Post Doctorate RA - Chemical Physics Theory - Molecular Electronic Structure
Listed on 2026-07-10
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Research/Development
Research Scientist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Biomedical Science, Data Scientist
Post Doctorate Research Associate
We are seeking a highly motivated Post Doctorate Research Associate in theoretical and computational chemical physics to join the Chemical Physics Theory Group in the Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).
The research focuses on the development of flow-equation methods for molecular electronic structure and coupled electron–proton quantum phenomena. The project combines quantum many-body theory, electronic structure methods, numerical algorithm development, and high-performance scientific computing to develop next-generation theoretical methods and computational software for molecular systems. Applications include electronic structure, spectroscopy, and chemical dynamics, with opportunities to incorporate machine learning where appropriate.
This position is based at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington, and involves close collaborations with researchers at multiple national laboratories and universities.
What you will do:
- Develop and implement flow-equation methods for molecular electronic structure and quantum many-body systems.
- Develop theoretical and computational approaches for constructing effective Hamiltonians describing coupled electronic and nuclear quantum phenomena.
- Design, implement, and optimize scientific software for high-performance computing architectures.
- Apply newly developed methods to problems in molecular electronic structure, spectroscopy, and chemical dynamics.
- Collaborate closely with researchers across a multi-institutional research team.
- Lead manuscript preparation and maintain a strong publication record in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- Present research results at scientific conferences, workshops, and project review meetings.
- Contribute to the preparation of research proposals and future program development.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Candidates must have received a PhD within the past five years (60 months) or within the next 8 months from an accredited college or university.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry, Chemical Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Physics, or a related field.
- Expertise in ground- and excited-state electronic structure methods, with experience in one or more of the following areas: quantum many-body methods, nonadiabatic dynamics, or molecular quantum simulations.
- Experience developing theoretical methods, computational algorithms, or simulation methodologies for molecular quantum systems.
- Experience with scientific programming and code development.
- Programming experience in Fortran, C++, and/or Python.
- Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and maintain a strong publication record in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience with electronic structure method development, quantum many-body methods, or flow-equation (continuous unitary transformation) approaches.
- Experience with molecular quantum dynamics or nonadiabatic dynamics methods.
- Experience with high-performance scientific computing, including parallel programming (MPI, OpenMP) and/or GPU programming.
- Experience with scientific software development and modern software engineering practices.
- Familiarity with numerical linear algebra and large-scale computational methods.
- Experience working in collaborative and interdisciplinary research environments.
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