Microsoft Cambridge Intern Program – Optical Materials Scientist 

Taiwan, Taoyuan City 

713282852

You will be tasked to use your breadth of knowledge in materials physics, thin-films, and optics to develop techniques to design and prototype next generation materials for cloud infrastructure applications. You will be required to envisage, design, and model new thin-film materials, and then validate these designs by experimentally fabricating and characterising their properties.

You will work with researchers in materials, optics, electronics, machine learning and computer science, feeding back results and experience as well as learning about, considering, and understanding the additional constraints to find good solutions to difficult problems.

Required:

• Undergraduate or Master level degree in physics, materials science, or a closely related field.
• Currently enrolled in a PhD program with at least 12 months experience researching materials.
• A demonstratable record working at the interface of different research fields - especially materials and optics.
• Experienced in physics of materials and their interaction with light.
• Strong analytical skills and experience in data recording, processing and interpretation.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams.
• Excellent communication skills in English, both written and spoken.

Preferred Qualifications (zero or more of):

• Knowledge and background in thin-film growth methods.
• Hands-on experience with physical vapor deposition systems for thin film fabrication.
• Hands-on experience with optical lab components and instruments (e.g., lasers, free-space assemblies, optical microscopy systems).
• Experience in atomistic (e.g. DFT) and electromagnetic (e.g. FDTD) modelling.
• Experience designing and using free-space optical systems.
• Ability to program in Python.
• Knowledge of machine learning approaches or materials analysis or process optimisation.

Specific responsibilities during the internship may include:

• Design and execute thin-film deposition experiments using physical vapour deposition (PVD) techniques to fabricate functional materials.
• Characterise deposited films using a suite of analytical tools, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman, and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
• Collaborate across disciplines, including chemistry, physics, computer science, and machine learning, and contribute to joint research efforts with internal partners.
• Contribute to the presentation of research findings, in internal meetings or reports, or towards the preparation of submissions to peer-reviewed journals.
• Maintain and troubleshoot vacuum systems and diagnostic equipment, ensuring reliable operation of sputtering machines and characterisation instruments.