NREL Jobs

Posting Title

Postdoctoral Researcher –Integrated Algal Conversion Processes

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Location

CO - Golden

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Position Type

Postdoc (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week

40

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Working at NREL

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for research and development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.

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Job Description

The Integrated Carbon Conversion Processes (ICCP) Group within NREL's Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scaleup (CCTS) Center of the BioEnergy Science and Technology (BEST) directorate has an opening for a Post-doctoral Researcher. The ICCP group’s mission is to derisk and accelerate scale-up of technologies for producing low-carbon fuels and chemicals. Our team brings together a wide range of technical expertise (process engineering, process sciences, computational modeling for integrated processes) and global experience unified by a passionate drive to increase the technoeconomic feasibility and global adoption of biorefineries. The chosen candidate will work with senior researchers in the ICCP to derisk and scale-up processes for converting algal biomass into low-carbon fuels (e.g., sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and value-added coproducts. The chosen candidate’s responsibilities for this position includes the following:

• Optimizing unit operations (pretreatment, conversion steps, separations) for algal conversion into fuels and coproducts.

• Establish critical material attributes (CMAs) and critical process parameters for each unit operation.

• Work with process engineers to guide integration of unit operations for converting algal biomass into fuels and chemicals.

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Basic Qualifications

Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

· PhD graduate within the last three years in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biological Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or relevant field.

· Candidates must have a solid background in biorefinery and biomass conversion.

· Strong scientific writing skills demonstrated by first authorship of quality scientific papers.

· Proven communications skills and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a research team.

· Excellent oral and written presentation skills.

· A willingness and curiosity to learn work on a variety of projects.

Ability to learn new techniques quickly and multi-task efficiently.

· Able to conduct laboratory experiments with minimal supervision and with the utmost regard to safety.

Preferred Qualifications

• Batch and flow reactor operation for biomass downstream processing to produce biofuel and value-added coproducts.

• Hands on experience to develop conductive carbon materials.

• Experience with wet chemistry, including sample preparation and catalytic conversion.

• Experience with separations, including solid-liquid separations and solid-liquid extractions.

• Operation of analytical instrumentation (e.g. FTIR, SEM, GC-MS, etc.)

• Experience with pilot scale equipment for biomass conversion.

• Experience with modeling and machine learning.

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)

Job Profile: Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $73,200 - $120,800

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits Summary

Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-term disability insurance; pension benefits; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; and paid holidays. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a leader in the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to secure an environmentally and economically sustainable energy future. With locations in Golden and Boulder, Colorado, and a satellite office in Washington, D.C., NREL is the primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies in the United States.

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Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

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