Chemical Engineer

Senior Researcher

The Chemical and Biological Processing Group is seeking a senior researcher to lead research in slurry processing, rheology, particle transport, and flow assurance. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise from fields such as mining and mineral processing, food processing, pulp and paper, wastewater treatment, or other industries that routinely handle concentrated, heterogeneous, or non-Newtonian slurries.

This position will apply fundamental and applied knowledge of slurry behavior to improve feed handling, pumping, mixing, heat transfer, solids transport, fouling mitigation, and reliable operation of continuous-flow process systems.

Responsibilities include:

• Designs, develops, and operates processes or unit operations to create a diverse range of products.
• Evaluates and manipulates the chemical properties of various substances used in the fabrication of new products.
• Designs, models evaluates, and implements chemical processes, instrumentation, and equipment to ensure effectiveness in engineering and design.
• Performs trials, tests, and/or experiments to support engineering, production, and/or R&D activities.
• Applies the principles of chemistry, nuclear science, biology, physics, material science, math, and engineering to solve problems that involve the production, use or conversion of chemicals, materials, and energy.
• Uses the principles of biology and the tools of engineering to mimic biological systems to create products or to modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, sustain, or control chemical and mechanical processes.
• Lead research and development focused on slurry processing, particle-laden flow, rheology, fouling, deposition, plugging, and flow assurance in continuous-flow systems.
• Design and execute experiments using flow loops, pumps, mixers, piping, heat exchangers, valves, and other continuous-flow equipment.
• Apply experimental methods, computational fluid dynamics, and engineering analysis to understand slurry transport, particle settling, solids suspension, pressure drop, mixing, heat transfer, and fouling.
• Potentially develop and validate CFD models, mechanistic models, engineering correlations, and scale-up methodologies for particle-laden and non-Newtonian flow systems.
• Use modeling to identify regions of poor mixing, low velocity, recirculation, particle accumulation, erosion, deposition, and plugging within process equipment.
• Integrate model predictions with rheological measurements and flow-system data to guide design, operating conditions, and fouling-mitigation strategies.
• Translate experimental and modeling results into actionable recommendations for process operation, equipment modification, and scale-up.
• Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams addressing fluid mechanics, materials handling, heat transfer, process control, and equipment design.

Qualifications:

• Minimum Qualifications:
• BS/BA and 7+ years of relevant experience
  -OR-
• MS/MA and 5+ years of relevant experience
  -OR-
• PhD with 3+ year of relevant experience
• Preferred Qualifications:
• PhD in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, mining engineering, mineral processing, food engineering, fluid mechanics, rheology, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated research expertise in slurry processing, rheology, particle-laden flow, multiphase flow, fouling, or flow assurance.
• Significant hands-on experience with continuous-flow systems processing solids-containing, concentrated, heterogeneous, or non-Newtonian materials.
• Experience applying computational fluid dynamics to slurry transport, multiphase flow, particle-laden flow, mixing, heat transfer, fouling, deposition, erosion, or equipment design.
• Experience with CFD tools such as ANSYS Fluent, OpenFOAM, COMSOL Multiphysics, STAR-CCM+, or comparable platforms.
• Knowledge of modeling approaches for non-Newtonian fluids and particle-containing systems, such as Eulerian–Eulerian, Eulerian–Lagrangian, discrete phase, population balance, or discrete element methods.
• Demonstrated ability to develop, validate, and interpret CFD models using experimental or operational data.
• Experience measuring and interpreting rheological properties and incorporating those properties into flow models and equipment-design decisions.
• Experience with slurry pumping, pipeline transport, solids suspension, particle settling, mixing, heat transfer, or flow through complex equipment geometries.
• Experience investigating fouling, deposition, agglomeration, plugging, erosion, or wear in continuous-flow equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to design, construct, modify, operate, or troubleshoot experimental flow systems or flow loops.
• Ability to connect fundamental fluid and particle behavior with practical equipment performance, operability, and process reliability.
• Experience primarily limited to batch systems does not meet the needs of this position. Direct experience with continuous-flow slurry systems is strongly preferred.