R&D Associate in Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis on AM Technologies

Requisition Id 10202 

Overview:

Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Research & Analysis (MEERA) Group within the Manufacturing Science Division (MSD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking to fill a R&D Associate position to work in the areas of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), technoeconomic optimization; and industrial energy efficiency and decarbonization analyses research under the Strategic Analysis and Industrial Energy Efficiency Programs. The MEERA Group supports a multi-laboratory Department of Energy (DOE) Strategic Analysis Team that conducts independent, objective, and credible research analysis to inform decision-making. To gain insights on manufacturing supply chains, the team conducts techno-economics, value chain, trade, patent, and global manufacturing competitiveness analysis relevant to advanced manufacturing technologies. The team builds and applies analysis tools and analytics to draw insights on the manufacturing sector’s impact on energy, water, carbon, and materials productivity throughout the U.S. economy and to identify opportunities for improvement. Through the Industrial Energy Efficiency Program, the MEERA Group develops a diverse portfolio of industrial energy efficiency tools and resources which are delivered to the manufacturing sector through various technical assistance and training events worldwide. 

The successful R&D Associate candidate will support MEERA Group’s strategic analysis and modeling research activities of advanced materials and clean energy manufacturing technologies for various DOE program offices. The latest analysis focus of DOE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) and Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technology Office (AMMTO) besides other Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program offices such as Vehicle Technologies has been on digital manufacturing, additive manufacturing, carbon fiber and composites, energy-water nexus, and decarbonization. The successful candidate will work independently and with senior technical staff toward collecting data for all steps in development of manufacturing process flow sheets for the manufacturing of next generation materials for different potential market applications to evaluate the life cycle economic, energy, and environmental impacts. The focus of these analyses is to understand the drivers of U.S. competitiveness in the manufacturing portions of clean energy materials technologies, including the key factors behind manufacturing location decisions made by businesses.

• PhD in any Engineering field is required (Mechanical / Industrial Engineering/ Environmental / Chemical Engineering are preferred).  You should have an excellent quantitative and analytical research background which can be applied to conduct research analysis on advanced manufacturing technologies and manufacturing systems that could achieve transformative gains in process productivity and enhance manufacturing sustainability.

• The ability to develop optimization and life cycle models analyzing advanced manufacturing technologies and energy and transportation systems of the future is required. An educational background in sustainable manufacturing technologies is preferable with an emphasis on circular economy research.

• You should possess strong analytical capabilities with an experience in the area of life cycle energy and cost assessments for conducting manufacturing technology assessments. Some experience in working in the genetic algorithm and artificial neural networks would be useful. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in manufacturing process modeling of advanced manufacturing technologies is valuable but not required. Proficiency in the use of industry standard modeling and simulation tools, such as spreadsheet-based process cost modeling, input/output modeling, and commercially available life cycle analysis tools such as SimaPro, openLCA, and GREET will be useful.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills to make weekly presentations to sponsors and others and to prepare reports, proposals, and publications/journal articles.

• Strong interpersonal skills to support team building and leadership in addition to a strong commitment to scientific integrity is an important requirement.

• Limited travel will be required for this position. No security clearance is required.

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 [email protected].

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.