Research Scientist, Soft Materials and Membranes Group- R&D Associate

Requisition Id 13771 

Overview:  

We are seeking a scientist with a strong background in chemical engineering, process development, and characterization to develop energy efficient and cost-effective materials and processes for clean energy applications. The successful candidate will focus on problems related to thermodynamics, process development, and process optimization for the separation and recovery of critical materials from a wide variety of electronic waste, carbon capture from flue gas and air, separation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) precursor from fermentation broth, and water treatment. The candidate should have expertise in membrane development, membrane characterization, and membrane-based separations. Selected candidate will also be responsible for developing new and exciting ideas for proposals, building collaboration within and outside ORNL, execute the project from idea stage to eventually generating quantifiable outcomes such as publications and invention disclosures.  Candidates should have expertise in characterization such as SEM, EDS, XRD, ICP-OES, UV-Vis, and BET. This position resides in the Soft Materials and Membranes Group in the Chemical Sciences Division, Physical Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 7,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Work with a diverse team of scientists, engineers, and technicians to develop and advance the technologies for separation and recovery of materials for clean energy applications.
• Develop independent ideas and write proposals and lead projects from end-to-end including team building, leading multidisciplinary team to perform experiment, collect and analyze data, write DoE reports, present results in international conferences, publish results in the form of manuscripts and invention disclosures.
• Take responsibility for the safe operation in the separations laboratory and safety of the associated equipment and analytical instrumentation.
• Independently formulate research problems and design research strategies, work with computational chemists and experimentalists to guide the design of materials and processes.
• Develop and lead new research directions and contribute to research proposals to compete for internal and external funding.
• Train postdocs, students, interns, and visiting scholars in separations and process development with utmost emphasis on safety.
• Present and report research results in international conferences and publish scientific results in peer-reviewed journals in a timely manner.
• Ensure compliance with environment, safety, health, and quality program requirements.

• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or a closely related science discipline

Preferred Qualifications:

• A solid foundation membrane-based separations, process intensification, process development, process optimization, and characterization such as SEM, EDS, XRD, ICP-OES, UV-Vis, and BET.
• Extensive expertise in membrane fabrication in different configuration such as hollow fiber membrane module disc, and flat sheet.

• Experience in using at least one of the following techniques: solvent extraction, process intensification, adsorption, and membrane-based separations.

• Working knowledge of basic instrumental techniques such as ICP-OES, SEM, EDS, NMR, XRD, FTIR, and UV-vis spectroscopies
• Expertise in the chemistry of battery materials, rare earth elements, and carbon capture.
• Demonstrated record of productive and creative research through publications in peer-reviewed journals.
• Experience in proposal development and leading research projects.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.

• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory.
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.

Special Requirements:

Please provide a list of publications as well as three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to psdrecruit@ornl.gov with the position title and number referenced in the subject line.

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:

• Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
• View Profile
• Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document

Benefits at ORNL: 

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain talented people. The laboratory offers many employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to help you and your family live happy and healthy. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also provided for convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.