Process Engineer – Biorefinery Analysis

Posting TitleProcess Engineer – Biorefinery Analysis

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LocationCO - Golden

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Position TypeRegular

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Hours Per Week40

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Working at NRELNREL is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join NREL, where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NREL stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NREL, you’ll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

NREL’s Economic, Sustainability & Market Analysis (ESMA) team is hiring a full-time process research engineer. Primary responsibilities of ESMA team members include the development of conceptual process designs, and the economic and sustainability analyses of processes to convert biomass and waste feedstocks into fuels and value-added products.

The successful candidate will work on the development of conceptual process models in Aspen Plus for the conversion of biomass, including lignin, and waste feedstocks to liquid transportation fuels and chemical products, and use those models to provide product cost estimates through techno-economic analysis (TEA).  The candidate may also develop linear programming models to analyze opportunities for refinery integration approaches focused around blending or co-processing of bio-derived fuels and intermediates.

It is expected that the delivered work will be of superior quality and will sometimes need to be delivered under aggressive timelines. Other aspects of the work may include, but will not be limited to literature reviews, writing manuscripts and reports, study of the petroleum refinery infrastructure for production of gasoline, jet, and diesel fuels, analysis for novel technologies around CO2 capture/upgrading and plastics deconstruction/recycling, and the development of sustainability metrics for the conversion processes being studied. A key area of work may include process and TEA modeling for isolation and conversion of biomass lignin to fuels and products. Models are often built using Aspen Plus for process simulation and Aspen PIMS for linear programming refinery integration and may require some interface with Python or Fortran.

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Basic QualificationsRelevant PhD . Or, relevant Master's Degree and 3 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 5 or more years of experience . Demonstrates broad understanding and wide application of engineering technical procedures, principles, theories and concepts in the field. General knowledge of other related disciplines. Demonstrates leadership in one or more areas of team, task or project lead responsibilities. Demonstrated experience in management of projects. Very good writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Demonstrates broad understanding and wide application of technical procedures, principles, theories and concepts in the field of chemical engineering. General knowledge of other related disciplines.
• Strong writing, interpersonal and communication skills.
• To be considered, candidates must have deep strengths in Aspen modeling or other similar software. Candidates must have experience building process models, not just using the models.
• Detail-oriented and have previous demonstration of being able to independently learn and advance models, comb through details, and interface with laboratory researchers to provide engineering-based guidance to future research directions.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently under minimal supervision while delivering quality work products.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in life cycle analysis (LCA) and Python coding.
• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently under minimal supervision while delivering quality work products.
• Ability to work under pressure and tight deadlines, while demonstrating a team player attitude with a diplomatic approach.
• Experience successfully working in an area where information needs to be assimilated, being resourceful at finding that information and presented in a professional and thoughtful manner is crucial.

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)Job Profile: Researcher III / Annual Salary Range: $81,500 - $146,700

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits SummaryBenefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-term disability insurance; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Badging RequirementNREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Reasonable Accommodations

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