Chemical Engineer 3

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory • Richland, WA

7h

About The Position

At PNNL, our core capabilities are divided among major departments that we refer to as Directorates within the Lab, focused on a specific area of scientific research or other function, with its own leadership team and dedicated budget.
Our Science & Technology directorates include National Security, Earth and Biological Sciences, Physical and Computational Sciences, and Energy and Environment. In addition, we have an Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy, Office of Science user facility housed on the PNNL campus.
The Energy and Environment Directorate delivers science and technology solutions for the nation’s biggest energy and environmental challenges. Our more than 1,700 staff support the Department of Energy (DOE), delivering on key DOE mission areas including: modernizing our nation’s power grid to maintain a reliable, affordable, secure, and resilient electricity delivery infrastructure; research, development, validation, and effective utilization of renewable energy and efficiency technologies that improve the affordability, reliability, resiliency, and security of the American energy system; and resolving complex issues in nuclear science, energy, and environmental management.
The Energy Processes and Materials Division, part of the Energy and Environment Directorate, creates and delivers real world solutions that support the Department of Energy’s goals for national energy security. We deliver new technologies that connect fundamental science to applications in areas such as energy storage, advanced materials manufacturing, applied catalysis, advanced separations, biomass conversions, carbon capture and utilization, and hydrogen production and storage. We employ a systems perspective that includes discovery, technology development, and scale-up as well as economic, regulatory, and market acceptance issues necessary for successful technology commercialization.

Requirements

• BS/BA and 5+ years of relevant experience -OR- MS/MA and 3+ years of relevant experience -OR- PhD with 1+ year of relevant experience

Nice To Haves

• PhD in Chemical Engineering (or closely related field) with experience in catalysis, reaction engineering, and/or biomass conversion process development; or MS/BS with commensurate specialized experience.
• Demonstrated technical leadership in process development and scale-relevant experimentation (e.g., continuous reactors, catalyst lifetime studies, process troubleshooting).
• Proven ability to apply AI/ML to scientific or engineering problems (e.g., modeling, optimization, data pipelines, automation).
• Strong publication/presentation record and ability to communicate across disciplines.
• Track record of proposal development and/or funding acquisition, and successful delivery on complex projects.
• Familiarity with biomass-derived intermediates (oxygenates, biocrudes) and upgrading routes to fuels or chemicals.
• Expertise in kinetics, mechanistic modeling, transport phenomena, catalyst deactivation, and linking micro-/meso-scale insights to reactor-scale behavior.
• Coding experience for data processing and model development.
• Experience with AI/ML techniques, LLMs, agentic workflows, and generative AI for R&D acceleration and engineering process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Designs, develops, and operates processes or unit operations to create a diverse range of products. Evaluates and manipulates the chemical properties of various substances used in the fabrication of new products. Designs, models evaluates, and implements chemical processes, instrumentation, and equipment to ensure effectiveness in engineering and design. Performs trials, tests, and/or experiments to support engineering, production, and/or R&D activities. Applies the principles of chemistry, nuclear science, biology, physics, material science, math, and engineering to solve problems that involve the production, use or conversion of chemicals, materials, and energy. Uses the principles of biology and the tools of engineering to mimic biological systems to create products or to modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, sustain, or control chemical and mechanical processes.
• Lead pioneering R&D applying AI/ML to catalysis and biomass conversion, including catalyst formulation/optimization, pathway discovery, and process intensification.
• Define and drive strategic research priorities for AI-enabled catalysis and conversion process development; identify high-impact opportunities aligned with sponsor needs (e.g., DOE, ARPA-E, industry).
• Serve as PI or task lead on complex, multidisciplinary projects: set technical vision, build teams, manage scope, and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Develop and operationalize AI capabilities for real-world chemical R&D, such as: data-driven catalyst/performance models, Bayesian optimization / active learning for experiment selection, Digital twins for reactors, LLM-enabled literature-to-hypothesis and workflow automation, Uncertainty quantification and decision support for scale-up.
• Integrate experiments, modeling, and data systems: establish data pipelines, standards, and reproducible workflows spanning synthesis, characterization, kinetic testing, and product analytics.
• Translate fundamental understanding to process performance, connecting catalyst descriptors to kinetics, deactivation, and reactor operability under realistic conditions.
• Collaborate broadly with experimentalists, computational chemists, data scientists, and external partners (universities, industry, other national labs) to deliver deployable solutions.
• Publish and communicate high-impact results in peer-reviewed journals; present at conferences and represent the organization as a leader in AI-enabled chemical conversion.

Benefits

• Employees and their families are offered medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, robust telehealth care options, several mental health benefits, free wellness coaching, health savings account, flexible spending accounts, basic life insurance, disability insurance, employee assistance program, business travel insurance, tuition assistance, relocation, backup childcare, legal benefits, supplemental parental bonding leave, surrogacy and adoption assistance, and fertility support.
• Employees are automatically enrolled in our company-funded pension plan and may enroll in our 401 (k) savings plan with company match.
• Employees may accrue up to 120 vacation hours per year and may receive ten paid holidays per year.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree