Researcher - Perovskite Packaging and Reliability

Posting Title

Researcher - Perovskite Packaging and Reliability

.

Location

CO - Golden

.

Position Type

Limited Term (Fixed Term)

.

Hours Per Week

40

.

Working at NLR

NLR 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 the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NLR 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 NLR, 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

A Researcher III position is available in NLR’s Materials, Chemical and Computational Science Directorate on research efforts focused on the reliability and packaging of metal halide perovskite photovoltaic technologies including tandems. The initial, limited term, appointment is for one year, with possible of renewal and or transition to a regular appointment pending funding and performance in FY28.
 

This position will focus on durability and packaging of perovskite-based solar cells and modules; including tandems. Responsibilities will include developing methods for packaging, conducting accelerated stress tests on samples and performing post-mortem root-cause analysis to understand the mechanisms for failure.

This role would focus on analyzing degradation mechanisms in perovskite modules with a strong focus on perovskite module packing. This work would focus on correlating indoor testing and field-testing results for degradation in both packaging materials and the perovskite device itself.

Candidates will be expected to communicate their results to internal stakeholders and in more traditional journal publications, and conference presentations.  The candidate will be required to work closely with the Environment, Health, & Safety team to follow safe work procedures, as well as to handle waste properly and keep a clean, well-organized work environment.

.

Basic Qualifications

Relevant 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 .

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• The candidate is expected to have materials characterization skills such as SEM, EDS, XPS, XRD, EL, and PL as it relates to perovskite module materials.
• An ideal candidate would also have significant experience in packaging perovskite modules, including single junctions, 2T and 4T perovskite/Si tandems.
• The collaborative environment requires a candidate who can interface with researchers of different disciplines and learn topics outside their area of expertise. 

Additional skills include:

• Demonstrates complete understanding and wide application of scientific 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.
• Strong technical writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with industry partners.

.

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: $83,600 - $150,500

NLR 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 Summary

Benefits 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*. NLR 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 Requirement

NLR 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

NLR 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 NLR, 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 NLR 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.

.

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

E-Verify www.dhs.gov/E-Verify For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.

E-Verify is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This business uses E-Verify in its hiring practices to achieve a lawful workforce.