Postdoc: AI & Control for Thermal Systems

UT-Battelle; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site fitness facilities

Relocation assistance

Educational Assistance

Cafeteria facilities

Job summary

UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to advance data-driven modeling, AI, and control strategies for thermal systems, including HVAC and data center cooling.

The role blends thermal-fluid sciences, control theory, and ML to optimize design, operation, and predictive maintenance across system and component levels. Collaboration across groups will be essential to deliver impactful solutions.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline obtained within the last five years.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in modeling and optimizing complex engineering systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop physics-based, data-driven, and hybrid (physics-informed ML) models of thermal systems to capture dynamic thermal behavior.
• Validate models against experimental data and refine model accuracy and computational efficiency.
• Model thermal system design, operation, and maintenance scenarios to support optimization and decision-making.
• Analyze and improve performance of HVAC, water heating, and data center cooling systems.
• Integrate predictive and optimization techniques to enhance system efficiency, reliability, and autonomy.
• Design and implement advanced control strategies (e.g., model predictive control, adaptive control, feedback/feedforward control, ML-based controls) for thermal system optimization.
• Integrate real-time sensor data and telemetry into closed-loop control frameworks.
• Test and validate control algorithms through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and/or physical testbeds.
• Apply machine learning techniques to predict thermal system performance and detect anomalies.
• Develop AI-driven predictive maintenance strategies to anticipate system failures or performance degradation.
• Use AI/ML methods to optimize thermal system design parameters and operating conditions.

Skills

Python

MATLAB/Simulink

Machine learning

Control theory

Thermal-fluid knowledge

Education

PhD in CS/CE/ME or related

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Job description

UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to advance data-driven modeling, AI, and control strategies for thermal systems, including HVAC and data center cooling.

The role blends thermal-fluid sciences, control theory, and ML to optimize design, operation, and predictive maintenance across system and component levels. Collaboration across groups will be essential to deliver impactful solutions.