Oak Ridge National Laboratory

R&D Associate - Vapor Synthetic Material Scientist

Oak Ridge National Laboratory$75K — $95K *
Pharmaceuticals & Biotech
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • PhD in Chemistry, Ceramic Science or Engineering, Materials Science or Engineering, or a related discipline
  • Strong background in inorganic synthesis
  • Experience with high temperature ceramic systems, characterization and chemical vapor coating and infiltration
  • Postdoctoral research experience preferred
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills

Responsibilities

  • Conduct chemical vapor coating and infiltration of high temperature ceramic systems
  • Develop and refine testing methods and ceramic processing to enhance property performance
  • Synthesize new ceramic and/or polymeric materials
  • Coordinate with national laboratories, industry, and academic partners
  • Present research findings at conferences and in technical reports
  • Ensure compliance with environment, safety, health, and quality programs
  • Collaborate on advanced characterization needs for brittle materials

Benefits

  • Access to advanced characterization equipment and collaborative research environment
  • Opportunity to work alongside leading experts in ceramic science and engineering
  • Contribution to impactful research sponsored by the US Department of Energy
  • Development of new skills through diverse project collaborations
  • Engagement in a respectful and inclusive workplace culture
Full Job Description
Requisition Id 16556

Overview:

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a research vapor phase synthetic material scientist who will focus on the chemical evaluation of vapor grown high temperature ceramic and ceramic composite systems and their relationship to microstructure and performance metrics.

This position resides in the Ceramics and Ceramic Composites (CCC) Group, Materials Processing Science and Engineering (MPSE) Section of the Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD), Physical Sciences Directorate (PSD). The individual will also interact and coordinate with other team members in other ORNL Research Divisions.

As part of our research team, you will collaborate with senior technical staff who are world leaders in ceramic science and engineering through sponsorship from the US Department of Energy Critical Materials Energy Infrastructure HEGO and AMMTO offices. Your role will be to elucidate synthetic approaches on materials properties using the advanced suite of characterization equipment available at ORNL and help drive ongoing efforts to improve their performance and reliability.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:
  • Chemical vapor coating and infiltration of high temperature ceramic systems
  • Develop new or refined testing methods and ceramic processing and fabrication that will ultimately improve property performance
  • Synthesize new ceramic and/or polymeric materials
  • Coordinate task efforts within a highly collaborative environment of national laboratories, industry, and academic partners
  • Report research results through conferences and peer-reviewed journals and classified technical reports where required
  • Ensure compliance with environment, safety, health and quality program requirements
  • Work with a variety of teams in addressing diverse advanced characterization needs of multiple classes of brittle materials and manufacturing processes
  • Deliver ORNL's mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace - in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success


Basic Qualifications:
  • PhD in Chemistry, Ceramic Science or Engineering, Materials Science or Engineering, or a related discipline
  • Strong background in inorganic synthesis
  • Experience with high temperature ceramic systems, characterization and chemical vapor coating and infiltration, and synthesis of new material systems


Preferred Qualifications:
  • Postdoctoral research experience
  • Experienced with:
    • chemical vapor coating and/or infiltration
    • ceramic powder and slurry characterization methods, mixing, and flowability
    • chemical reactions for polymers and synthesis of new materials
    • reactor design
  • Experience working with radiological materials
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory
  • Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs


Special Requirements:
  • Visa sponsorship is not available for this position
  • This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Workplace Substance Abuse (WSAP) testing designated position. WSAP positions require passing a pre-placement drug test and participation in an ongoing random drug testing program.


Letters of Recommendation:

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to [redacted].

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:
  • Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
  • View Profile
  • Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document


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.

About Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy (DOE) by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the largest science and energy national laboratory in the Department of Energy system by size and by annual budget. ORNL conducts research and development activities in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines. ORNL's scientific programs focus on materials, neutron science, energy, high-performance computing, systems biology and national security. ORNL partners with other national laboratories, universities and industry to solve complex problems and transfer knowledge and technology. ORNL is home to several of the world's most powerful supercomputers, including Summit, the world's most powerful supercomputer as of November 2018.
Learn more about Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Size
5,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1943

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