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Environmental Geochemist

Employer
Leidos
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
Aug 20, 2022

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Sector
Academic / Research
Field
Conservation science
Discipline
Energy
Salary Type
Salary
Employment Type
Full time
Description

Job Description:

The Leidos Research Support Team supporting the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is seeking an Environmental Geochemist to join our Team in Pittsburgh, PA. This opportunity will allow side by side execution of research with world-class scientists and engineers using state of the art equipment to contribute to new areas of basic and applied research. The employee will involve a multidisciplinary team, participation alongside other engineers, geologists, and data scientists to help develop next-generation tools aligned to the priorities of the DOE Fossil Energy and Carbon Management mission space.

Primary Responsibilities:

Perform experiments to develop, characterize and optimize sorbents to enrich lithium (Li) from waste streams.
Perform tasks to field sample different acid mine drainage (AMD) treatment solids and waters, conduct initial processing and characterization; designed specific leaching protocols to optimize and scale-up the extraction of rare earth elements and critical metals (e.g., cobalt, nickel and zinc) out of different AMD solids based on characterization.
Develop chelator ion chromatography (CIC) method on critical mineral characterization (e.g., rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel, and zinc) in experimental and field samples; and assist data collection, aggregation, processing, and interpretation of ion chromatographs (IC) for analysis of metals, inorganic and organic molecules, redox sensitive species, and critical minerals.
Collaborating with interdisciplinary team, including geologists and other science researchers to assist each other in accomplishing project-related tasks
Building relationships with internal and external clients
Creating and delivers oral and poster presentations of results
Publications in high quality scientific peer-reviewed journals, presentations at national and international technical meetings.
Development of new intellectual property based on the innovative research.
Period status reporting and project reports (weekly/monthly/quarterly/annually) is required to update project managers and clients.
This position will require extensive interface with clients and potential collaborative partners, so excellent verbal and written communication skills are required.

Basic Qualifications:

Master's degree in geochemistry, environmental science, geology, materials characterization, or similar field with 1+ year experience
Applicants must have basic knowledge of critical mineral recovery (e.g., lithium, cobalt and nickel), mineralogy and crystallography, analytical chemistry, fate and transport of trace metals, and field collection and sample processing for environmental and geological samples
Laboratory experiences in studying mineral synthesis and characterization (e.g., iron, manganese, and/or aluminum oxides), solid leaching, solid and/or aqueous characterization and using analytical instruments (e.g., IC, ICP) for environmental samples are desired.
Must have field experience with water or soil sampling and processing
Understanding of and experience in surface and subsurface environments and rare earth elements/critical minerals

Preferred Qualifications:

Ph.D. degree preferred
Previous knowledge of acid mine drainage (AMD) and AMD treatment systems is preferred.
Previous knowledge of sorbent synthesis and characterization (e.g., kinetics, sorption/desorption isotherms) is preferred.
Experience in applications leveraging advanced analytics for energy and environmental systems. Applicants should also have a strong characterization background, including but not limited to: Raman Spectroscopy, Synchrotron microprobe (e.g., micro-X-Ray fluorescence, micro-X-Ray Adsorption Spectroscopy), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), IC or ICP, UV-vis and sequential extraction.
Experience is preferred in the handling of complex geochemical specimens, creating data reports with proper quality assurance/quality control, developing new instrumental methods based on sample matrices and analytes of interests, and conducting instrument maintenance with independent problem diagnosing and solving abilities.
Evidence of substantive participation in environmental and/or geologic scientific community.

Program Specific Salary Range: $75K to $85K

Pay Range:
Pay Range $60,450.00 - $93,000.00 - $125,550.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

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