Postdoctoral Fellow - Alternative Fuels & Catalysis

Northeastern University; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 60,315 - 85,192; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Tuition assistance

Job summary

Northeastern University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to design and conduct research on alternative fuels, applying catalysis and reaction-engineering approaches to low-carbon fuel pathways.

The role involves bench-scale reactor work, techno-economic assessment, and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate researchers, contributing to publications and sponsored projects.

Qualifications

• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or a closely related field.
• Knowledge of catalysis, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and reactor/reaction engineering relevant to fuel synthesis and energy conversion.
• Ability to design and operate catalytic and/or electrocatalytic reactors.
• Ability to synthesize and characterize materials.
• Ability to model and analyze process performance.
• Proficiency in Python or an equivalent programming language.
• Ability to work independently and across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop catalytic and/or electrocatalytic routes and materials for alternative-fuel production (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia, electro-fuels, and CO- or biomass-derived fuels), including synthesis, testing, and kinetic measurement.
• Design, build, and operate bench- and laboratory-scale reactors and energy-conversion testbeds, evaluating activity, selectivity, stability, and energy efficiency under realistic operating conditions.
• Develop reaction and reactor models and conduct process analysis, including techno-economic and life-cycle assessment, to guide designs toward scalable, low-carbon fuel pathways.
• Characterize materials and analyze performance data to establish structure-performance and process-performance relationships.
• Disseminate results through peer-reviewed publications and presentations, contribute to proposals and reports, and help mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers and steward shared instrumentation.

Skills

Catalysis knowledge

Reaction engineering

Python

Independent work

Education

PhD in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, or related field

Tools

Python

Job description

Northeastern University is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to design and conduct research on alternative fuels, applying catalysis and reaction-engineering approaches to low-carbon fuel pathways.

The role involves bench-scale reactor work, techno-economic assessment, and mentoring of graduate and undergraduate researchers, contributing to publications and sponsored projects.