JOB DESCRIPTION A full-time scientific staff member is needed to investigate 
experimental high-pressure chemical kinetics within Sandia/California’s 
Combustion Chemistry Department, which is part of the Combustion Research 
Facility. The staff member will be responsible for establishing and directing a 
new program aimed at designing new methods for probing chemical reactions 
at pressures relevant to in-cylinder conditions of an internal combustion engine 
(i.e., 10–100 bar) and implementing these methods to probe high-pressure 
combustion kinetics, from elementary steps to submechanisms. This new 
program will seek to lay the groundwork for a general fundamental theory of 
pressure effects on the kinetics and branching fractions of key combustion 
reactions. The staff member will also have extensive interactions with related 
ongoing computational kinetics and modeling efforts in the department and 
with collaborators at Argonne National Laboratory.  

QUALIFICATIONS This position requires a PhD in chemistry, mechanical 
engineering, physics, or a related field (an emphasis in chemical-reaction 
kinetics, molecular spectroscopy, combustion chemistry, or reaction dynamics 
is preferred). Candidates must also have a strong background of scientific 
excellence, as embodied in publications and scientific presentations, and must 
demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate scientific results. Desired 
qualifications include familiarity with chemical kinetics, laser spectroscopy, 
mass spectrometry, or the photoionization detection of chemical species; 
knowledge of optical-diagnostics methods for combustion chemistry, especially 
at elevated pressure levels; familiarity with high-pressure chemical-kinetics 
experiments; and knowledge of combustion chemistry. Relevant postdoctoral 
experience is strongly desired. 

Candidate must be able to obtain a U.S. Department of Energy security 
clearance for this position. To obtain a security clearance, U.S. citizenship is 
required.

Apply at: http://ca.sandia.gov/casite/employment/. Click on Browse current 
job openings, and type the Job ID number 63306 into the Keywords box. Click 
on the Search button to access this job opening, and complete an online 
application. 

ABOUT SANDIA Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science 
and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation. We are a 
world-class team of scientists, engineers, technologists, postdocs, and visiting 
researchers—all focused on cutting-edge technology, ranging from homeland 
defense, global security, biotechnology, and environmental preservation to 
energy and combustion research, computer security, and nuclear defense. To 
learn more, visit http://ca.sandia.gov/casite/. 

Sandia provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package that 
includes medical, dental, vision, and a 401(k) with company-match. Our 
culture values work-life balance; we offer programs such as flexible work 
schedules with alternate Fridays off, on-site fitness facilities, and three weeks 
of vacation. In addition, Sandia/California enjoys close proximity to San 
Francisco, the Silicon Valley, first-tier universities, and diverse cultural and 
year-round recreational opportunities. 

DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION The Combustion Chemistry Department, under the 
principal sponsorship of the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy 
Sciences, seeks to reveal the key chemical processes that underlie the 
complex mechanisms of combustion. Departmental emphases include 
determining the rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions, characterizing 
molecular structures and energetics, and measuring and modeling idealized 
combustion devices. Researchers in the department employ laser-based 
pump/probe techniques to interrogate chemical reactivity and structure, ion 
imaging to simultaneously measure velocity and internal-state distributions of 
reaction products, and experiments in the femtosecond domain to directly 
probe energy conversion within a molecule. In other work, molecular photolysis 
is coupled with absorption/fluorescence detection methods to determine the 
thermal rate coefficients and product distributions for reactions that 
constitute individual steps in the combustion chain process. Current 
computational efforts include ab initio calculations of molecular structure and 
energetics and computer modeling of the complete kinetics of combustion 
processes in both laminar and turbulent environments.

Sandia National Laboratories is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V. If this 
position requires a security clearance granted by the U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE), U.S. citizenship and employee eligibility for clearance processing 
will be required at the time of hire. If you hold dual citizenship and accept a 
job offer for a position that requires a DOE-granted security clearance, you 
may be asked by DOE to renounce your foreign citizenship and retain only your 
U.S. citizenship.

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