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Assistant Scientist (RD2)/ Scientist (RD3) – Coherent X-ray Scattering of Geochemical Interfaces
Posted Jul 17, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
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Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about complex data you analyzed where the interpretation was not obvious. How did you reach a conclusion?
What they are checking: Whether they handle ambiguous data carefully and test alternative explanations.
Describe the publication you are most proud of and your specific role in it.
What they are checking: Whether they can communicate findings through peer-reviewed work and own their contribution.
What would you do
How would you work with geochemists, physicists and chemists who each describe the same interface differently?
What they are checking: Whether they can thrive in the multidisciplinary environment the posting emphasizes.
Your beamtime is cut short by an outage. How do you decide what to measure in the time you have left?
What they are checking: Whether they prioritize well under pressure and protect the key measurement.
Where do you see your research going in five years, and what new direction might it open for the division?
What they are checking: Whether they can help shape new directions in interfacial science, as the role asks.
About the work
What molecular-scale question about mineral-water interfaces would you most want to answer with coherent x-ray scattering?
What they are checking: Whether they bring a focused scientific question that justifies the technique, not just interest in the method.
How would you design a sample cell to study a mineral surface in water at a synchrotron without the cell ruining the measurement?
What they are checking: Whether they can build novel experimental apparatus that balances realistic chemistry with good x-ray data.
Explain how x-ray reflectivity or crystal truncation rods reveal the structure of an interface.
What they are checking: Whether they understand the interfacial scattering methods that coherent techniques build on.
What new possibilities does coherence open up for watching dynamic processes like dissolution or ion adsorption?
What they are checking: Whether they see how coherent methods can capture changes in real time that averaged methods miss.
How do you deal with beam-induced changes when x-rays interact with water and mineral surfaces?
What they are checking: Whether they recognize radiolysis and beam damage as real threats to valid results.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Argonne National Laboratory.