Postdoctoral Research Associate in Optical Fibre Sensing for Nuclear Environments, ORNL
Job Description
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate using optical fibres to measure materials inside nuclear environments. The call is open until filled.
At a glance
- Post: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Optical Fibre Sensing for Nuclear Environments
- Where: Nuclear and Extreme Environment Measurement Group, Nuclear Energy and Fuel Cycle Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
- Requisition ID: 17149
- Closing date: none given. ORNL reviews applications as they arrive, so the post is open until filled
- Pay: the advertisement states no figure
Read the official ORNL advertisement before you apply.
The work
The work uses optical fibres to measure property evolution, dimensional change and corrosion in harsh, high-temperature nuclear environments. Specifically, you would develop Fabry-Perot interferometer-based sensors to measure thermal and irradiation creep in advanced nuclear materials, and to measure corrosion and oxidation of zirconium in light water reactor conditions.
Getting a measurement out of a reactor core while it is running is extraordinarily hard: the environment destroys most instrumentation. Optical fibre survives where electronics do not, which is why this approach matters.
You would model prototype sensors using standard multiphysics software, run out-of-pile laboratory testing in representative environments, and analyse the results against the simulations. The NEEM Group works on pushing the limits of materials, sensors and experiments through instrumentation, irradiation experiments and rapid design and fabrication.
What you need
- A PhD in physics, optics, nuclear engineering, materials science or a related field
- Optical fibre sensing or interferometry, and comfort with multiphysics modelling
- Read the official advertisement for the full qualifications
Pay and conditions
ORNL publishes no salary figure on this advertisement. It is a US Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory with more than 7,000 staff, and postdoctoral appointments there are normally fixed-term with the possibility of renewal. Ask about the term and the pay band at interview.
How to apply
Apply through the ORNL job page using the Apply button, quoting requisition 17149. The advertisement gives no closing date, so apply early. Most ORNL positions require the right to work in the United States, and some roles touching nuclear or export-controlled work carry citizenship conditions. Read the posting’s own wording before you spend time on an application from outside the US.
Browse more research jobs on ResearchJobs.in, or search our Find a supervisor page.
Hiring institution: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Official advertisement: jobs.ornl.gov
How to prepare for this application
- Fabry-Perot is the named sensor type. Say what interferometers you have built or interrogated.
- Radiation hardness is the real constraint. Any work in irradiated environments is worth stating.
- Quote the requisition ID, 17149. ORNL tracks applications by it.
- Check the work-authorisation line on the posting. It is the usual reason an overseas application stalls at a national laboratory.
About Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORNL is the largest US Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with a legacy going back to the 1940s and more than 7,000 staff. It runs national user facilities including the Spallation Neutron Source and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, and works across computing, materials, chemistry, nuclear science, biology and energy.
