NIST Careers

Why is NIST a great place to work? One of the great perks of working at NIST is the Federal Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)! The Federal SLRP permits Federal agencies to repay Federally-insured student loans as a recruitment or retention incentive for candidates or current employees of the agency. The program implements 5 U.S.C. 5379, which authorizes agencies to set up their own student loan repayment programs to attract or retain highly qualified employees. Learn more about this benefit: https://lnkd.in/e7Bhbqns

NIST will be at the 55th FEW National Training Program (NTP) August 5th - 7th. Stop by Booth 210 at the Federally Employed Women Exhibit Hall at the Hilton Chicago to learn more about career opportunities at NIST. Visit nist.gov/careers for the latest job openings and to apply! #FEWNTP2024 #NISTCareers #Hiring

This week, in honor of National Intern Day, we’ve been highlighting some of our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) student interns! Meet Lincoln Queale, a Mathematics major at Mount St. Mary’s University. Lincoln is researching simulation and statistical modeling of high-cycle metal fatigue data at the Boulder, CO campus. Q: What is a high-level overview of the work you do at NIST? I am working in the Statistical Engineering Division to try to evaluate and improve models for high-cycle metal fatigue data. A group in the Materials Measurement Lab at NIST is working to understand the fatigue strength of additively manufactured metals (essentially 3D printing metals) by measuring how many cycles of stress it takes for samples to break at a variety of different stress values. Because of time and material constraints on how this data is collected, there are censored data points and a relatively small number of data points overall. These factors combined make many traditional modeling techniques less effective. I am currently researching which models work best while also improving those models and, as part of that, making effective data simulations to work with. These metals are being increasingly used in critical roles, from aerospace applications to medical devices, where it’s critical to know when these materials are at risk of failure. Q: What is your favorite thing about NIST/SURF? I really enjoy the office culture and getting the opportunity to explore Colorado with new friends in my free time. Q: What advice would you give to students interested in SURF? Apply early, and more importantly ask your references to write your letters of recommendation early. Also, check your email regularly and try to respond promptly to any follow-up communications you receive. I would also encourage you to be open to different projects. You may or may not get your top project, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be an interesting learning opportunity. Interested in the SURF program? Summer 2025 applications go live this fall. Learn more about SURF: nist.gov/surf #NationalInternDay #Internship #EarlyCareer #Mathematics

Happy National Intern Day! This week, we’ve been highlighting some of our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) student interns in honor of this special day. Meet Remi Mellinghoff, an Environmental Engineering major at Yale University. Remi is researching the rate of chemical changes during outdoor sunlight weathering of polyamide pellets in Hawaii. Q: What is your NIST campus location? I work at the Center for Marine Debris Research in Waimanalo on Oahu, Hawaii. The center is a partnership between NIST and Hawaii Pacific University, and we are part of NIST’s Biochemical Exposure Sciences Group. Q: What is a high-level overview of the work you do at NIST? My work seeks to determine how weathering changes the chemical composition of polymers. More specifically, my project focuses on polyamide nylon, the material that commercial fishing nets are made of. Out in the ocean, when fragments or large segments of the net get disconnected from fishing boats, they continue to trap marine animals – a phenomenon known as ghost fishing. I am creating a calibration curve of photooxidation time versus carbonyl index and melting temperatures of four main nylon varieties. If we can quantify the effect of weathering on nylon's chemical properties, we can better predict the degradation of these fishing nets and inform solutions to a major problem in our oceans. Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment at NIST so far? Getting the word out! Our Center does a lot of outreach events on Oahu. The narrative regarding plastics is overwhelming and disheartening; it seems like an insurmountable problem. At a recent event at the Waikiki Aquarium, I realized we have the ability to foster a more positive and optimistic attitude, just by talking about our work! Interested in the SURF program? Summer 2025 applications go live this fall. Learn more about SURF: nist.gov/surf #NationalInternDay #Internship #EarlyCareer #Engineering

NIST will be at HI-TEC 2024 on July 31st & August 1st! Stop by Booth 202 at the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (HI-TEC) Exhibit Hall to learn more about career opportunities at NIST. Visit nist.gov/careers for the latest job openings and to apply! #HITEC2024 #NISTCareers #Hiring

Ever wondered what it’s like to intern at NIST? This week, in honor of National Intern Day, we are highlighting some of our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) student interns! Meet Miles Walker, a Cybersecurity major at Hampton University. Miles is researching human factors and their significance in cybersecurity at the Gaithersburg, MD campus and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE). Q: What is a high-level overview of the work you do at NIST? I work in the Information Technology Laboratory under the NICE Program, a program dedicated to cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. For my research project, I am investigating the significance of human factors in cybersecurity and their role in cyber incidents. However, aside from my research, I also perform a variety of other work, such as side projects and events. For one, I put together a spreadsheet of Career and Technical Education (CTE) information for all 50 states. I’m also helping the NICE Team plan events for their Cybersecurity Career Week in October. This past week, I helped with a teacher workshop focused on incorporating cybersecurity education into classrooms. This involved handing out materials, helping with the activities, and performing demonstrations. Q: What is your favorite thing about NIST/SURF? There’s a lot to like about NIST, but my favorite thing is probably the work culture. The people here get work done but are also welcoming, enthusiastic, and helpful, particularly the team I work under. There are also a plethora of events, seminars, and clubs to take part in during my downtime, such as the Rec Tennis League, which I am a member of. They even have a gym, which is a great place to exercise after work. Q: What advice would you give to students interested in SURF? My best piece of advice is to keep an open mind when it comes to research. Research comes in many forms and doesn’t just have to be reading papers and taking notes. You have so many options and projects to work on, so you’ll find something that interests you. Also, don’t feel like you need to know everything about your topic right away; research is all about learning and exploration and is very rarely a straight line. The beauty of it is that you won’t always get the results you expect (or the results you want), but you’ll always come out of it learning something new. Interested in the SURF program? Summer 2025 applications go live this fall. Learn more about SURF: nist.gov/surf #NationalInternDay #Internship #EarlyCareer #Cybersecurity

