Job Description

Bidder Eligibility: This postdoctoral position is a temporary position for up to one year, which may be renewed at Sandia's discretion up to five additional years. The PhD must have been conferred within five years prior to employment. Individuals in postdoctoral positions may bid on regular Sandia positions as internal candidates, and in some cases may be converted to regular career positions during their term if warranted by ongoing operational needs, continuing availability of funds, and satisfactory job performance. Employees must remain in their current position for one year before applying for a new position, with the exception of student interns. Application of this requirement will not supersede collective bargaining agreements. See collective bargaining labor agreements for represented bidder eligibility requirements for represented employees.

About Sandia:

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs: + Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide + Extraordinary co-workers + Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world + Career advancement and enrichment opportunities + Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home) + Generous vacations, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance* World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov*These benefits vary by job classification. What Your Job Will Be Like: We are seeking an R&D Aerospace Engineer, Atmospheric Scientist, Computer Scientist, or Data Scientist to work with a multi-disciplinary team to perform and interpret high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations of turbulent atmospheric flow interactions with wind turbine plants. The work will center around investigation of wake control strategies for wind plants such as the pulse, helix, and other novel approaches. On any given day, you may be called on to: + Own and execute a computational modeling workflow to answer questions relevant to the wind energy industry + Interface with world-class, peta/exascale computing clusters + Post-process simulation data to assess quantities of interest related to wake aerodynamics (e.g., turbulent entrainment and growth of instability modes) and turbine structural dynamics (e.g., damage equivalent loads) + Work with a dynamic team of researchers, numerical methods developers, math model developers, and wind energy analysts working to solve challenging multi-physics problems Qualifications We Require: + Ph.D. in engineering, atmospheric science, applied mathematics or computer science + Demonstrated experience in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) + The ability to obtain and maintain a DOE L-level security clearance Qualifications We Desire: + Demonstrated experience coding in Python + Experience in incompressible-flow large-eddy simulation (LES) methods, mesh generation, actuator-line methods, and turbulence modeling approaches + Experience in hydrodynamic stability + Experience in wind turbine/wind farm controls + Experience in modeling wind turbines aerodynamics, atmospheric flows and fluid-structure interactions + Background in aeroelastic simulation of wind turbines (e.g., OpenFAST), as well as structural-dynamic analyses of wind turbines considering steady and unsteady loading + Experience with parallel programming (Shared and Distributed memory, GPU programming etc.) + Demonstrated experience with distributed memory MPI programming + Experience with collaborative software design, development, and testing processes + Application of statistical methods, data analytics, or machine learning to rich experimental or computational data sources + Visualization of complex 3D flow fields About Our Team: The Wind Energy Technologies Department performs research and development to improve performance, lower costs, and accelerate the deployment of wind technologies. This department is responsible for all aspects of wind turbine blade design, wake physics, system reliability, system integration, verification and validation of performance models, and model uncertainty quantification. For power systems research, the department conducts R&D in support of integrating wind energy into transmission and distribution grids, and microgrids through modeling and simulation activities. Department activities range from computer based design and analysis, lab testing of components, to full scale testing of wind blades at the SWiFT test site, near Lubbock, TX. Posting Duration: This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days, including the ‘posting date’. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance:

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE L-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted. Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment. EEO: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law. NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs: If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs. If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date. Job ID: 691526

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.