Postdoctoral Researcher in Time-resolved X-ray Nanoimaging

About the role

The newly established Laboratory for Nanoscale X-ray Metrology at EPFL is looking for a motivated postdoctoral researcher to develop time-resolved imaging methods and apply them to semiconductor reliability problems. The position focuses on time-resolved imaging of dynamic processes; a companion position covers high-throughput imaging of static defects. Each postdoc leads their own independent research direction within the SNSF Starting Grant project NEXUS-3D, with close collaboration with the team.

Key responsibilities

• Develop an acquisition and reconstruction framework that exploits the sparsity of dynamics and microchip structure to detect nanoscale changes from the smallest number of X-ray measurements.
• Improve and extend an existing data acquisition and reconstruction pipeline, which reconstructs each projection from thousands of diffraction patterns and then builds volumes from projections at many rotation angles.
• Explore how temporal and structural sparsity can be incorporated into 3D dynamics reconstruction models, and how sparse measurements can still capture high-resolution dynamic events.
• Demonstrate the developed algorithms at synchrotron experiments, including at the cSAXS beamline of the Swiss Light Source and other facilities worldwide.

Required profile

• PhD in physics, engineering, computer science or a related field.
• Experience with inverse problems and 3D reconstruction methods for tomography, laminography or a closely related modality.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English.
• Preferred: coherent diffractive imaging (ptychography), sparse sensing, optimization or Bayesian experimental design, machine learning for imaging, synchrotron experience, or semiconductor devices and metrology.

Required skills

• Strong scientific programming in Python.
• Experience with GPU processing of large-scale datasets.

What we offer

• Employment by EPFL with a salary according to EPFL regulations, for a two-year fixed-term contract (renewable annually) with 100% activity rate.
• Close mentorship and support for professional development, including summer schools, international conferences and experiments at synchrotrons worldwide.
• Work at the upgraded Swiss Light Source synchrotron in Villigen, Switzerland.

Applications are submitted online through the EPFL platform as a single PDF containing a cover letter, a detailed CV and a research statement, plus three referee contacts. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis; the expected start date is flexible.