Job Information

Job Title: Nuclear Structural Materials Postdoctoral Research Associate
Org: Nuclear Materials
Contact: Thomas.Steele@inl.gov
Work Location: Idaho Falls, ID (Town)

Mission/Vision Statement

Empowering the Nation's Energy Future

Mission: Discover, demonstrate and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options and critical infrastructure.

Vision: INL will change the world's energy future and secure our critical infrastructure .

Equal Employment Opportunity

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. It is the policy of INL to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, protected veteran or disabled status, or genetic information.

Women and People of Color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is seeking a well-qualified Postdoctoral Research Associate in Materials Science or Physics or comparable discipline in the Nuclear Science and Technology Division. This postdoctoral researcher will join the on-going and future efforts in the Nuclear Materials Department with a focus on irradiated structural materials and help support the Nuclear Materials Discovery and Qualification initiative (NMDQi). The postdoctoral research associate will focus on interfacing with technical staff on developing workflows to advance INL's capabilities in mechanical testing (fracture toughness, embrittlement, and IASCC); modeling; materials characterization (X-ray CT, TEM, XRD, SEM, etc.). Combined experimental, computational, and analytical techniques will be employed to understand mechanistic materials behavior under extreme conditions that may include neutron/ion irradiation, corrosion, and/or high-temperature applications.

Responsibilities:
• You are expected to be a strong asset to our interdisciplinary R&D team and work effectively both independently and as a team member. The candidate must be self-motivated, but also take direction from other team members and peers.
• Build and prototype data analysis pipelines and workflows to provide insights at scale. Develop comprehensive understanding of materials and metrics. Advocate for changes in high throughput data storage and access file systems as needed.
• Work with large, complex data sets. Solve difficult, non-routine analysis problems, applying advanced testing and characterization as needed. Conduct end-to-end analysis that includes data gathering and requirements specification, processing, analysis, ongoing deliverables, and presentations.
• You will support an interdisciplinary cross-functioning team to identify new research opportunities that attract funding, play a key role in technical teams to respond to those opportunities, support proposal writing activities by way of introducing new ideas and approaches, and help secure funding for the conduct of that research.
• The position entails writing scientific manuscripts for journal publication, and presentation of research results at national and international conferences and meetings.

Qualifications:

Ph.D. in materials/physics or related discipline, proficiency in mechanical testing, modelling and material characterization is required.

The position entails interfacing with experimental data and analyzing that data in the context of augmenting modeling data using modern analytical and computational methods.

Preference given to candidates with the ability to obtain and retain a security clearance.

Special Requirements and/or Training:
As a post-doctoral associate, the position will require the following skills and competencies:
• Prior publications in high impact journals with respect to materials science, characterization and nuclear applications.
• Demonstrated outstanding ability to conduct research and have proposed experimental or theoretical projects that advance the Laboratory's nuclear science mission.
• Experience with metallic nuclear fuel systems or accident tolerance cladding systems is preferred.
• Experience with a wide range of materials characterization techniques (SEM, TEM, XRD, APT) and high throughput materials characterization methods inclusive of software development is preferred.
• Experience with lab scale materials fabrication methods, particularly with relevance to nuclear fuel systems, is preferred.
• Knowledge of nuclear materials, fuel cladding systems (including accident tolerant fuel concepts), mechanical testing, corrosion testing, and advanced materials characterization techniques (focused ion beam, transmission electron microscopy, small-scale mechanical testing) is required.
• Familiarity with advanced equipment acquisition systems such as digital image correlation (DIC), acoustic emission and direct current potential drop (DCPD) considered an asset.
• Experience analyzing and modeling experimental results is required.
• Understanding of reactor performance issues for fuels and materials under extreme environments is required.
• Experience in planning, designing, executing, and sponsoring experimental programs for fuels and materials experiments is desirable.
• Excellent communications skills, both verbal and written.
• Must be able to work in a culturally diverse environment.

Selective Service Requirements

To be eligible for employment at INL males born after December 31, 1959 must have registered with the Selective Service System (SSS). This includes U.S. born and naturalized citizens, parolees, undocumented immigrants, legal permanent residents, asylum seekers, refugees, and all males with visas of any kind which expired more than 30 days ago. The few individuals who are exempt from this requirement are those on current non-immigrant visas. For more information see www.sss.gov .

Employee Job Functions

Employee Job Functions are physical actions and/or working conditions associated with the position. These functions may also constitute essential functions for the job position which the employee must be able to fulfill, with or without accommodation. Information provided below is to help describe the job so that the applicant has a reasonable understanding of the job duties/expectations. An applicant's ability to perform and/or tolerate these actions and conditions will be discussed and workplace accommodations may be made on a case-by-case basis following an individualized assessment of the applicant and other considerations, including but not limited to any governing safety standards.

Motor Abilities: Fine motor control (hands); Repetitive work - intermittent.
Special Senses: Visually demanding work; Near vision; Speech discrimination.
Work Conditions: Stairs; Typing/keyboard; >8 Hrs/day; Working alone.

Please Apply Before: June 4, 2020 (Midnight)

Environmental, Safety and Health Statement

Must be familiar with, and comply with all relevant health and safety requirements. Must be knowledgeable of emergency action policies and procedures, methods for reporting/resolving work practices or conditions to available cognizant professionals.

Other Information

When applying to positions please provide a resume and answer all questions on the following screens. Applicants, who fail to provide a resume or answer the questions, may be deemed ineligible for consideration.

INL Overview

INL is a science-based, applied engineering national laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's mission in nuclear energy research, science, and national defense. With more than 4,300 scientists, researchers and support staff, the laboratory works with national and international governments, universities and industry partners to discover new science and develop technologies that underpin the nation's nuclear and renewable energy, national security and environmental missions.

The Idaho Falls Area

Idaho Falls is conveniently situated near many national treasures such as Yellowstone National Park, Teton National Park, Jackson, WY, etc. For more information about the area, please visit www.visitidahofalls.com and www.visitidaho.org .