Ever wondered what it’s like to intern at NIST? This week, in honor of National Intern Day, we are highlighting some of our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) student interns! Meet Marianne Nguyen, a recent high school graduate with two years of undergraduate coursework completed through dual enrollment at Montgomery College. Marianne will major in Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County this fall and is conducting research on a web application for measurement error models at the Gaithersburg, MD campus. Q: What is a high-level overview of the work you do at NIST? Throughout this summer, I've been working on refining the usability, reliability, and performance of a web application. This app calculates fitted lines for data on nanoparticles and toxicity using measurement error models. Some of the features I have implemented include allowing user customization of data and correction methods, replacing loops with vectorized NumPy functions, integrating data validation with useful error messages, and adding documentation. Currently, I am implementing a way for users to download the graphs and data that the app calculates, and bettering personalization for the reference mean and standard deviation used in the fitted lines. Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment at NIST so far? I believe my biggest accomplishment during this internship is the growth and application of my skills. My mentor has been extremely helpful to my learning, assigning me work that is both challenging and builds upon my existing skills. This has allowed me to learn and improve in areas that are valuable for my academic path and career goals. The web application I have been working on aligns perfectly with my interests in computer science and bioinformatics. Therefore, the knowledge I am gaining from this internship makes me feel proud of the work I’ve put in and eager to apply it to future projects. Q: What advice would you give to students interested in SURF? As a recent high school graduate, I was initially nervous about whether I would have enough knowledge to successfully fulfill my tasks and responsibilities in the program. However, SURF is an incredible program with many welcoming and supportive staff members (especially your mentor) to guide you during your internship. Everyone is here to help you learn, and there are various ways to make the most of your internship, so don’t hold yourself back because of doubt. Interested in the SURF program? Summer 2025 applications go live this fall. Learn more about SURF: nist.gov/surf #NationalInternDay #Internship #EarlyCareer #ComputerScience

Ever wondered what it’s like to intern at NIST? This week, in honor of National Intern Day, we are highlighting some of our Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) student interns! Meet Shawn Pourifarsi, a Computer Engineering major at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Shawn is researching the limitations of shaders in ParaView for 3D visualization at the Gaithersburg, MD campus. Q: What is a high-level overview of the work you do at NIST? My work is on shaders and 3D computer visualization. Shaders are essential computer programs that run on the GPU of computers that calculate and render graphical data. These shaders have a lot of applications but specifically, affect computer visualization greatly. In the High Performance Computing and Visualization Group, we use an open-source software called ParaView built on the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) for 3D visualization. For a more accurate representation of 3D data in ParaView, the shaders must be adjusted past the default shaders VTK uses for its renderings. My work is to create a simple and adjustable way for users to input their shader code for better 3D visualization in ParaView. With this, users will be able to view their data more accurately in a way that better suits them simply and intuitively. Q: What is your favorite thing about NIST/SURF? One of my favorite things about NIST and the SURF program is the talks from so many people. It is truly amazing to hear about all the work that people at NIST are doing in the weekly SURF seminars. We also have the opportunity to talk with the speaker after their seminar, allowing for deeper conversation into their specific focus. These topics span many different disciplines, so I always tried to tie them back into the work I am doing. By tying it back into my work, I connected one of the speakers with our lab to help with their data visualization! Q: What advice would you give to students interested in SURF? The advice I would give to students interested in SURF is to just jump in. With such a unique experience that SURF provides, I often found myself uncomfortable and unsure of my skills. Once I learned that it was okay to make mistakes and that SURF was a place to grow, I was able to develop myself and make meaningful impacts on my project. Interested in the SURF program? Summer 2025 applications go live this fall. Learn more about SURF: nist.gov/surf #NationalInternDay #Internship #EarlyCareer #Engineering

Check out NIST's exciting #career opportunities!

Did you know? Many other federal agencies classify employees using the General Schedule (GS) system. At NIST, most employees are covered under the Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS) – a pay-for-performance system. The most noticeable difference between the NIST APMS and the General Schedule (GS) system used by other agencies is that NIST positions are classified according to career path and pay band, instead of by GS grade. Career paths are categories of occupations grouped by similarities in work, qualification requirements, pay ranges, and career progression. The four career paths that arose from this philosophy are Scientific and Engineering (ZP), Scientific and Engineering Technician (ZT), Administrative (ZA), and Support (ZS). A pay band encompasses a broader salary and classification range than does a General Schedule (GS) grade. A single band usually covers the same range as two or more grades. For this reason, pay banding is often referred to as "broadbanding." Check out our career path and pay band chart https://lnkd.in/eeZMMaB2.