Senior Staff Scientist – SIMS

About the role

PHI is seeking a dynamic and technically skilled Senior Staff Scientist with experience in secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to join our Analytical Laboratory team. In this role, the scientist will serve as a technical leader in dynamic, static, and time-of-flight (TOF) SIMS for the company, providing advanced guidance and expertise for customer demonstrations, technical sales support, training, marketing, product feedback, plus method and strategic application development. PHI is a subsidiary of ULVAC-PHI, a leading supplier of high-performance ultra-high vacuum surface analysis instrumentation, with an instrument portfolio that includes X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS).

Responsibilities

• Own PHI's technical position on the SIMS competitive landscape, market trends, and emerging industry applications, serving as the internal technical authority and external voice on SIMS capabilities, positioning, and differentiation.
• Take ownership of the demonstration portion of the sales process: plan and perform customer instrument demonstrations, including sample strategy, data acquisition and interpretation, plus preparation of clear technical reports that communicate both analytical results and PHI instrument advantages.
• Provide technical sales support throughout the sales cycle, including responses to product questions, application feasibility assessments, tender documentation, and customer-facing technical discussions.
• Prepare and deliver technical training for PHI customers and sales personnel, including development of training materials and application-focused content.
• Create and contribute to marketing materials, including product literature, presentations, application notes, research publications, and conference content that highlight PHI SIMS capabilities and product differentiation.
• Conduct competitive product analyses, including evaluation of technical performance, application strengths, and market trends.
• Develop novel applications and analytical strategies that demonstrate the value of PHI instrumentation across advanced materials.
• Identify emerging applications, including customer requirements that may lead to competitive advantage through internal development or external collaboration.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior staff, when appropriate.

Qualifications

• PhD in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, or a related field preferred with 7+ years of experience; Master's degree considered with significant relevant experience.
• Hands-on expertise in dynamic SIMS and TOF-SIMS instrumentation, applications, data analysis, and interpretation.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to customers, sales teams, scientists, engineers, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing technical reports, presentations, training materials, publications, or marketing content.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with sales, marketing, product development, R&D, customer service, and international teams.
• Experience supporting customer demonstrations, technical sales activities, application development, or product development is strongly preferred.
• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 20%, including domestic and international travel.