Autonomous Material Processing Postdoctoral Fellow

About the role

Berkeley Lab’s Energy Geosciences division is hiring an Autonomous Material Processing Postdoctoral Fellow to help transform how critical materials are produced.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead hypothesis-driven research focused on autonomous thermochemical processing of complex mineral and melt systems, with guidance from senior researchers.
• Design and execute fundamental experiments to understand energy landscapes, phase behavior, interfacial processes, and reaction pathways in multi-component systems.
• Design, fabricate, commission, and operate advanced laboratory systems including high-temperature reactors, calorimetry platforms, flow systems, molten salt setups, and electrochemical cells.
• Conduct and interpret calorimetric measurements (e.g., DSC, drop solution, acid solution, isothermal titration) to quantify thermodynamic and kinetic parameters.
• Troubleshoot and repair instrumentation and custom-built experimental systems.
• Ensure rigorous experimental reproducibility, safety compliance, and high data integrity standards.
• Publish high-impact, peer-reviewed research and present findings at leading international conferences.
• Contribute to proposal development and future research directions aligned with PRISM objectives.

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Mineral Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, or related field
• Demonstrated record of first-author publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals, evidencing scientific leadership and originality.
• Proven ability to independently develop hypothesis-driven, fundamental research programs, from conceptual framing through experimental execution and publication.
• Demonstrated understanding of kinetics, transport phenomena, and interfacial processes in complex materials systems.
• Advanced data analysis and scientific model development using Python or other scientific programming languages, including experience with automation, instrumentation control, or feedback systems.
• Demonstrated ability to design, fabricate, operate, troubleshoot, and repair laboratory equipment, including custom-built or high-temperature/high-pressure systems.

Qualifications

• Experience with thermodynamic modeling, phase equilibria, or melt/mineral systems, including CALPHAD, OpenCalphad, or similar tools.
• Hands-on expertise in experimental calorimetry, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), drop-solution calorimetry, acid-solution calorimetry, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), or related thermochemical methods.
• Experience with high-temperature or molten salt systems, electrochemical systems, or reactive gas/pressure systems.
• Experience integrating spectroscopic or analytical instrumentation (e.g., LIBS, XRF, ICP-OES/MS, XRD) into quantitative workflows.
• Experience with CAD design, rapid prototyping, or laboratory-scale reactor design.
• Comfort working with flow systems, pumps, hydrocyclones, pressure vessels, electrochemical cells, or thermal systems.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate hardware, software, and analytics into coherent experimental platforms.

Benefits

This is a full-time, 2 year, postdoctoral appointment with the possibility of renewal based upon satisfactory job performance, continuing availability of funds and ongoing operational needs. You must have less than 3 years of paid postdoctoral experience.

Pay

The monthly salary range for this position is $6,573 - $8,921 and is expected to start at $6,573 or above. Postdoc positions are paid on a step schedule per union contract and salaries will be predetermined based on postdoctoral step rates. Each step represents one full year of completed post-Ph.D postdoctoral and/or related research experience.

Schedule

Work will be primarily performed at: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA.