Postdoctoral Appointee - Impact in Granular Materials, Onsite

This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment. Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance.

Employees, excluding student interns, must remain in their current position for one year from their hire date before bidding on a new job. However, the hiring manager may obtain approval to consider a candidate before the one-year requirement is met via the review process. This approval must be secured prior to being interviewed for a posted position. The application of this requirement will not supersede collective bargaining agreements.

Please refer to the collective bargaining labor agreements for eligibility requirements for represented bidders.

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide

Extraordinary co-workers

Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world

Career advancement and enrichment opportunities

Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)

Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

* These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like:

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Appointee to join a team conducting research related to improving coarse-grained particle-based simulations for complex granular flows, compaction, and planetary defense

On any given day, you may be called on to:

Generate and study gravitationally stabilized granular packings and dynamics of wave propagation and shock using discrete element method or other mesh free continuum methods (peridynamics, material point method, bonded particle methods)

Study complex granular physics using particle-based methods like discrete element, bonded particle models, peridynamics, etc.

Run large-scale, cutting-edge simulations of granular systems

Conduct research to validate models, analyze simulation of various applications, and publish results

Travel as needed to support projects

Due to the nature of the work, the selected candidate must be able to work onsite.

Qualifications We Require:

PhD, conferred within 5 years prior to employment, in Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Material Science, Applied Math, or other related field

Theoretical expertise in the physics and mechanics of heterogeneous materials (e.g. granular materials, glasses)

Experience in particle-based simulations (e.g. molecular dynamics, discrete element method, bonded particle models)

Good communication skills as evidenced by a history of publication of results in peer-reviewed journals and external presentations at appropriate scientific conferences

Ability to obtain and maintain a DoE Q security clearance

Qualifications We Desire:

Familiarity with shock, impact, or vibration transmission and dissipation in granular materials

Familiarity with high performance computing environments and parallel simulations

Experience using molecular dynamics or other particle-based codes, e.g. LAMMPS

Demonstrated scientific programming skills including computational modeling and using the Linux operating system

Demonstrated ability to work in large, multi-disciplinary teams

Demonstrated ability to solve complex multiscale problems in physics

Experience collaborating in multi-organizational environments

About Our Team:

We conduct applied research on the structure and behavior of complex engineered material systems exhibiting coupled physical processes that span multiple…