Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher - Protein Engineering for Critical Mineral Recovery

Location
CO - Golden

Position Type
Postdoc (Fixed Term)

Hours Per Week
40

Job Description

The RRES Center is a talented team of scientists and technicians working in biological, chemical, and catalytic research approaches to renewable energy and materials for a circular economy. 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 center at NLR has an opening for a full time Postdoctoral Researcher within the Synthetic Biology and Bioconversion group. The initial appointment is for one year, with possible renewal up to three years.

The successful candidate will utilize biochemistry and enzyme/protein engineering approaches to develop enzyme- and protein-based systems for critical mineral recovery. The scientitic scope of this position will span from foundational discoveries to industry-led scale-up.

The successful candidate will be able to:

• Work safely and independently in a laboratory setting
• Plan, execute, and troubleshoot research
• Collaborate effectively with others within and across disciplines
• Communicate scientific results effectively, both in written and oral formats
• Author peer-reviewed publications

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

• Strong understanding of bioinorganic chemistry
• Robust experience with cloning, expression, and purification of proteins
• Experience in enzyme/protein engineering or evolution
• Strong safety record
• Ability to deliver high-quality results within aggressive timelines
• Strong communication skills
• Strong creative and critical thinking skills to problem solve
• Strong organizational skills

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD in Biochemistry, Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Molecular Biology, or closely related field
• Experience programming and utilizing automated liquid handlers
• Experience working with metalloproteins
• Experience programming in R or Python
• Experience working successfully in multi-disciplinary teams

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: $76,600 - $126,400

NLR 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. NLR 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
NLR 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

NLR 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 NLR, 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 NLR 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.