Postdoc: AI-Driven CFD & FEM for Nuclear Energy

UT-Battelle; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to advance AI agents and models, CFD simulations, and FEM tools for nuclear energy applications. The role sits in the Multiphysics CFD Applications group and emphasizes high-performance computing on large-scale systems.

You will develop next-generation CFD methods, perform extensive simulations for fission and fusion, and contribute to reduced-order calibration and multi-physics coupling.

Qualifications

• PhD or equivalent in nuclear, mechanical, chemical engineering, engineering physics, or related field (completed within last 5 years).
• Experience with Python, C, and/or C++ for applied programming.
• Demonstrated experience in applying and extending CFD codes for nuclear or similarly complex thermal energy systems.

Responsibilities

• Conduct research and develop next-generation CFD methods and models for nuclear energy systems.
• Perform large-scale simulations of fission and fusion systems with turbulence, heat transfer, and related physics.
• Apply FEM tools to tritium transport in fusion devices and support multi-physics simulations.
• Develop agentic workflows for scientific computing and multi-scale modeling.
• Publish papers and present findings to DOE program managers and at conferences.

Skills

Python programming

C/C++ programming

CFD knowledge

Parallel computing

Finite element methods

Education

PhD or equivalent in nuclear, mechanical, or chemical engineering or related field

Tools

OpenFOAM

Nek5000

STAR-CCM+

ANSYS

COMSOL

GitHub

Paraview

Job description

UT-Battelle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate to advance AI agents and models, CFD simulations, and FEM tools for nuclear energy applications. The role sits in the Multiphysics CFD Applications group and emphasizes high-performance computing on large-scale systems.

You will develop next-generation CFD methods, perform extensive simulations for fission and fusion, and contribute to reduced-order calibration and multi-physics coupling.