Postdoctoral Research Associate - Advance Grid Power Electronics Systems

Requisition Id 13387 

Overview:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

Purpose:

The Grid Systems Architecture (GSA) Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is actively seeking applicants for a post-doctoral position to develop hierarchical software frameworks that permit the optimization of distribution networks in the future grid. The successful candidates should be capable of expanding and developing new software solutions and optimization strategies for heavy power electronic systems in distribution networks. For this, the candidate is expected to have a good understanding of distribution systems analysis, coding, optimization techniques such as mixed integer linear programming.

Major Duties / Responsibilities:

• Conduct R&D projects and help the expansion of R&D to take advantage of our multidisciplinary capabilities, multimodal strengths, and unique tools and capabilities.
• Be well versed in distribution systems analysis and mixed integer linear programming techniques.
• Experience with Linux based platforms such as Ubuntu and Raspbian (for Raspberry Pi)
• Network and develop collaborative R&D with other groups and divisions internally and with DOE, the industry, and the utilities.
• Prepare new proposals to the internal and external funding agencies.
• Have good oral and written skills so that they can prepare and present research results to sponsors, peer reviewers, industry partners and others and at technical meetings such as IEEE sponsored conferences.
• Experience in leading projects, test platform development etc. is appreciated.

Basic Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in electrical engineering with a focus on distribution systems analysis and optimization completed within the last 5 years.
• Good oral and written communication skills to make presentations to sponsors and others and to prepare reports, proposals, and publications/journal articles.
• Strong interpersonal skills to support team building and leadership.
• A publication history in prestigious international conferences and journals.
• Demonstrated publication record of scientific results in either peer-reviewed journals, or presentations at national meetings, are expected.
• A strong commitment to scientific integrity is an important requirement.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience related to modeling distribution systems in software such as OpenDSS or GridlabD
• Experience in coding platforms such as Python, C, and C++.
• Background in optimization techniques and encoding such as mixed integer linear programming.
• Some travel will be required for this position.

Applicants cannot have received their Ph.D. more than five years prior to the date of application and must complete all degree requirements before starting their appointment. The appointment length will be up to 24 months with the potential for extension. Initial appointments and extensions are subject to performance and availability of funding.

Please submit three letters of reference when applying to this position. You may upload these directly to your application or have them sent to postdocrecruitment@ornl.gov with the position title and number referenced in the subject line.

Instructions to upload documents to your candidate profile:

• Login to your account via jobs.ornl.gov
• View Profile
• Under the My Documents section, select Add a Document

Benefits at ORNL: 

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain talented people! The laboratory offers many employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to help you and your family live happy and healthy. Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also provided for convenience.

Other benefits include the following: Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, 401(k) Retirement Plan, Contributory Pension Plan, Life Insurance, Disability Benefits, Generous Vacation and Holidays, Parental Leave, Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection, Employee Assistance Plan, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Wellness Programs, Educational Assistance, Relocation Assistance, and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply.  UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.