"Associate/Full Specialist (Facility Scientist) - Pines Magnetic Resonance Center (PMRC) Core Facility - College of Chemistry"

Position overview

Position title: Specialist

Salary range: The UC academic salary scales set the minimum pay determined by rank and step at appointment. See the following table for the current salary scale for this position: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/2025-26/represented-july-2025-scales/t24-b.pdf. A reasonable estimate for this position is $75,600 - $128,400.

Percent time: 100

Anticipated start: Start date prior to June 1st, 2026.

Position duration: Minimum 2-year initial appointment with the possibility of reappointment.

Application Window

Open date: March 13, 2026

Next review date: Sunday, Mar 29, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Tuesday, Apr 14, 2026 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Pines Magnetic Resonance Center - Core Facility (PMRC Core) at the University of California, Berkeley is seeking a Facility Scientist. The appointment will take place in the College of Chemistry's rich and diverse research environment with a unique opportunity to collaborate in cutting-edge science with UC-Berkeley researchers. The PMRC Core is a research facility that provides state-of-the-art NMR capabilities and currently houses ten NMR instruments ranging from 400 - 900 MHz that are fully equipped with cryoprobes, various solid-state, diffusion and micro-imaging probes. The PMRC Core has a large group of users with a broad scope of research interests from departments such as Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Physics, Bioengineering, Environmental Science, and Material Science, as well as from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which is located adjacent to the university campus. Campus and LBNL researchers require consultation and technical assistance from the PMRC Core staff and collaborate on solid- and solution-state NMR spectroscopy applications on, including but not limited to metal organic frameworks and polymers in material science, small molecule chemistry and total synthesis, inorganic and organo-metallic compounds in catalysis chemistry. The PMRC Core will expand in 2026 to include biomolecular solid- and solution-state NMR for structural biology and biophysics of proteins and biological assemblies. The Facility Scientist will report directly to the Facility Director, with oversight from the PMRC Faculty Director.

The Facility Scientist will be responsible for:

1. Providing NMR application support to campus and off-campus entities as requested. This will involve consultation on advanced solid-state NMR applications, including assistance with sample preparation, data acquisition and analysis, and, as necessary, coding pulse sequences and implementing new experiments.
2. General facility maintenance, including minor repairs to the NMR instruments, and helping to troubleshoot common instrument problems.
3. Assisting with cryogen fills (helium and nitrogen). The candidate will ensure that the magnets' liquid nitrogen and liquid helium fills are performed in a timely and safe manner.
4. Providing NMR training to new students, postdoctoral and other scholars, taking into consideration their varying needs and diverse research efforts, and evaluating users' capability to use the instruments in the PMRC Core.
5. Assisting with proposals for instrumentation grant programs.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Qualifications

Basic qualifications

(required at time of application)
Advanced degree or enrolled in advanced degree program

Additional qualifications

(required at time of start)

• Advanced degree
• Expertise in solid-state NMR
• Basic proficiency with solution-state NMR
• Excellent problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Collaborative mindset

Preferred qualifications

• Ph.D. degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Biophysics, Structural Biology, or relevant field
• Expertise in solid-state NMR for characterizing materials (e.g. organic frameworks, zeolites, and polymers), including sample preparation, data analysis and interpretation
• Expertise in biomolecular solid-state and/or solution NMR for structural biology of proteins and/or biological assemblies, including sample preparation, data analysis and interpretation; experience with protein structure calculations and numerical spectra simulations
• Expertise in solid-state DNP
• Expertise in operating Bruker NMR instruments

Application Requirements

Document requirements

• Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.
• Cover Letter

Reference requirements

• 3-5 required (contact information only)