Post Doc Research Associate - Electrical Engineer

PNNL's Earth System Science Division enables energy independence and national security through leadership in earth systems science, engineering, and decision analytics. Our work focuses on solving complex problems in the dynamic Earth system. Our interdisciplinary scientists steward a breadth of efforts that encompass research on plants to groundwater science and coastal zones, to storm prediction.

Our research focuses on understanding and mitigating operational risks at the interface of human and natural environments. This includes predicting the impacts of natural hazards and extreme climate events on Earth and human systems, along with the impacts of wildfire, flooding, sea level rise and storm surges. We focus on understanding and mitigating environmental contamination and increasing the resiliency, security and sustainability of water resources. We provide geointelligence through advanced sensing and data analytics to forecast complex system behaviors and operational performance to understand human-natural systems. This includes informed decision making and enhanced community resilience, advanced monitoring, and remote sensing of environmental systems for energy and national security. It also includes developing energy systems, including geothermal energy, sustainable oil and gas production, storage and utilization, along with carbon sequestration.

Driven by a “science-to-solutions” philosophy, we provide scientific leadership and technology to enhance national security, mitigate natural hazards and optimize disaster response. In the critical areas of energy, environment, intelligence, and defense, we deliver insights and decision support through the development of tools and solutions.

Responsibilities
 

The Sensing, Measurement & Forecasting team within the Earth System Predictability & Resiliency Group of ESSD is seeking candidates to lead key tasks and support interdisciplinary projects including: 1) developing advanced sensing systems for earth system science and renewable energy. These next-generation sensors are not only fast, accurate, and versatile in terms of system performance but also lightweight, small, and soft. They can also be adapted for challenging environments such as deep subsurface and the Arctic environments.2) studying the environmental impact of conventional hydropower and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy systems by detecting and tracking fish or other animals in the river or ocean using underwater acoustic telemetry; 3) studying and mitigating the environmental impact of wind energy by detecting and tracking bats and birds using radio telemetry; 4) developing advanced energy-harvesting systems for small sensors/transmitters as well as remote sensing platforms.

The primary scope of this position includes advanced sensor design and testing, digital signal acquisition in laboratory settings, data processing and analysis, generation of intellectual properties, and writing of high-impact papers.
Qualifications
 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Candidates must have received a PhD within the past five years (60 months) or within the next 8 months from an accredited college or university.

Preferred Qualifications:

• The candidate must be able to work well independently and in a multi-disciplinary team setting.
• The candidate must exhibit a strong work ethic, be self-motivated, and place a high value on data quality and accuracy.
• The preferred candidate will have demonstrated one or more of the following:
• Hands-on experience with FPGA design. In particular, experience in designing real-time digital signal processing algorithm using FPGAs and integration of FPGA into computer systems is highly desired.
• Hands-on experience with telemetry system design and testing such as acoustic, RF, and satellite communication systems.
• Experience with C/C++, MATLAB, Simulink, and assembly programming languages.
• Experience with programming microcontrollers using microcontroller manufacturers’ dedicated development environments.
• Experience using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and other general electrical test equipment.
• Experience with SPICE simulation and PCB design.
• Experience with developing low power electronics and DC-DC power converter.