R&D Associate, Grid Systems Hardware

Requisition Id 14950 

­­Overview:  

The Grid Systems Hardware (GSH) Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is actively seeking applicants for a power electronics research associate full-time staff position to conduct research on futuristic power electronic systems and integration for the grid. You should be capable of developing innovative solutions for futuristic power electronic converters and controls and validating them through experimental prototypes. For this, you are expected to have a good understanding of the requirements of power electronic systems from components to systems, and embedded controllers. Experience in evaluating converter topologies, developing control algorithms, and writing controller code is expected.

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Conduct R&D projects and help the expansion of R&D to take advantage of our multidisciplinary capabilities, multimodal strengths, and unique tools and capabilities.
• Be well versed in power converter topologies, and associated controls.
• Should have a good knowledge base on the requirements and trends in futuristic power electronic converters and their components development.
• Experience with DSP/FPGA/Microcontroller platforms for controller development.
• Experience with building and testing power electronic converters.
• Network and develop collaborative R&D with other groups and divisions internally and with DOE, the industry, and the utilities.
• Prepare new proposals to the internal and external funding agencies.
• Have good oral and written skills so that they can prepare and present research results to sponsors, peer reviewers, industry partners and others and at technical meetings such as IEEE sponsored conferences.
• Experience in leading projects, test platform development etc. is appreciated.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• A Ph.D. in electrical engineering or a related field, with a focus on power electronics applications for the grid, and at least two years of relevant experience.
• Experience related to designing and controlling power electronic systems.
• Experience with power electronic modeling and simulation platforms including MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience in coding platforms such as Python, C, and C++.
• Hands-on laboratory experience performing testing and analysis.
• Good oral and written communication skills to make presentations to sponsors and others and to prepare reports, proposals, and publications/journal articles.
• A strong commitment to scientific integrity.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong interpersonal skills to support team building and leadership.
• A publication history in prestigious international conferences and journals.
• Demonstrated publication record of scientific results in either peer-reviewed journals, or presentations at national meetings.

 

Some travel will be required for this position.

 

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL i