CSIR NPL Project Staff Advt 04/2026 — 41 Vacancies

CSIR NPL Project Staff Recruitment 2026: Overview

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, is the national measurement-standards laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Under advertisement Rectt./04/2026 it is filling project staff positions across 36 post codes spread over more than twenty externally funded research projects. The work ranges from Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND) reference materials and air-pollution monitoring to atomic clocks, superconducting nanodevices and the CSIR Jigyasa school outreach programme.

Every position is a temporary, contractual project engagement that lasts only as long as its project, and selection is through a two-day walk-in interview at the laboratory. Chemistry, physics, electronics, computer science, environmental science and engineering graduates, postgraduates and PhD holders will all find a match, and one Jigyasa post is open even to 10th-pass candidates with ITI (Electrical).

Posts and Disciplines

• Chemistry and BND reference materials (codes 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 6.0, 23.0): aroma, phytochemical and essential-oil BNDs for AYUSH, a gold BND of 99.997% purity, battery-grade materials recovered from end-of-life batteries, and ores and minerals BNDs made with CSIR-NML.
• Cement and building materials (codes 4.0, 5.0): BNDs of ultrafine slag and fly ash for quality control; the SRF under code 4.0 works on deputation at NCBBM, Ballabhgarh.
• Air pollution and atmospheric science (codes 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 18.0, 28.0): the type-testing facility for OCEMS and CAAQMS monitors, field sampling on air pollution and respiratory disease, and IoT-based indoor air monitoring.
• Biomedical, sensors and ocean instruments (codes 10.0, 19.0, 20.0, 21.0): a vital-sign simulator for patient monitors, a sweat-based cortisol sensor for stress assessment, and an IP68 ultrasonic anemometer for oceanographic use.
• Metrology under MIST and SAMARTH (codes 11.0, 12.0, 13.0, 22.0, 24.0, 34.0): lab automation, quantum standards, laser-cooled atomic clocks, precision electrical measurement and optical radiation standards.
• Quantum and nanoscale materials (codes 29.0 to 33.0): high-Tc superconducting single-photon detectors (HiSMiLe-SPD), nano-dimensional artefacts for SEM and AFM calibration, and PLD thin films for superconducting and altermagnetic studies.
• Energy and photonics (codes 25.0, 35.0, 36.0): electrolyzer catalysts for green hydrogen, PID-resistant solar cells, and a terahertz tomography system for non-destructive testing.
• Computing and web (codes 16.0, 17.0): image-processing and ML algorithms for deep-sea exploration, and a PHP Laravel portal that automates calibration, testing and BND services.
• CSIR Jigyasa outreach (codes 14.0, 15.0, 26.0, 27.0): school student visits, science demonstrations, virtual lab content and a new demonstration laboratory.

Post-wise Duties

Project Assistant-I and Project Assistant-II

You will prepare reagents and samples, run fire assay and chemical tests, keep lab instruments working and handle documentation. The Jigyasa assistant also sets up and maintains demonstration models and lab fittings.

Project Associate-I and Project Associate-II

You will build and run measurement setups, collect and analyse data, and write reports for your project — anything from calibrating air-quality monitors to fabricating nanodevices, testing solar cells or developing a web portal.

JRF and SRF

You will carry out the research work of the project: operating the air-pollution test facility, characterising cement-based reference materials, or developing underwater image-processing algorithms, and preparing project reports.

Research Associate-I, Project Scientist-I and Project Research Scientist-I

You will lead technical work such as ICP-OES composition analysis, ultrasonic anemometer development, cement BND characterisation or field aerosol sampling, and guide the data analysis.

Senior PAT and Project Technical Support-I

Senior PATs plan Jigyasa outreach or run advanced superconducting nanofabrication experiments; Project Technical Support staff collect particulate-matter samples at different field sites.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Two pay bands: Several Project Associate posts pay a higher band only if you have cleared CSIR-UGC/ICAR/ICMR NET, GATE or an equivalent national-level exam.
• Six-year cap: If you have already worked 6 years or more as project staff in any CSIR lab, you cannot apply; shorter service ends automatically at the six-year mark.
• Short first offer: The offer is for 6 months or 1 year, extended only on the Principal Investigator's recommendation and never beyond the project.
• Stipend only: Project pay is a consolidated stipend with no increments, and it gives no claim to a regular CSIR post.
• Two posts at most: You may apply for a maximum of two post codes, with a separate application for each.
• Leave: Women get 180 days of maternity leave and men 15 days of paternity leave, as per CSIR norms.
• PhD registration: Allowed only if the project runs 3 years or more and the work is not affected.
• Confidentiality: All project data and results belong to the laboratory and cannot be shared without written consent.
• Notice: Either side can end the engagement with one month's notice.
• Funding: A post code is cancelled if its project has no funds.

Application Submission Notes

Walk in to the Auditorium of CSIR-NPL, New Delhi with the downloaded application form already filled in. Post codes 1.0 to 17.0 are interviewed on the first day and codes 18.0 to 36.0 on the second day. Registration runs only from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM — no one is admitted after 10:00 AM. If you currently work as project staff in a CSIR lab, bring a No Objection Certificate from your present PI.

• Prepare samples and reagents and run chemical, physical and electrical tests
• Operate and maintain lab instruments and measurement setups
• Collect field samples for air-quality and particulate-matter studies
• Analyse experimental data and write project reports
• Build and calibrate reference standards and certified reference materials
• Support CSIR Jigyasa outreach with demonstrations for school students