What are the responsibilities and job description for the Postdoctoral Researcher - Life Cycle Inventory Modeling at Scale position at The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)?
Posting Title
Postdoctoral Researcher - Life Cycle Inventory Modeling at Scale
Location
CO - Golden
Position Type
Postdoc (Fixed Term)
Hours Per Week
Working at NREL
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Job Description
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to support the development of next-generation, open-source life cycle inventories. This role is part of a multi-year collaboration with experts in data integration, emissions analysis, statistical modeling, and life cycle assessment. The focus will be on creating unit process datasets for industries undergoing significant transformation, while also updating legacy data, investigating future environmental impacts, and exploring alternative industrial energy sources.
We are seeking candidates with a recent PhD in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Industrial Ecology, or a closely related discipline. Applicants must have experience with industrial emissions datasets, process modeling, and proficiency in advanced LCA tools and energy systems models. Familiarity with NREL's publicly available databases and tools (such as USLCI, Federal LCA Commons, OpenLCA, or SimaPro) is highly desirable.
The ideal candidate should have strong programming skills in Python or R, be self-motivated, and able to work independently. The position is expected to start in Summer 2025. The candidate will join NREL's Complex Decision Analysis (CODA) group within the Strategic Energy Analysis Center (SEAC) and collaborate with analysts and researchers on environmental sustainability and economic assessments of various industrial sectors from a systems perspective. For more information about SEAC, visit www.nrel.gov / analysis.
The candidate will join NREL's growing team in life cycle analysis, contributing to a multi-year project to develop next-generation, open-source life cycle inventories. Key responsibilities include supporting the integration of LCA and energy system models, developing life cycle inventory datasets, and assisting with regional and national decision-support frameworks. The successful candidate will also contribute to manuscript preparation and collaborate with senior engineers and analysts.
Specific duties include :
- Updating legacy datasets and exploring emerging industrial sectors.
- Curating and analyzing data to build unit datasets for life cycle inventories.
- Supporting the development of a code-based life cycle assessment framework.
- Investigating alternative industrial heat sources and assessing their environmental impacts.
- Writing code to support model and method development.
- Collecting and curating data to enhance model development.
- Applying quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess and visualize results.
- Writing and publishing research findings in journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports.
- Presenting research findings at conferences and meetings.
- Collaborating with colleagues within and outside of NREL, particularly within the CODA group.
Basic Qualifications
Must be a recent PhD graduate within the last three years.
Additional Required Qualifications
Other Requirements :
Preferred Qualifications
Job Application Submission Window
The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.
Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)
Job Profile : Postdoctoral Researcher / Annual Salary Range : $74,900 - $123,600
NREL takes into consideration a candidate's education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee's salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.
Benefits Summary
Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short-term disability insurance
Badging Requirement
NREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.
Drug Free Workplace
NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.
If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.
Submission Guidelines
Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.
EEO Policy
NREL is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin / ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.
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Salary : $74,900 - $123,600
