Postdoctoral Appointee: Nuclear Materials Science and Engineering

Argonne National Laboratory; Lemont (IL); On-site; USD 73,000 - 121,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Welcoming multidisciplinary team

Job summary

Argonne National Laboratory invites a Postdoctoral Appointee to advance R&D on metallic materials for extreme environments in nuclear energy systems. The role emphasizes processing–microstructure–property relationships under temperature, irradiation, and corrosion conditions.

The position integrates additive manufacturing, ion irradiation, corrosion studies, advanced microscopy, and AI-enabled microstructural analysis to support next-generation structural materials.

Qualifications

• PhD in materials science and engineering or nuclear engineering with zero to five years of experience.
• Knowledge of metallic alloy development, additive manufacturing, and microstructure-sensitive behavior.
• Experience with irradiation damage studies and advanced materials characterization.

Responsibilities

• Conduct in-situ and ex-situ irradiation, corrosion and environmental testing, and microscopy studies.
• Report results in peer‑reviewed journals and present at conferences and seminars.

Skills

Irradiation experiments

Additive manufacturing

Microstructure analysis

Machine learning for microscopy

Data interpretation

Technical writing

Oral communication

Education

PhD in materials science and engineering or nuclear engineering

Tools

SEM

TEM

EBSD

XRD

Focused Ion Beam

Job description

The Nuclear Science and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Appointee to conduct R&D on metallic materials for extreme environments relevant to nuclear energy systems. The Postdoctoral Appointee will contribute to development, manufacturing, characterization, and evaluation of additively and conventionally manufactured structural alloys.

The position will emphasize processing-microstructure-property-performance relationships under temperature, irradiation, corrosion, mechanical stress conditions.

The successful candidate will integrate additive manufacturing, ion irradiation, corrosion studies, advanced microscopy, and artificial-intelligence-enabled microstructural analysis to support the development and qualification of next-generation structural materials.

Research activities may include in-situ and ex-situ ion irradiation, corrosion and environmental testing, nano-indentation, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, focused ion beam specimen preparation, and computer vision or machine-learning analysis of microscopy datasets.

The position requires strong experimental, analytical, written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills, as well as the ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary research environment.

Major Action and Supporting Actions

• Conducts experimental programs in in-situ and ex-situ ion irradiation, corrosion and environmental testing, nano-indentation, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, focused ion beam specimen preparation, and computer vision or machine-learning analysis of microscopy datasets.
• Presenting and reporting research results, publishes results in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at meetings, conferences, symposia, and seminars.

Position Requirements

• A formal education in materials science and engineering, nuclear engineering, or a related field at the PhD level with zero to five years of employment experience.
• Knowledge of metallic alloy development, additive manufacturing, and/or microstructure-sensitive materials behavior.
• Experience studying irradiation damage, including conducting or supporting in-situ ion irradiation experiments with active load control and interpreting the resulting microstructural evolution.
• Experience studying corrosion effects on materials relevant to nuclear systems.
• Experience with advanced materials characterization techniques, such as SEM, TEM, EBSD, XRD, and related methods.
• Experience preparing specimens using techniques and tools such as electropolishing, flash polishing, and focused ion beam methods.
• Experience applying computer vision, image analysis, and/or machine-learning methods to microscopy or materials characterization data.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze microstructural data and relate characterization results to materials processing and performance.
• Demonstrated experience designing and performing experiments, operating and maintaining research equipment, compiling and evaluating data, and reporting technical results.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team environment and model Argonne’s Core Values of Impact, Safety, Respect, Integrity, and Teamwork.

Job Details

• Job Family Postdoctoral Job Profile Postdoctoral Appointee
• Worker Type Long-Term (Fixed Term)
• Time Type Full time

Compensation and Benefits

• The expected hiring range for this position is $72,879.00-$121,465.00.
• Additionally, comprehensive benefits are part of the total rewards package.

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