Post Doc

** What You Will Do*
* The Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Design Engineering Team serves as the nation's central hub for expertise in radioisotope power system design, bringing together deep technical capabilities in actinide chemistry, materials science of ceramics, high-temperature metallurgy, composite engineering, thermal and structural analysis, re-entry and impact modeling, systems engineering, and safety analysis. Guided by a vision to advance rigorous, modern engineering practices, the team defines and maintains the technical baseline for RPS designs while supporting the U.S. Government, program offices, and production agencies as trusted subject-matter experts.

Its scope spans heat-source design, safety and requirements flowdown, anomaly resolution, and in-depth research through modeling and experimentation.

The RPS Design Engineering Team is a part of the Product Realization and Reliability Office (PRRO) in Nuclear Production Operations. The PRRO consists of a multidisciplinary group of engineers and scientists that support plutonium programs (i.e., pit production, surveillance, research & development, and subcritical experiments) across the entire Nuclear Production Operations organization.

The RPS Design Engineering Team is seeking candidates for a Postdoctoral position to contribute to the team capabilities in the area of actinide chemistry and materials science of ceramics.  In this role, you will be responsible for:

+ Optimization of the formation of ceramic solids by hot-pressing and characterization of these ceramic solids.  Measurement and analysis of powder characteristics affecting coherence of hot-presses solids, including particle size distribution, surface area, and surface energy, and relating these characteristics to characteristic of the ceramic solid.

+  Working with radioactive materials or hazardous materials

+  Applying scientific or engineering principles, practices, and tools to continuously improve manufacturing processes.

+  Contributing to the successful completion of technical projects by assisting in the analysis, validation, implementation, and verification of practical solutions, and applying novel problem-solving methods to solve engineering problems

+  Assisting in the writing of technical documents and presenting technical work at internal and external meetings, seminars, and conferences.

+  Working with radioactive materials or hazardous materials

We value diverse skills and experience, so don't hold back. Your specific qualification could add tremendous value to our team. Our production partners come from all different backgrounds, and so do our employees. If you're passionate about what you could accomplish here, we'd love to hear from you.

** What You Need*
* ** Minimum

Job Requirements:

*
* + Training and experience in ceramic engineering or ceramic fabrication, as demonstrated by experience in research, analysis, and publications in the field.

+  Analytical thinking skills, including demonstrated experience in the analysis, manipulation, and interpretation of data.

+  Demonstrated ability to document technical results in a formal method/format

+  Excellent communication and teamwork skills

+  Strong presentation skills

+  Ability to obtain a Q clearance, which requires US citizenship

** Education/

Experience:

** Position requires a doctorate degree in science or engineering from an accredited institution.

** Desired

Qualifications:

*
* + Demonstrated experience in designing and executing experiments to evaluate the performance of hot-pressing of actinide oxide solids and to improve the quality of manufacturing processes.

+  

Experience with gas management in nuclear fuels

+  

Experience with modelling of density gradients and thermal loading in ceramic solids, in particular nuclear fuels.

*
* Work Location:

** The work location for this position is onsite and located in Los Alamos, NM. All work locations are at the discretion of management.

** Note to Applicants:*
* Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as…