Postdoctoral Scholar, Chemical Engineering

Michigan Technological University • Houghton, MI

1d • $60,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Prof. Lei Pan’s research group at Michigan Technological University invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in hydrometallurgical refining and lithium-ion battery recycling. The successful candidate will contribute to externally funded research focused on the hydrometallurgical processing of mine tailing and recycled battery materials. The position will focus on both bench-scale work and pilot-scale validation. This postdoctoral researcher will work in an interdisciplinary team at the interface of mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, and process scale-up.

Requirements

• PhD in Metallurgical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field. Candidates must have completed all PhD requirements by the appointment start date.
• Demonstrated graduate-level or professional research experience in hydrometallurgy, and/or mineral processing, or closely related domains.
• Hands-on experience designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting results for publication-quality research.
• Experience working safely with chemical processes, laboratory equipment, and research documentation in a laboratory or pilot-scale environment.
• Ability to publish research findings in peer-reviewed journals and communicate technical results clearly in written and oral formats.
• Ability to publish research findings in the field of critical mineral processing and relevant fields.
• Ability to work independently while contributing effectively to a multidisciplinary research team.
• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple experimental tasks and deadlines.
• Commitment to laboratory safety, responsible conduct of research, and mentoring of students in safe research practices.

Nice To Haves

• Research experience in lithium-ion battery recycling, nickel/cobalt refining, or primary nickel ore processing.
• Experience with bench- or pilot-scale hydrometallurgical systems, including leaching, solid-liquid separation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, precipitation, crystallization, or electrowinning.
• Prior postdoctoral, industrial, national laboratory, or externally funded project experience is beneficial but not required.
• Experience with advanced characterization methods such as S-TEM, TGA/DSC.
• Familiarity with process simulation software, mass-balance calculations, kinetic modeling, statistical analysis, or data-driven process optimization.
• Demonstrated record of high-quality publications, proposal contributions, sponsor reporting, or student mentoring.
• Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments in hydrometallurgical operation.
• Develop and optimize unit operations such as physical separation, leaching, impurity removal, solvent extraction, ion exchange, precipitation, crystallization, filtration, and product purification.
• Establish mass balances, evaluate process kinetics and selectivity, analyze scaleup data, and support techno-economic and sustainability assessments when appropriate.
• Characterize feed materials, intermediates, and products using appropriate analytical tools, such as, XRD, SEM-EDS, FTIR, particle size analysis, and others.
• Prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication, technical reports for sponsors, presentations, and contributions to new research proposals.
• Mentor and supervise both graduate students and undergraduate researchers working on related projects.
• Support day-to-day project management, including planning experiments, coordinating laboratory resources, documenting data, and communicating progress to the PI and project team.
• Maintain a strong safety record by following university policies, developing and updating SOPs, conducting risk assessments, and promoting a positive safety culture in the laboratory and pilot facilities.
• Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work. Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.
• Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.

Benefits

• Employee Safety Overview training
• Anti-Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation Training
• Annual Data Security Training
• Annual Title IX Training

What This Job Offers

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