Postdoc: Aging Polymers, Degradation & Gas Analysis

Los Alamos National Laboratory; Los Alamos (NM); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental and vision insurance

Life and disability insurance

Parental leave

401(k) plan

Tuition assistance

PTO & holidays

Onsite fitness facilities

Job summary

Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to study aging, degradation, and gas-release signatures in polymers. The role spans two funded projects, involving polymer films, aging in various fluids, and correlating gases released with property changes.

The candidate will perform GC/GC-MS analyses, IR/thermal/mechanical tests, and collaborate with materials, EE, and statistics teams to publish findings and contribute to sponsor reports.

Qualifications

• Experience with polymer aging, degradation, or compatibility experiments.
• Publishes peer-reviewed work and presents findings.
• Ability to work independently and in multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience with GC or GC-MS and multiple polymer characterization techniques.

Responsibilities

• Fabricate and characterize polymer thin films with varied properties.
• Design and run aging experiments in different fluids.
• Measure gas-phase degradation products via GC or headspace GC-MS.
• Track material property changes with aging using IR, thermal, and mechanical tests.
• Apply stats to experiments and curate datasets.
• Collaborate with colleagues and report results in sponsor reports and papers.

Skills

Gas chromatography

GC-MS

Infrared spectroscopy

Thermal analysis

Mechanical testing

Independent work

Team collaboration

Education

Ph.D. in materials science

Tools

Gas Chromatography

GC-MS

Infrared spectroscopy

Thermal analysis

Job description

Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to study aging, degradation, and gas-release signatures in polymers. The role spans two funded projects, involving polymer films, aging in various fluids, and correlating gases released with property changes.

The candidate will perform GC/GC-MS analyses, IR/thermal/mechanical tests, and collaborate with materials, EE, and statistics teams to publish findings and contribute to sponsor reports.