Postdoctoral Researcher –Catalytic Oleochemistry and Process Scale-Up. at National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, CO

Job description

• The Integrated Carbon Conversion Processes Group within NLR’s Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scale-Up Center is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to work on oleochemistry, catalysis, and product development. Our group’s mission is to de-risk and accelerate the scale-up of technologies for producing chemicals, fertilizers, and critical minerals from domestic biomass resources and waste resources. Our multidisciplinary team integrates expertise in process engineering, process science, catalysis, and computational modeling of integrated processes to translate laboratory discoveries into technically and economically viable processes suitable for pilot-scale demonstration and eventual commercialization.
• The selected candidate will work closely with senior researchers and industry collaborators to develop, de-risk, and scale up processes for converting emerging plant oils into performance-advantaged chemicals and materials. Target products may include lubricants, surfactants, specialty chemicals and other high-value oleochemical products.
• The position combines fundamental catalytic science, with process development and applied research aimed at translating promising chemistries toward scalable and commercially relevant processes. A key objective will be to advance promising chemistries from bench-scale discovery through integrated process development and pilot-scale validation, generating the scientific and engineering knowledge required for technology scale-up.

Responsibilities

• Developing pretreatment strategies for lipids to produce feedstocks with critical material attributes (CMAs) for downstream catalytic conversion into products
• Develop and optimize catalytic processes that transform lipids, fatty acids, and related intermediates into chemical precursors for high-value products
• Design and evaluate catalytic reaction pathways from bench to pilot including catalyst screening, reaction engineering and integration of reaction and separation unit operations
• Develop product formulations and structure-property relationships that connect molecular composition with enhanced performance in applications such as lubricants, surfactants and specialty chemicals.
• Generating kinetic, mass-balance, and process-performance data needed to support reactor design, process modeling, techno-economic analysis, and transition from laboratory systems to pilot-scale operation.
• Establishing CMAs and critical process parameters (CPPs) for key unit operations and determining how feedstock variability and processing conditions affect intermediate quality, product performance, process robustness, and scale-up.
• Communicating research results through technical reports, peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, invention disclosures, and project reviews.
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Requirements

• Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.
• * Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.
• Required Education, Experience, and Skills
• Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years in Chemical Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, or relevant field.
• A solid background in biorefinery and biomass conversion.
• Strong scientific writing skills demonstrated by first authorship of quality scientific papers.
• Proven communications skills and the ability to work collaboratively as part of a research team are also required.
• Excellent oral and written presentation skills.
• A willingness and curiosity to learn and work on a variety of projects.
• Ability to learn new techniques quickly and multi-task efficiently.
• Conduct laboratory experiments with minimal supervision and with the utmost regard to safety is required.
• The following is a list of preferred skills we would like the candidate to have. We do not expect them to have all these skills/experiences, but just a few. The successful candidate will be selected based on how their skills in these areas will best compliment the team composition.
• Batch and flow reactor operation for lipid processing to produce chemicals
• Hands on experience in oleochemistry
• Experience with wet chemistry, including sample preparation and catalytic conversion.
• Experience with catalytic upgrading and catalyst characterization.
• Experience with separations, including liquid-liquid and solid-liquid extractions.
• Experience with polymer formulation.
• Operation of analytical instrumentation (e.g. FTIR, SEM, GC-MS, etc.)
• Experience with pilot scale equipment for biomass conversion.
• Experience with modeling and machine learning.
• .

Skills

Required

• PhD in relevant field
• Scientific writing
• Communication skills
• Collaboration
• Oral and written presentation
• Willingness to learn
• Ability to learn new techniques quickly
• Multi-tasking
• Laboratory safety

Preferred

• Batch and flow reactor operation
• Oleochemistry
• Wet chemistry
• Catalytic upgrading
• Catalyst characterization
• Separations
• Polymer formulation
• Pilot scale equipment

Benefits

• 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
• 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.