Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher: Design and Characterization of Heterogeneous Catalysts for Sustainable Fuels

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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.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our eight employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Our planet needs us! Learn about NREL’s critical objectives, and see how NREL is focused on saving the planet.

Note: Research suggests that potential job seekers may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to apply. We seek dedicated people who believe they have the skills and ambition to succeed at NREL to apply for this role.

Job Description

A Postdoctoral Researcher position is available in NREL’s Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scale-up Center in the area of heterogeneous catalysis for conversion of renewable (e.g., biomass) and waste (e.g., CO2) carbon sources to enable efficient, low-carbon pathways for creating fuels, materials, and chemicals.

This position will focus on designing new catalysts tailored for carbon-efficient catalytic transformations, and understanding their performance and durability, as evaluated in bench-scale reactors, by characterizing the evolution of catalytically active sites under realistic conditions.

The candidate will be responsible for developing structure-performance relationships using probe reactions coupled with in situ and operando spectroscopies, and applying these concepts to catalyst design and reaction engineering. The candidate will be expected to contribute to all aspects of the catalyst development cycle: catalyst synthesis, detailed structural and chemical characterization, catalytic evaluation, and the subsequent interpretation of the catalytic performance to quantify and elucidate the impact of identified structure-performance relationships.

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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

• Recent PhD graduate within the last three years in engineering, chemistry, materials science or a related field.
• Record of publications/presentations in areas related to materials synthesis, such as thermal or solution-synthesis approaches.
• Experience in materials characterization including X-ray diffraction, site titrations, in situ/operando spectroscopies.
• Ability to work safely, independently and collaboratively in a laboratory setting.
• Desire to learn new techniques, methods and protocols;
• Creative problem-solving and troubleshooting skills;

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrable analytical skills in areas such as chemi/physisorption, and X-ray absorption, Raman, infrared, and UV-visible spectroscopies.
• Design and synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts with control over key features of the active material, such as composition, crystalline structure, and morphology.
• Experience in imaging through techniques such as transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy
• Experience with reaction engineering and catalytic performance testing to determine structure-function relationships, reaction mechanisms, and kinetics for reactions such as alkane dehydrogenation, alkene coupling, syngas to hydrocarbons, CO2 hydrogenation, alcohols to hydrocarbons
• Presentation of findings in patents, high-impact journals, and conferences.
• Experience developing new concepts and ideas for controlling materials properties across multiple length scales.

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Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)
Job Profile: Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range: $71,300 - $117,600

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

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.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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EEO Policy

NREL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

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