R&D Associate - Cycle Assessment

Position: R&D Associate - Life Cycle Assessment
Requisition

Overview:

The Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Research & Analysis (MEERA) group of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is looking for a R&D Associate interested in working in the areas of life cycle energy impacts analysis, technoeconomic analysis, and deployment of energy, carbon, water, and material efficiency technologies in the manufacturing sector. You will join a team of scientists and engineers in the MEERA group which is a part of Energy and Industrial Processes Section  team is part of ORNL's Manufacturing Science Division in the Energy Science and Technology Directorate.

The MEERA Group supports a multi-laboratory Department of Energy (DOE) Strategic Analysis Team that conducts independent, objective, and credible research analysis to inform decision-making. To gain insights on manufacturing supply chains, the team conducts techno-economics, value chain, trade, patent, and global manufacturing competitiveness analysis relevant to advanced manufacturing technologies. The team builds and applies analysis tools and analytics to draw insights on the manufacturing sector's impact on energy, water, carbon, and materials productivity throughout the U.S. economy and to identify opportunities for improvement.

Through the Industrial Energy Efficiency Program, the MEERA Group develops a diverse portfolio of industrial energy efficiency tools and resources which are delivered to the manufacturing sector through various technical assistance and training events worldwide.

The candidate will support MEERA Group's strategic analysis, life cycle assessments, and technoeconomic analysis activities of advanced materials, energy efficient and competitive industrial technologies for various DOE program offices. MEERA group's StA team has organized research into four core the `matic areas:
1) Process and Technology Assessments;
2) Subsector Analyses;
3) Cross-Sectoral Industrial Energy and Materials Flows analyses;
4) Industrial Modeling. The latest analysis focus of DOE's Industrial Technologies Office (ITO), Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), and other Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) program offices such as technologies that can impact industrial energy efficiency and energy productivity, advanced industrial thermal systems, alternative feed stocks in chemicals, and technologies or approaches to support onsite or grid-provided energy supply availability and efficiency.

The analysis needs also include overall assessments of the state or future of an industrial subsector or exploring the impacts of a specific technology or approach within a subsector (e.g., integrated biorefineries in pulp & paper, use of SCMs in cement & concrete sector).The candidate will work independently and with senior technical staff toward collecting data for all steps in development of manufacturing process flow sheets for the energy intensive industrial sectors to evaluate the life cycle economic, energy, and environmental impacts.

The focus of these analyses is to understand the drivers the drivers of industrial improvement (which may include energy productivity, resiliency, and competitiveness) and evaluate incumbent and next generation technologies in a structured and transparent manner, with an emphasis on the timing/phasing of technology funding and deployment and provide information on projected mass and energy flows.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

* Conduct techno-economic, value chain, and global manufacturing competitiveness analysis in the area of energy efficiency, water efficiency, and material efficiency.

* Analyzing the supply chain and material flows through a product's entire lifecycle can help to identify energy, material, and water savings opportunities throughout the greater U.S. economy, including the production and delivery of energy and energy use within the industrial, transportation, and buildings sectors.

* The successful R&D Associate candidate may also support in conducting the strategic analysis, LCA, TEA analyses for the office of clean energy demonstrations.

* The successful R&D Associate candidate may also support MEERA Group's industrial technical deployment (Better Plants) and Energy System Software Tools development projects. DOE's Industrial Technologies Office (ITO) offers a range of Energy System Resources, Activities, and Software Tools which are used to manage and optimize energy efficiency in industrial facilities. The selected candidate may support the development of new resources, training, and tools to support companies participating in the DOE's Better Plants program.

* 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 mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, civil engineering,…