Postdoctoral Research Associate - Advanced Mobility and Vehicle Systems Research

Pay Competitive

Employment type

Full-Time

• Req#: 10189

Overview:

The Applied Research in Mobility Systems (ARMS) group within the Buildings and Transportation Science Division (BTSD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking applicants for the position of Postdoctoral Research Associate. The Applied Research in Mobility Systems group focuses on accelerating the development of advanced vehicles and complex mobility systems through advances in connected and autonomous vehicle technologies, communications, systems integration, simulation frameworks, and decision science.

The objective of the hiring group is to provide leadership in advanced mobility systems decision science, transportation infrastructure deployment roadmaps, development of national transportation systems decarbonization (through electrification) blueprints, associated hardware-in-the-loop research, and simulation frameworks, to accelerate the development of transportation technologies from component-level to full vehicle and ultimately to system applications.

The ARMS Group is comprised of both senior and junior researchers, and it maintains strong collaborations with researchers in numerous other groups within ORNL as well as across the broader scientific ecosystem throughout the U.S. and world. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest of the U.S. Department of Energy’s multipurpose national laboratories. Its scientific programs span the spectrum from basic science to applied research and development.

This includes energy (transport, buildings, manufacturing, conversion, and storage), Earth systems science (land, water, ecosystems, and biodiversity), and human dynamics, as well as various other research domains ranging from advanced materials and nuclear science to high-performance computing and national security. Climate change, decarbonization, and sustainability are cross-cutting themes across the laboratory. ORNL’s National Transportation Research Center (NTRC) is accelerating the pace of research and development for efficient, safe, secure, and environmentally friendly transportation solutions while creating economic opportunity for the nation.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Support and appropriately lead conventional and electrified (hybrids, EV, and hydrogen) powertrain, advanced vehicle systems and ecosystems/infrastructure analysis efforts using physics-based modeling and data assimilation
• Advanced analytics of vehicle components/systems and ecosystems/operations/energy optimizations in freight mobility systems or networks providing recommendations on when/where/implications the technology is appropriate (paybacks, TCO, benefits, heat maps, efficiency gains, etc.) using novel big data sources and techniques
• Deep dive analytics on powertrain, vehicle and infrastructure sub-system components, risk assessments, and sensitivities to variations
• Assist in the development of technology roadmaps/signposts of mobility systems with focus on vehicle systems decarbonization, safety, and automation, as well as extension into aligned fields
• Improve and/or develop internal tools, frameworks, and interfaces for co-simulation of various modeling and simulation platforms and packages
• Support efforts to establish key test platforms to drive data for hypothesis and analysis validation for the above
• Collaborate with all internal partners (within ORNL) and University/Industry partners for best practices in model development, system optimization and the business opportunity model/solutions development
• Utilize standard best practices (such as Six Sigma processes) and methodologies, including completing projects as well as using appropriate tools as part of work.
• Support activities required for successful technology handoff to key stakeholder teams
• Cross-functional training and support per needs.
• Translating results into terms and results meaningful for communication and dissemination of knowledge.
• Maintain thorough documentation and disclosure of appropriate R&D activities. Working with R&D staff to develop, prepare reports, publications, and journal articles based on ongoing research.

Basic Qualifications:

• A PhD in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, or a related field completed within the last 5 years
• Programming environments: MATLAB, Simulink, Python or C++

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficient with MATLAB/Simulink
• Proficient with vehicle powertrain components and systems
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs
• Demonstrated publication record of scientific results in either peer-reviewed journals, or presentations at national meetings, are…