing conditions to coating performance
• Experience designing and executing DOE and structured experiments.
• Ability to independently troubleshoot complex materials and coating failures.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary, hardware-focused environment.
• Execution-focused mindset with the ability to move quickly from concept to validation.
• Strong collaborator, able to work across optics, materials, and system teams
• Strong data analysis skills and familiarity with statistical methods.
• Experience writing technical reports, specifications, and documentation.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Desired

• Experience developing coatings for chemically aggressive environments, particularly fluorine or halogen chemistries.
• Background in laser optics, optical coatings, or high-energy laser systems.
• Experience transitioning coatings from R&D to pilot or high-volume manufacturing.
• Familiarity with scaling coating processes for industrial production.
• Experience working with external coating vendors or contract manufacturers.
• Knowledge of coating durability testing standards (thermal cycling, chemical exposure, laser damage).
• Experience in system-level integration of coatings into hardware environments.
• Highly hands-on and experimental, comfortable working in lab and hardware environments.