Staff Microscopist - Office Of Research Innovation And Economic Development - UTK

JobID: 10261

Category: Research

JobSchedule: Full time

Posted Date: 2026-10-07T13:22:58+00:00

JobShift:

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This position reports to the Electron Microscopy Facility Manager of the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing. This position assists the facility manager in the education, training, and supervision of the faculty, staff, students and external users of the electron microscopy instruments and ancillary equipment. The staff microscopist will be the point of contact for users accessing the transmission electron microscopes within the facility. This microscopist will provide expertise with aberration-corrected and monochromated transmission electron microscopy, as well as conventional and advanced electron microscopy techniques such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy, selected area and convergent beam electron diffraction. To a lesser extent, the microscopist will also support scanning electron microscopy and focused ion-beam activities which contribute to materials science studies conducted within the Institute.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has shaped leaders, changemakers, and innovative thinkers since its founding in 1794. The university is home to more than 38,000 students and 10,000 statewide employees-the Volunteers-who uphold the university's tradition of lighting the way for others through leadership and service.

UT Knoxville offers over 900 programs of study across 14 degree-granting colleges and schools. As Tennessee's flagship land-grant university, its footprint spans the entire state. The university holds the highest Carnegie classification for research activity and has deep partnerships with industry leaders and the US Department of Energy's largest multidisciplinary laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The Knoxville campus serves and recruits for UT Knoxville, including the Institute of Agriculture and the Space Institute, as well as the UT Institute of Public Service.

UT Knoxville considers its employees its number one asset. With values that focus on work-life balance, compensation, and innovation leadership, all Vols are supported to advance professionally. Employees have access to career development and coaching, continued education, and an extensive list of development and training possibilities. The Volunteer employee experience implements structures and practices to attract and retain top-tier talent, fostering a strong staff community and supporting a culture of involvement and engagement for everyone.

The university holds a strong commitment to its land-grant mission of learning and engagement, with a tradition of service and leadership that carries that Volunteer spirit throughout the state and around the world. It has been ranked nationally as "Best Employer for New Graduates," "One of America's Best Large Employers," and "Best Workplace for Women," and has been designated as "Best Place for Working Parents" by Forbes Magazine.

Apply today and join the Tennessee Volunteer community!

Required Qualifications

• Education: Master's degree in Materials Science or related field.
• Experience: At least three (3) years' experience in a multi-user electron microscopy based facility
• Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
• In depth knowledge of conventional and advanced electron microscopy techniques used with a wide variety of sample types and fields of research as applied to TEM, SEM, and FIB
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to support and interact with large numbers of users having significant differences in microscopy experience, skills and needs

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without need now or in the future for sponsorship for employment-based visa status.

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Doctoral degree in Materials Science or related field.
• Experience:
• At least five (5) years' experience using advanced microscopy techniques in a multi-user electron microscopy facility
• Experience using scanned probes (atomic force microscopy, nanoindentation)

Work Location

• Location: Knoxville

Compensation and Benefits

UT market range: M10

• Anticipated hiring range:
• Find more information on the UT Market Range structure here
• Find more information on UT Benefits here

Application Instructions

To express interest, please submit an application with the noted below attachments.

• Resume
• Cover Letter

About The College/Department/Division

Here at the University of Tennessee, thousands of world-class faculty, staff, students and postdoctoral fellows are engaged in research, scholarship and creative work on a daily basis. With a shared commitment to creating a more just, prosperous, and sustainable world for the citizens of Tennessee and communities far beyond, the UT community is creating new knowledge and generating solutions to some of the most challenging issues of our time.

The Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development is here to support you, our community of researchers, scholars and creatives, from ideation to impact. Our dedicated team is here to help you develop competitive proposals and sources of support for your work, seed investments in promising new areas, nurture new and established multidisciplinary communities of scholars and support and sustain a strong culture of research integrity.

The university's strategic relationships with corporate, venture, community, non-profit and government partners help extend the impact of our community's work across the state and around the world. In collaboration with these partners, we are working to establish Tennessee as a go-to destination for cutting-edge research, innovation and a skilled workforce.

We understand that a creative, productive, and empowered community of researchers, scholars, and creatives is critical to the university's future as a world-renowned research institution.

Training and Safety

• Trains facility users one-on-one at two transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Certifies users for unsupervised access to instruments and ancillary equipment
• 300 kV corrected monochromated TEM-STEM (ThermoFisher Spectra 300) with EDS and post-column electron energy filtering
• 200 kV TEM-STEM (Zeiss Libra 200) with in-column energy filtering
• Trains facility users one-on-one at three scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and focused ion-beam (FIB) systems
• Zeiss EVO SEM (LaB6; EDS, variable pressure mode operation)
• Zeiss Auriga Crossbeam (FEG-SEM; Ga-sourced FIB)
• Thermofisher Helios Hydra (FEG-SEM; EDS, EBSD, plasma-source FIB)
• Supports and advocates the safety program and protocols adopted by the facility. Assists in the safety training of users and their compliance with safety programs.

Customer support

• Mentors undergraduate students, graduate students and post-docs in underlying theory and best-practices required for proper acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of scientific data acquired using facility instruments, including the limitations of the techniques being used.
• Oversees user operations to ensure instruments are used safely, effectively, and that best-practice microscopy techniques are being followed
• Where appropriate, collaborates with users on data generation and interpretation, grant applications, and research publications

Maintenance and outreach

• Perform regular and necessary maintenance, performance testing and calibrations of facility instruments; coordinate and oversee instrument maintenance and repair by vendor field service engineers
• Participate in in IAMM Microscopy Facility hosted events, including regional professional society meetings, tours of the Facility, and topical workshops

Other duties as assigned.

Training and Safety

• Trains facility users one-on-one at two transmission electron microscopes (TEM). Certifies users for unsupervised access to instruments and ancillary equipment
• 300 kV corrected monochromated TEM-STEM (ThermoFisher Spectra 300) with EDS and post-column electron energy filtering
• 200 kV TEM-STEM (Zeiss Libra 200) with in-column energy filtering
• Trains facility users one-on-one at three scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and focused ion-beam (FIB) systems
• Zeiss EVO SEM (LaB6; EDS, variable pressure mode operation)
• Zeiss Auriga Crossbeam (FEG-SEM; Ga-sourced FIB)
• Thermofisher Helios Hydra (FEG-SEM; EDS, EBSD, plasma-source FIB)
• Supports and advocates the safety program and protocols adopted by the facility. Assists in the safety training of users and their compliance with safety programs.

Customer support

• Mentors undergraduate students, graduate students and post-docs in underlying theory and best-practices required for proper acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of scientific data acquired using facility instruments, including the limitations of the techniques being used.
• Oversees user operations to ensure instruments are used safely, effectively, and that best-practice microscopy techniques are being followed
• Where appropriate, collaborates with users on data generation and interpretation, grant applications, and research publications

Maintenance and outreach

• Perform regular and necessary maintenance, performance testing and calibrations of facility instruments; coordinate and oversee instrument maintenance and repair by vendor field service engineers
• Participate in in IAMM Microscopy Facility hosted events, including regional professional society meetings, tours of the Facility, and topical workshops

Other duties as assigned.