Postdoctoral Researcher – Mechanical Vibrations and Aeroelasticity

Pay $71300.00 - $117600.00 / year

Location Boulder/Colorado

Employment type

Full-Time

Req#: R10898
Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher – Mechanical Vibrations and Aeroelasticity

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Location
CO - Boulder

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Position Type
Postdoc (Fixed Term)

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Hours Per Week
40

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Working at NREL

NREL’s 305-acre Flatirons Campus is the nation’s premier wind energy, water power, and grid integration research facility. Nestled south of Boulder, Colorado, and north of NREL’s main South Table Mountain campus, Flatirons sits adjacent to the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge and countless acres of open space and parks with stunning views of the Flatirons rock formations.

From day one at NREL, you’ll connect with coworkers driven by the same mission to save the planet. By joining an organization that values a supportive, inclusive, and flexible work environment, you’ll have the opportunity to engage through our eight employee resource groups, numerous employee-driven clubs, and learning and professional development classes.

NREL supports inclusive, diverse, and unbiased hiring practices that promote creativity and innovation. By collaborating with organizations that focus on diverse talent pools, reaching out to underrepresented demographics, and providing an inclusive application and interview process, our Talent Acquisition team aims to hear all voices equally. We strive to attract a highly diverse workforce and create a culture where every employee feels welcomed and respected and they can be their authentic selves.

Job Description

The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) at NREL is seeking a highly motivated and skilled postdoctoral researcher specializing in mechanical vibrations and aeroelasticity. This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research funded by the DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office. The research aims to identify and understand the structural mechanisms responsible for triggering instabilities in wind turbines under various wind flow conditions.

As a member of our dynamic team, you will collaborate closely with NREL staff and researchers from academia and industry partners. Your primary focus will be on developing tools and techniques for high-fidelity fluid-structure interaction simulations, enabling the establishment of a comprehensive theoretical framework to address wind turbine instabilities. Your contributions will be instrumental in shaping the future of next-generation wind turbines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct in-depth research on the structural mechanisms underlying wind turbine instabilities and their interactions with aerodynamic forces.
• Perform advanced fluid-structure interaction simulations to accurately model and analyze wind turbine behavior.
• Collaborate with a diverse team of experts to integrate your findings into broader research efforts.
• Independently identify, analyze, and solve complex problems related to mechanical vibrations and aeroelasticity.
• Publish research results in high-impact technical journals and present findings at conferences, symposia, and review meetings.
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 the principles and theories related to mechanical vibrations, including free and forced vibrations, damping, resonance, and vibration analysis techniques.
• Proficiency in aeroelasticity is crucial, as it deals with the interaction between aerodynamic forces and structural dynamics. The candidate should be familiar with concepts like flutter, divergence, control reversal, and the dynamic behavior of aircraft, wind turbines, or other relevant structures.
• Experience in modern programming and software development, with the ability to write efficient code and implement numerical simulations. Proficiency in low-level programming languages such as Fortran and/or C++ is required.
• Established publication record in peer-reviewed journals.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with fluid-structure interaction (FSI) techniques.
• Experie…