Cambridge Residency Programme - Experimental Materials Scientist

This is a 24-month fixed-term post-doctoral Residency within the Future AI Infrastructure group at Microsoft Research Cambridge (UK), contributing to the Materials for the Cloud project. The role sits at the interface of machine-learning-accelerated materials discovery and experimental materials science, focused on the synthesis and characterisation of novel thin-film materials for future AI cloud infrastructure. You will work within a team with full-stack capability, spanning first-principles computational simulation through experimental synthesis and characterisation to application-specific engineering, in close collaboration with researchers across materials science, AI for Science, optics, electronics, and machine learning. The successful candidate will design, fabricate, and characterise thin-film materials, translating computational insights into experimentally validated prototypes. You will operate in a fast-moving research environment while maintaining a rigorous and systematic approach to experimental design and debugging of physical systems. This role suits a detail-oriented, open-minded experimentalist with strong foundations in materials physics, thin films, and optics, motivated to develop next-generation materials that improve the cost, performance, and sustainability of AI cloud infrastructure.