Postdoctoral Fellow

We are seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow to join our team at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab's (LBNL) Energy Storage & Distributed Resources Division. The successful candidate will work with a world-class team to understand, characterize, and optimize structure-processing-function relationships of ion-exchange membranes and interfaces as part of the Hydrogen and Fuel-cell program.

• Characterize structure-processing-property relationships in ion-conducting membranes and thin-films using advanced diagnostics for various energy conversion technologies.
• Conceive and execute research that is novel and can lead to high impact.
• Develop in-situ structural and spectroscopic characterization techniques for functional soft matter.
• Work as part of a team to execute projects related to ion-exchange materials and electrochemical devices, and provide ideas, suggestions, and guidance to colleagues on material design, integration, durability, characterization, and modeling.
• Utilize and advance experimental techniques, for example, synchrotron-based X-ray scattering and spectroscopy, and other electrochemical characterization tools to probe chemical, structural, and transport properties of ion-containing materials.
• Work on meeting milestones and reporting them to DOE.
• Publish original research in peer-reviewed journals; contribute to scientific publications; present research through talks and posters at conferences, workshops, and multi-investigator meetings.
• Collaborate and work with teams of researchers from diverse backgrounds, and interface with research teams from across industry, academia, and national laboratories.

• PhD in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, materials science, or related field.
• Demonstrated experience in structure-property characterization of solid-polymer electrolytes and interfaces, ionomer membranes, and thin-films.
• Proven experience in electrochemical characterization, membrane-property measurements, developing experimental setups, and customizing environmental stages.
• Experience with polymer-physics and related characterizations such as spectroscopy and X-ray scattering or imaging.
• Knowledge of, and experience with, thin-film or polymer casting and processing, and familiarity with techniques such as ellipsometry, quartz-crystal microbalance, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, mechanical, and chemical characterization techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative for tackling cross-disciplinary research problems from initiation to meaningful conclusion.
• Ability to learn rapidly and integrate new fields to demonstrate creative problem-solving skills.
• Ability and willingness to work in a team environment and collaborate with researchers from various backgrounds.
• Experience in bridging different fields, approaches, and/or novel techniques for solving materials problems.
• Strong, primary publication record.
• Strong communication skills; written, visual, and verbal.
• Data management and organization skills.

• Experience with hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers, cell testing, and diagnostics methods.
• Knowledge of solid-polymer electrolytes, composite membranes, mechanics, and polymer chemistry.
• Familiarity with data curation and visualization, statistics, and advanced data analysis.
• Knowledge and hands-on experience with nanofabrication.