Researcher - Renewable Thermal Energy Technology

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the world’s leading research and development laboratory for renewable energy technologies, is seeking to hire a regular full time Researcher to participate in various projects to develop thermal energy storage technology. They are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E and EERE. The candidate will work with other engineers and scientists in the Thermal Energy Systems Group, within the Energy Conversion and Storage Systems Center (ECaSS) Center.

The candidate will contribute to develop energy storage technologies including thermal energy storage (TES) and hydrogen technologies integrating with concentrating solar power (CSP). Responsibilities under this position include leading research work on modeling, testing, reporting, and publications. Work includes:

• Design and analyze solar receiver, TES, heat exchangers, test prototypes, and integrated systems.
• Develop and perform laboratory testing on component prototypes.
• Write technical reports and contribute to project review meetings.
• Publish research results in peer-reviewed conferences and high-impact scientific journals.

Basic Qualifications

Relevant PhD. Or, relevant Master's Degree and 3 or more years of experience. Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 5 or more years of experience. Demonstrates broad understanding and wide application of engineering technical procedures, principles, theories and concepts in the field. General knowledge of other related disciplines. Demonstrates leadership in one or more areas of team, task or project lead responsibilities. Demonstrated experience in management of projects. Very good writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

• Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

Knowledge or classwork related to energy systems, particularly concentrating solar power (CSP), with design and computational model analysis using engineering software will be necessary. Demonstrated research capability and initiation in the following areas as well is required.

• Strong background on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and design software using ANSYS and SolidWorks. Experience on high performance computing is desirable.
• Knowledge on multiphase (gas-particle two phase system), thermal energy storage, and/or renewable hydrogen technologies.
• Experience on machine learning, thermal system performance and technoeconomic analysis.
• Familiar with laboratory works, testing instrumentation and software such as LabView for data acquisition and control.

Preferred Qualifications

The candidate will work collaboratively within a multi-disciplinary team, should possess excellent engineering analytical and experimental skills, and have strong interpersonal and communication abilities and independent-working attitude towards achieving research goals.

• Research focus on energy storage technology with solar energy, thermal energy storage, and hydrogen systems. The candidate should indicate demonstrated interest in energy storage and have strong modeling and experimental experiences on thermal systems and components.
• Problem solving skills by design, testing, modeling, and analysis using engineering software and tools for component and system development and laboratory prototype testing.
• Creativity, adaptability, motivation, independence, excellent communication skill, and working well in a research team.