Upton, NY, United States of America
Onsite
Brookhaven National Laboratory’s National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to develop an automated protein crystal harvesting system at the Center for BioMolecular Structure (CBMS).
The successful candidate will develop vision-guided robotic manipulation capabilities for detecting, tracking, and harvesting fragile micron-scale protein crystals suspended in liquid droplets. Working closely with a multidisciplinary team of crystallographers, beamline scientists, controls engineers, mechanical engineers, and data scientists, the candidate will help integrate computer vision, machine learning, and robotic manipulation into an automated crystal harvesting platform.
This is a hands-on role centered on building and deploying closed-loop perception, visual servoing, and robotic control systems in a real laboratory environment. The position offers the opportunity to advance machine vision, robotic manipulation, and embodied AI techniques while addressing a scientifically impactful problem in structural biology.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Develop and implement vision-guided real-time robotic manipulation methods for crystal harvesting
Design and deploy closed-loop perception and control pipelines using visual feedback
Contribute to vision-based servoing approaches for precise, real-time positioning
Integrate perception outputs with motion planning and execution using ROS2 and MoveIt2
Perform system calibration (e.g., hand-eye calibration, camera calibration) to ensure accurate 3D spatial alignment
Evaluate and improve system robustness, including perception uncertainty and failure modes
Collaborate closely with domain experts across crystallography, controls, and engineering
Participate in system testing, tuning, and performance evaluation
Document methods and results; contribute to reports, publications, and presentations
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related field
Demonstrated experience developing and implementing robotics systems.
Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++
Knowledge of robotic systems:
Robot kinematics and coordinate transformations
Motion planning and trajectory generation.
Calibration methods
Proven track record in disseminating scientific results in the form of publications, or conference presentations.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Experience developing robotic systems that integrate vision-guided control in real-world settings
Experience working with ROS2-based ecosystems
Experience with camera calibration, hand-eye calibration, and coordinate frame registration
Experience integrating machine learning models into robotics
Familiarity with:
Micro-Manipulation
Sensor fusion or state estimation
Real-time system debugging and performance tuning
What Success Looks Like:
Development of a system capable of reliably detecting and localizing protein crystals
Implementation of closed-loop robotic manipulation using visual feedback
Improved robustness and reliability of the crystal harvesting process under real-world conditions
Application Instructions:
Candidates should submit a brief cover letter outlining how their experience and career goals are suitable for the position along with their resume or CV.
Other Information:
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Brookhaven National Laboratory (www.bnl.gov) delivers discovery science and transformative technology to power and secure the nation’s future. Brookhaven Lab is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research. The Lab is primarily supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) operates and manages the Laboratory for DOE. BSA is a partnership between Battelle and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University. BSA salutes our veterans and active military members with careers that leverage the skills and unique experience they gained while serving our country, learn more at BNL | Opportunities for Veterans at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
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