Postdoctoral Researcher

The Thermal Insulation project at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) anticipates a need for a PhD graduate for a term-limited (one year) research engineer position to study phase change materials (PCMs). The goal of this project is to develop new measurement methods, modeling approaches, and data to support improvements in building envelope design, and heating & cooling energy costs.

The selected researcher will work with project PI to investigate the thermal behavior of encapsulated PCMs using various thermal measurement methods and computational approaches. The researcher’s principal tasks include:

· Simulating thermal distributions on empty and PCM filled-encapsulation panels between heating and cooling sources.

· Determining thermal conductivity and heat capacity values of the PCM encapsulation panels using experimental and computational methods.

· Analyzing PCM melting and solidification process in the encapsulations using experimental and computational methods.

· Presenting results at internal meetings, and occasional meetings with external stakeholders.

· Writing peer-reviewed journal articles on research outcomes.

Educational preferences: A Ph.D. degree is desired, but highly skilled Master of Science graduates will also be considered.

Preferred majors: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemistry.

US citizenship is preferred.

Desired skills:

Experience with design of experiments, commercial CAD software, thermal conductivity measurements, wet-etching, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), familiarity with Python, MATLAB or Mathematica.

Candidates with good written and oral communication skills, good team working skills, and good analytical skills (relevant to project) are preferred.

If you or someone you know is interested in this exciting opportunity, please apply using the following link Postdoctoral researcher | Professional Research Experience Program (https://prep.umd.edu/prep-job-posting/prep0002822), or if you would like further information, please contact Dr. Jae Hyun Kim (jaehyun.kim@nist.gov, 301-975-8179).

The Department of Commerce is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The position would be located at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD, USA.

If, and when a federal position is available, a vacancy announcement will be posted on WWW.USAJOBS.GOV. At this time, however, NIST is considering a number of mechanisms through which a researcher could be brought to the lab (e.g., guest researchers).

Possible series under which this potential position would include, but are not limited to, 0806 (Materials Engineer), 0830 (Mechanical Engineer) or 0893 (Chemical Engineer).

Salary range would be that of the ZP III, Interval 1 pay range ($78,592 to $98,088 per year).

Job Types: Full-time, Temporary

Pay: $78,592.00 - $98,088.00 per year

Work Location: In person