{"id":701031,"url":"https://alion.io/job/periodic-research-scientist-thin-films","title":"Research Scientist, Thin Films","company":{"id":685855,"name":"Periodic Labs","domain":"periodic.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/periodic","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":86,"open_postings":31,"ghost_share":0.226,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":51,"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"}},"role":"Science & Research","role_family":"Science & Research","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Menlo Park, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":250000,"max":350000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":350000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-09T21:28:45Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-07-09","last_verified_at":"2026-10-30T06:17:25Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":112,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":["company_stale"],"days_open":111},"description":"About Periodic Labs\nWe’re an AI and physical sciences company building state-of-the-art models to accelerate breakthroughs across materials, energy, and beyond. Backed by world-class investors and growing rapidly, we operate at the pace the frontier requires. Our team brings deep expertise, genuine ownership, and an insatiable drive to push the boundaries of what’s scientifically possible.\nAbout the Role\nJoin a world-class team of scientists and engineers pushing the boundaries of materials research in a groundbreaking lab where AI and automation unlock discoveries at unprecedented speed and scale.\nAs a Research Scientist in Thin Film Materials Discovery, you will lead thin-film synthesis efforts using advanced PVD platforms, building the experimental foundation for autonomous discovery loops. You will collaborate with computational and AI scientists, and partner with engineers designing next-generation automated laboratory infrastructure.\nWhat You’ll Do\nDevelop synthesis strategies to realize novel thin-film materials predicted by AI\n\nDetermine and control crystal structures, defects, microstructures, and properties of previously unrealized compounds\n\nPartner with AI and computation teams to build predictive models of materials growth and properties grounded in physics and chemistry\n\nWork with engineers to design, test, and deploy automated growth and characterization hardware\n\nYou Will Thrive in This Role If You Have\nPhD in chemistry, physics, or materials science, with 5+ years of hands-on experience\n\nDeep expertise with thin-film synthesis methods such as sputtering, PLD, and MBE, with demonstrated experience and creativity across diverse chemistries\n\nStrong skills in structural and chemical characterization, particularly of thin films and materials with structures or compositions never before realized experimentally - including diffraction, microscopy, and spectroscopy\n\nExperience probing the optical, electronic, magnetic, thermal, and/or other properties of thin films\n\nProven record of collaboration with computational groups, especially for high-throughput materials discovery\n\nDemonstrated commitment to laboratory safety and stewardship, with hands-on experience in hazardous chemistries\n\nStrong track record of highly impactful research demonstrated by publications in top-tier journals and/or inventions, and recognized leadership in the field\n\nEspecially Strong Candidates May Also Have\nExperience working in national user facilities such as synchrotrons or neutron sources\n\nDevelopment of novel synthesis or characterization techniques\n\nComfort with large experimental datasets and analysis pipelines\n\nExperience with automation and scripting in laboratory environments\n\nMechanics\nMinimum education: Bachelor’s degree or similar experience\nLocation: Menlo Park, CA\nCompensation: $250,000-350,000 + equity\nVisa sponsorship: Yes, we sponsor visas.\nWe’re building a team of the world’s best - the scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers who don’t just follow the frontier, they define it. If you’re driven to bring AI to life in the physical world and make discoveries that have never been made before, you belong here.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3167,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["AI Research Labs","AI for Science"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T02:56:47Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 7","filings_12m":7,"filings_prev_12m":2,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":359643,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-29T16:27:21+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":20,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.704,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":112,"expected_fill_days":51,"reasons":["conf:3","velocity","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-30T05:48:23Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":350000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/periodic-research-scientist-thin-films","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/periodic-research-scientist-thin-films.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-30T06:21:31Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":8798,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-31T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":685855},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=685855"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fperiodic-research-scientist-thin-films"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fperiodic-research-scientist-thin-films"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fperiodic-research-scientist-thin-films"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/periodic-research-scientist-thin-films\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fperiodic-research-scientist-thin-films"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":701031}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"periodic.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":701031},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}