Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher – Polyester Deconstruction & Upcycling
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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 ten 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
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, is the nation's primary laboratory for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The NREL mission is to develop renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and practices, advance related science and engineering, and transfer knowledge and innovation to address the nation’s energy and environmental goals. This position is within the Renewable Resources and Enabling Sciences Center, which is part of the Bioenergy Science and Technology Directorate. The center has strong thrusts in polymer design and upcycling, separations, synthetic biology and bioconversion, analytical sciences, computational modeling, and lignocellulosic chemistry and catalysis.
The Postdoctoral Researcher will work on highly collaborative and interdisciplinary projects across multiple groups including polymer science, catalysis, reaction engineering, and biology.
The Postdoctoral Researcher will design, construct, evolve, evaluate, and scale a mixed polyester deconstruction and integrated reconstruction (i.e., polymer synthesis) process. This will involve designing and optimized reaction conditions for polyester depolymerization, downstream separations and monomer purification, and reconstruction of polyesters. This role will also involve working closely with the NREL analysis team to develop comprehensive technoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessments of the developed technology.
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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
The successful candidate will be able to:
• Work safely and independently in a laboratory setting, with a strong safety record
• Develop research goals and tasks for established project directions
• Design, execute, and troubleshoot experiments
• Problem solve to overcome technical challenges
• Analyze data to generate strong conclusions, including via application of statistical tests
• Collaborate productively with others both within and across disciplines
• Communicate effectively, with the ability to present technical results to a broad audience including at scientific conferences and internal meetings
• Write and publish high-impact peer-reviewed papers
• Display respect to peers and stewardship of shared laboratory spaces
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience in polymer synthesis and characterization
• Experience in small molecule purification and characterization
• Experience in wet chemistry and reaction optimization
• Experience in economic and environmental impact modeling
• Experience in scaling reactions and reaction engineering
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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
Badging Requirement
NREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.
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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