Postdoctoral Chemist: Chelator Design for Metal Separation

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 99,000 - 111,000; Full time

Job summary

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Helms group within JBEI/Materials Sciences Division seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to design and synthesize bio-derived chelators and chelator-functionalized polymers for mineral recovery, combining synthetic chemistry, materials science, and chemical separations.

The position offers independent research, collaboration, mentoring, and publication opportunities; required PhD in a related field; salary range $99,192–$110,808; work at Berkeley Lab with emphasis

Qualifications

• PhD in Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related field.

Responsibilities

• Design and synthesis of new chelators and chelator-functionalized polymers or sorbents.
• Establish structure-binding-selectivity relationships for metal ions under process-relevant conditions.
• Develop ion separation processes: liquid–liquid separations, immobilizing chelators on supports, batch/column separations, and evaluating recovery and purity.
• Characterize chelators and media with NMR, MS, UV-vis/fluorescence, ITC, ICP-MS/OES, HPLC/LC-MS.
• Support safety culture and maintain meticulous records of research activities and outcomes.
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and mentor junior researchers.

Skills

Molecular design

Synthesis

Ligand design

Analytical methods

Collaboration

Education

PhD in Organic/Inorganic Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

NMR

MS

UV-Vis

ITC

ICP-MS/OES

HPLC/LC-MS

Job description

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Helms group within JBEI/Materials Sciences Division seeks a Postdoctoral Scholar to design and synthesize bio-derived chelators and chelator-functionalized polymers for mineral recovery, combining synthetic chemistry, materials science, and chemical separations.

The position offers independent research, collaboration, mentoring, and publication opportunities; required PhD in a related field; salary range $99,192–$110,808; work at Berkeley Lab with emphasis