Requisition Id 11422 

Overview: 

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 6,000 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.

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate who will focus on research on high-temperature mechanical property testing and evaluation to support development of advanced materials and welds.  This position resides jointly in the Materials Joining Group and Mechanical Properties and Mechanics Group in the Materials Science and Technology Division, Physical Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  

As part of our team, you will investigate mechanical properties and behaviors of high temperature materials and their welds, with a focus on evaluating elevated temperature material damage mechanisms. In this role, you will design and coordinate high temperature tests including highly specialized creep-fatigue test and damage evaluation, effectively process and analyze the large amount of dataset from the tests and generate research reports and peer-reviewed journal papers.

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Design and participate highly specialized mechanical testing to evaluate time and temperature dependent mechanical properties of high temperature materials and their welds.
• Data analytics and analysis to support development of physics based constitutive relations for creep-fatigue and creep rupture damage.
• Investigate high temperature material cyclic deformation behavior and mechanisms.
• Present and report research results and publish scientific results in key peer-reviewed journals in a timely manner.
• Collaborate with team members to facilitate development of modeling and simulation platforms.
• 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 experimental mechanics, mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, nuclear engineering, or a related field completed within the last 5 years
• A minimum of 3 years of experience in high-temperature experimental mechanics

Preferred Qualifications:

• Excellent skills and knowledge in high-temperature experimental mechanics, mechanical behavior and failure analysis of advanced high-temperature materials and welds.
• Demonstrated experience in experiment design, and big data processing for elevated temperature mechanical property testing results.
• Strong background in high temperature material damage mechanisms. 
• Skills in advanced material characterization techniques such as High Temperature Digital Image Correlation and specialized mechanical testing are advantageous.
• Ability to work independently, multi-task, set priorities and meet deadlines, and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and interact effectively with a broad range of colleagues.
• Skills in material microstructure analysis (SEM, EBSD and TEM) are advantageous
• Motivated and safety conscious.
• 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

Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment. The appointment length will be for up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and the availability of funding.

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You can upload these directly to your application or have them sent to postdocrecruitment@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: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Life Insurance, Pet Insurance, 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 or call 1.866.963.9545.

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.